IN OTHER WORDS: On the line

The world’s leaders say they care desperately about Darfur’s suffering,

until they get distracted. It took years of international hand-wringing before the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to send in 26,000 peacekeepers to replace a current force of 7,000, to try to halt the killing. With the deployment now set for Jan 1, major countries are ignoring the UN’s appeals for essential aircraft, and Sudan’s government — which unleashed the genocide — is again reneging on its promises to cooperate.

Khartoum is now refusing to accept some non-African peacekeeping units — including a Thai infantry battalion and a Nepalese special forces unit — in what is intended to be a joint UN-African Union force. It is also trying to limit the peacekeepers’ use of helicopters, refusing to provide land for a peacekeeping base and insisting on other untenable restrictions, including advance notice of all troop movements.

Without a lot more international pressure, Sudan will continue to obstruct the peacekeeping mission. China, one of Sudan’s major trading partners, and the Arab League must bring on that pressure. And the UN and other envoys must work full time for the resumption of peace talks. The credibility of the Security Council is on the line. So are the lives of 2.5 million Darfuris in Sudan.