Res Publica 2005

From the Human Rights Watch:

African Union Should Deploy More Forces; U.N. Must Insist on Accountability

(New York, January 6, 2005) – Continuing atrocities in the western region of Darfur and impunity for war crimes in the south jeopardize prospects for peace in Sudan, Human Rights Watch warned today ahead of the January 9 signing of a peace agreement to end the 21-year conflict in the south.

(more here)

But at the same time, the UN News Service says:

Welcoming the initialling of the final two protocols of a comprehensive peace deal to end the 21-year civil war in southern Sudan, the Security Council today voiced hope that the agreement will play a role in resolving the separate conflict engulfing the country's Darfur region in the west.

In a press statement read out today by Argentina's Ambassador César Mayoral, Council President for January, the 15 members said they hoped the agreement "would have a positive impact on the situation in Darfur," where tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 1.85 million others live as refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Some real worries here:

The very forces doing ethnic cleansing have been incorporated to the army and police. There have been no guarantees or means of redress for those who have been so damaged by all the tribulations.

It is not a time to turn away, just because a piece of paper is being signed.