Darfur Can’t Wait

For more than a dozen years before the Sudanese government began killing its citizens in the western region of Darfur -- a slaughter that continues -- it battled rebels in the south. On Tuesday, scores of nations pledged $4.5 billion over the next two years to try to avert starvation among those devastated by the earlier savage civil war, partly by building roads and other infrastructure. That represents a welcome start on repairing vast damage in one area of the country, but it unfortunately leaves the people of Darfur no better off.

The north-south battle lasted 21 years and killed about 2 million people before a peace treaty was reached in January.

Southerners, most of whom are Christian or animist, and the mainly Muslim, Arabic-speaking north agreed to share oil revenue and let the south vote in six years whether to secede.

In Darfur, the death toll is far lower -- tens of thousands dead from violence, disease and starvation -- but the rebellion against the government there began only two years ago. World capitals are making the right noises about ending what former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell labeled genocide, but a more robust response is needed to prevent another Rwanda.

Last month, the U.S. belatedly got out of the way and agreed to let the United Nations’ International Criminal Court try those Sudanese accused of killing residents of Darfur, most of whom are black Africans, not Arabs. The government has supported Arab militias in killing sprees that have driven tens of thousands into refugee camps.

The U.S. had proposed establishing a separate court in Africa to try these suspects. Washington has refused to join nearly 100 other countries that ratified the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court, worried that U.S. soldiers and civilians could be targets of political prosecution. Other nations contend that the treaty has safeguards to bar that but offered assurances that U.S. citizens in Sudan would be exempt from ICC prosecutions.

But more important than trials is ending the killing. The U.N. and the African Union, whose countries have 2,000 peacekeepers in Darfur, reported that 350 militiamen last week destroyed a village in the region, “killing, burning and destroying everything in their paths.... “

The U.N. has authorized 10,700 peacekeepers for southern Sudan; at least half should be sent to Darfur, where the immediate need is greater.

Darfur cannot afford to wait another decade or more before the ethnic cleansing ends. Rather than another conference far down the road in which nations pledge billions more dollars to rebuild villages, plant new crops and bring refugees back, it makes sense to increase the African Union forces now and ensure that they have the equipment and transportation they need to stop the latest bloodbath.