Who could disagree with these words?:

“The continued spectacle of men, women and children driven from their homes by murder, rape and the burning of villages makes a mockery of our claim, as an international community, to shield people from the worst abuses.”

So said Kofi Annan, the secretary-general of the United Nations, to the 192-nation UN General Assembly on Sept. 19. His words followed protests in 50 cities to mark a “Day for Darfur”, and to make sure those world leaders attending the annual UN session in New York would take action.

One cannot approach the subject of this desperately poor area of Sudan without thinking of the genocide in Rwanda. There, according to an official government report in 2002, 1,074,017 people, more than 93 percent of them Tutsis, were killed between 1990 and 1994.

As Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote in The Independent on Sunday (Sep. 17):

“If good can emerge from such evil, it was the determination of the international community to ensure there must be no repeat of its failure to prevent such slaughter of our fellow human beings. At Britain’s prompting, this responsibility to protect was formally adopted last year at the United Nations Millennium Summit.”

I find real anger among all political parties at Westminster that although there has been considerable international diplomatic activity over Darfur, including the passing of several UN Security Council Resolutions, on the ground the situation is getting worse and the violence is on the increase.

The figures are so large that it becomes difficult to comprehend the scale of the individual suffering and the human misery involved. It is thought between 200,000 and 400,000 have died, two million people have fled their homes, and three million are dependent on international support.

It might be hoped that those people who finally made it to the refugee camps would have found security and be satisfactorily looked after. In reality, serious and frequent assaults on the camps have led to the highly motivated aid workers being unable to cope, and some have been withdrawn for their own safety.

The World Food Program does not consider sufficient aid is getting into the camps. It is not possible to escort the women who leave the camps to gather firewood and rapes and murders are on the increase.

It was against this background that a few days ago Tony Blair sent a letter to José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, suggesting now was the moment for the European Union to play a key role on Darfur.

The African Union monitors in Darfur are to be allowed to stay until the end of the year, but they lack funding and are gravely short of the basic equipment for such a task. The Khartoum government has threatened to expel them if they attempt to hand over to a UN peacekeeping mission which has been authorized by Security Council Resolution 1706. Khartoum has said the deployment of the proposed 22,600-strong UN force would be “illegal”. It has been most unwise and has horrified Sudan’s friends. There is at present a 10,000-strong UN force in southern Sudan and Washington plans to table a resolution in the Security Council extending its mandate to Darfur.

Tony Blair believes the idea that the government of Sudan will use its own troops to end the conflict is “unacceptable.”

“It is in defiance of the peace agreement it signed and can only increase the bloodshed, fear and tension in the region. The conduct of the government of Sudan threatens to make an appalling situation even worse.”

Tony Blair is right to draw attention to the consequences for the region if the problems of Darfur are not speedily resolved. Chad is in danger of being destabilized by the fighting on and over its border with Sudan.

As with Iran, and its nuclear program, a carrot-and-stick approach is probably best. Blair has said: “We should commit to provide substantial support for reconstruction and peace through debt relief and aid” if Khartoum responds positively to the United Nations.

In 2004 the UN declared that in Darfur was to be found “the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis”. The Americans spoke frankly of a genocide. In 2006 it would be intolerable if the Security Council decided to avert its eyes from Darfur where the violence and misery is an affront to us all.

The Security Council must create a cohesive coalition. The European Union is well placed to influence both China and Russia to ensure the council is united.

Is it too much to hope that Arab and Muslim states will now play their part in persuading Sudan of the errors of its ways? The interests of the people of Darfur must come first and the UN must live up to its responsibilities.