By Ken Bacon, published on WorldBridge, a Refugees International Blog

“I am extremely disappointed at the lack of progress on all fronts in the efforts to address the situation in Darfur,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon said last week in his quarterly report to the Security Council on the deployment of the UN-African Union peacekeeping force (UNAMID).

“The parties appear determined to pursue a military solution; the political process [is] stalled; the deployment of UNAMID is progressing very slowly and continues to face many challenges; and the humanitarian situation is not improving.” In fact, the report notes that 60,000 additional people were displaced in the first three months of the year. It also details continuing rapes of women and girls and difficulty in getting humanitarian aid to large parts of Western Darfur.

The Darfur crisis, where an estimated 400,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million displaced, is now more than five years old. Despite efforts by President Bush, two heads of the UN, and a number of other world leaders, the crisis is no closer to resolution now than when it started. Indeed, what began as a fight between rebel groups in Darfur and Sudanese army and the deadly militias it arms to destroy villages, has now become a regional dispute, with increased fighting across the border between Chad and Sudan, Mr. Ban notes in his report.

Although ending the war in Darfur will never be easy, there are several moves the U.S. and other countries can take right now.

First, UNAMID continues to plea for helicopters and other necessary equipment. The U.S. should convene a Protect the People of Darfur conference and lead the world in producing the support the Darfur peacekeeping force needs. Second, that conference should take two other steps necessary to pressure both the government of Sudan and the fractious rebel groups to get to the peace table. The U.S. and its European and Middle Eastern allies should impose strict travel sanction on Sudanese government and rebel leaders until they reach a peace agreement. In addition, arms embargos on both the government and rebel groups should be closely enforced.

These two steps would help protect the people of Darfur, who are suffering while the world worries about what to do next.