The ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of western Sudan began in 2003, when the government of Sudan began sponsoring attacks against the people of Darfur.

The genocide has claimed as many as 400,000 lives and displaced more than 2.5 million people. Violence, disease, and displacement continue to kill thousands of innocent Darfurians every month.

About the size of Texas, the Darfur region is home to racially mixed tribes of settled peasants, who identify as African, and nomadic herders, who identify as Arab. The majority of people in both groups are Muslim.

In February 2003, frustrated by poverty and neglect from the government in Khartoum (the Sudanese capital), two Darfurian rebel groups launched an uprising against the Khartoum government. Claiming to be putting down the insurrection, the government responded with a scorched-earth campaign against the innocent civilians of Darfur, enlisting the janjaweed, a militia drawn from members of Arab tribes in the region, to perpetrate the attacks.

Since February 2003, the government-sponsored Janjaweed have used rape, displacement, organized starvation, threats against aid workers, and mass murder to perpetrate genocide.

As the crisis continues today, the intentional displacement of millions has contributed to a major refugee crisis that now is spilling over to its neighbors, Chad and the Central African Republic. Violence continues today not only against Darfurians, but additionally towards humanitarian workers. In the past four years, only a contingent of roughly 7,000 troops from the African Union (AU), which severely lacks resources and experience, has been stationed in Darfur. As of June 2007, the government of Sudan has accepted a proposal for a 23,000 member joint UN-AU “hybrid” force. However, given Sudan’s history of deceit and empty promises, many remain skeptical of their commitment. Additionally, the international community has yet to provide enough funding for the force, which is not expected to deploy until 2008.

China, a member of the UN Security Council, has also been a major factor in sustaining the violence in Darfur with its economic investments in Sudanese oil, providing a large portion of the genocidal regime’s revenue that funds Janjaweed militias. Though activism and divestment have begun to gain momentum, Chinese economic investments continue to generate revenue for Sudan, evidenced by China’s top oil company, CNPC, agreeing to co-develop a new Sudanese oil field in July 2007.

The United States has been becoming more active on Darfur. On May 29th, 2007, the United States imposed further sanctions on targeted companies and individuals in an attempt to increase pressure on the Government of Sudan. In addition, regardless of how it has not ratified the charter of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the US State Department said there are possibilities of aiding the ICC operations regarding Darfur. The ICC has issued warrants for Janjaweed leader, Ali Muhammed Ali Abd al-Rahman (also called Ali Kushayb), and Sudan’s Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Ahmed Haroun.

On June 25th, a conference to discuss possible solutions to the crisis in Darfur was convened in Paris and attended by the G8 countries, China, the United Nations, and other major donor countries. The conference was not attended by Sudan, Chad, or any of the rebel groups in Darfur. The conference effectively fundraised for the hybrid force with Spain pledging 10 million euros, Japan pledging 4 million dollars, and the European Union considering a pledge of up to 31 million euros. However, there was widespread criticism that the attendees of the conference were unable to develop a concrete roadmap of possible solutions to the crisis.