When we look back at the history of the conflict in Darfur, will February 2006 be seen as the month the tide finally started to turn and peace began to take root? It's possible, and a host of activists are hoping to make it so.
This Darfuri woman is one of some 2.5 million who have been forced from their homes.
This Darfuri woman is one of some 2.5 million forced from their homes.
© Refugees International
The key issue here is the role the U.S. is going to play as it takes over the presidency of the U.N. Security Council for the month of February. As the violence has been escalating of late, there is a "growing consensus" among the U.N., African Union, and the U.S., about the need for a multinational intervention with a mandate to protect civilians, says the campaigning group Africa Action. They are rallying their supporters to push President Bush--and his ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton--to use the Security Council presidency to introduce a resolution calling for just such a force.

The African Union (AU) troops currently on the ground in Darfur number only about 7,000 in an inhospitable area of desert roughly the size of Texas, and they lack the power to protect civilians when atrocities occur. A February 2005 report from Refugees International praised the initial work of just a few thousand peacekeepers and called for a much larger force with wider international support. But by November, that support was still largely lacking, the group said, as it released a new report, entitled "No Power to Protect." It argues that the AU "does not have the resources or ability to carry out its job of monitoring a ceasefire that is widely and regularly violated by all sides" and that "the African Union Mission in Sudan will be unable to carry out its job in Darfur unless the U.S. and the U.N. take active measures to provide support."
GlobalGiving.org provides opportunities to support Darfur's children.
GlobalGiving provides opportunities to support Darfur's children.
Africa Action has laid out a comprehensive action plan to lead to a stable and peaceful Darfur, starting with the "re-hatting" of AU forces as U.N. "blue helmets," followed by the deployment of at least 20,000 international troops (the number warranted by the size of the local population and hostile forces in the area).

President Bush's State of the Union address this evening--nearly a year and a half after his administration first used the term "genocide" to describe the atrocities taking place in Darfur--will provide an excellent opportunity to "provide clear moral and global leadership," says the grassroots group Citizens for Global Solutions. (The group also laments the failure of  the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act as well as a $50 million appropriation for the African Union peacekeeping force, both of which were approved by the Senate.)
Africa Action plans to step up its pressure on the White House during the month of February.
Africa Action plans to step up its pressure on the White House during the month of February.
© Africa Action
Citizens for Global Solutions led a campaign among its membership to urge President Bush to include a strong message about Darfur in his State of the Union. In a few hours, we'll see if he does.

An Africa Action fact sheet on the situation argues that "the U.S. will not introduce a resolution at the U.N. without hearing strong voices from people across the country empowering it to do so." As such, they're leading a call-in campaign Wednesday to tell the president to take action for Darfur, and they will be holding a rally in front of the White House Thursday, which is expected to include "engaging speakers," "creative street theatre," and "a dignified act of civil disobedience" (in which they say only those 18-years of age and older will be allowed to participate). Another demonstration is scheduled for next Wednesday (Feb. 8) outside the U.S. Mission to the U.N. in New York, and you can be sure they will keep up the heat throughout the month of February.
© Citizens for Global Solutions
Upon entering office, President Bush is said to have scribbled in the margins of a briefing memo on the Rwandan genocide, "Not on my watch!" (You can get a green wristband that says as much for a small donation to Citizens for Global Solutions.)

Only history can judge.

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