One day after tens of thousands of activists gathered in New York City to demand the immediate deployment of UN peacekeepers to Darfur, President Bush named Andrew Natsios as Special Envoy to Sudan.  This promising development, however, takes place against the backdrop of a rapidly deteriorating situation in Darfur.  

Earlier this week, the Government of Sudan (GoS) renewed its offensive attack in North Darfur leaving devastation in its wake.  The UN reported that up to 355,000 Darfuris are stranded without access to humanitarian assistance—including food aid.  As attacks continue and the humanitarian situation worsens, time is running out.  Although the African Union (AU) extended its mandate in Sudan until the end of the year, it remains severely underfinanced and understaffed.  Considering these logistical constraints, the AU cannot fully protect the people of Darfur in the midst of offensive violence. 

The responsibility to protect the people of Darfur lies in the hands of the Government of Sudan.  Thus far, the Government has failed to uphold its obligation to its people and the UN (under Security Council Resolution 1647) to protect the Sudanese in Darfur.  International intervention—through the AU and/or the UN—in Sudan is not sustainable.  Thus, the international community must call upon the GoS to uphold its responsibility as a member of the UN to provide protection for civilians in Darfur.  Only when the GoS can foster an environment of protection in Darfur will a lasting peaceful resolution of this conflict be possible.

While the appointment of a Special Envoy is a necessary step in this direction, it is not a sufficient one.  The U.S. must use its influence within the Sudanese Government to demand that an environment of protection is created in Darfur.  If the GoS is unwilling or unable to uphold its responsibility to protect—which it has indicated throughout the course of the three-year conflict in Darfur—then the responsibility falls on the international community.  The Special Envoy to Sudan must determine the future course of international intervention in Darfur under the community’s responsibility to protect, but they must do so immediately because for the people of Darfur, time is running out.