Nairobi/Brussels,

The international community needs to complement efforts to get peacekeepers on the ground with a new approach to negotiating a political settlement if there is to be peace in Darfur.

Darfur: Revitalising the Peace Process,* the latest International Crisis Group report, proposes a comprehensive strategy to achieve a political settlement and end the tragedy. While there has been marginally less fighting for two months, the security situation has deteriorated since the government and one of three rebel factions signed the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in May 2006. Peace will remain elusive unless the international community coordinates better to surmount obstacles, including the ruling National Congress Party’s pursuit of military victory and increasing rebel divisions.

Deploying an effective African Union/UN hybrid peacekeeping force to protect civilians and establishing a workable ceasefire is vital, and further Khartoum delays can be expected despite recent agreement on more support for the African Union contingent. But new impetus in the moribund peace process is equally vital. “The DPA has failed because it did not resolve the conflict’s root causes, too few rebels signed, and inadequate representation in negotiation has meant a lack of support in Darfur”, says David Mozersky, Horn of Africa Project Director. “A revised political agreement is the only chance for lasting peace”. Read more >>>