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Last stand for U.N. in Sudan

Calling it hell doesn't sufficiently communicate the horror and despair of a place like the Darfur region of Sudan. After nearly four years of fighting between rebels and government-backed militias that has left 200,000 dead and millions displaced, the inhabitants of this parched land still face the constant danger of ethnically charged rape and killings.

Finally, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan pulled the world's attention back to the crisis during a summit this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. As part of his legacy Annan would undoubtedly like to see an end to the warfare. But the United Nations has been feckless and impotent as this fearsome genocide churns on endlessly.

The meeting focused on new strategies for containing and defusing the violence, since the old strategies were useless. The U.N. plan to deploy 20,000 peacekeepers to replace the 7,000 African Union troops was stymied by the Sudanese government when it refused to let the peace-keepers into the country. Bold action has never been a U.N. specialty, but at some point saving the lives of helpless civilians who are being slaughtered by the thousands might take precedence over whether entry visas are in order.

The new plan seeks to create a joint African Union-U.N. peacekeeping operation with a force of 27,000, including 7,000 troops from the African Union. At first, it appeared that the Sudanese government had signed off on the idea, at least in principle. But the latest reports from Khartoum are not encouraging. The foreign minister suggested on radio that a mixed force would be unacceptable and that the only understanding was that the United Nations would provide technical assistance to the African Union.

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir has consistently rejected the presence of U.N. peacekeepers, calling them "neocolonialists." He is accused of backing the Arab janjaweed militia and its atrocities against black Africans, a charge he denies.

Meanwhile, neighboring Chad is asking the United Nations for help to protect its citizens as well as the thousands of refugees that have flooded across its eastern border. There have been violent border incursions recently, reportedly by the janjaweed. Here, help should come whether Sudan agrees to it or not.

At the very least, the United Nations can get boots on the ground in a place that's asking for them in order to protect people who are in danger of mass slaughter. If the world body can't accomplish this, one has to wonder whether it is good for anything.

[Last modified November 17, 2006, 22:20:12]