A Timid First Step...

The UN Security Council has passed a resolution that some say will lead to the arrival of a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur. We sincerely hope so. Without that international intervention, there is little hope for the 2 million Darfurians still living in camps within Darfur.

Not everyone is as excited about the resolution. Julie Flint is extremely knowledgeable about Darfur. Soon after the war in Darfur began, Flint put together a report on Darfur for Human Rights Watch. Other writers have added information to what she collected for that early report, but no Westerner writing in English has made the case for international intervention against genocide in Darfur better than Flint did two years ago.

When the Darfur Peace Accord was signed last week, Flint allowed herself cautious optimism, although calling it "not the worst of accords" seems to qualify as faint praise for the accord.

But speaking today on the BBC, Flint was clearly disappointed. She claimed that the Security Council resolution on Darfur had been "watered down" from what was originally presented to the council. Speaking on condition of anonymity, diplomats assured Flint that it was the United States who had seen to the weakening of the resolution, based on the complex US relationship with the Sudanese government. Flint expressed fear that, based on this resolution, UN forces would not be in Darfur before the October 2006 deadline for the disarmament of the Janjaweed militia responsible for much of the killing there.

For Flint, the UN resolution was a "timid first step toward preparation." For those living and dying in Darfur's camps, that won't be enough.