I’ll try to be on the lookout for expert opinions on what should be done. As you noted, awareness is being raised already, although I would say that in America the news that most people get is quite short on Darfur references. Awareness among the typical American is, I think, not enough to really register.

But, as you say, awareness is one thing, action is another. I would think that the AU, being closer to the problem, would be the better group to stop this. Failing that, it may be a job for an international force. Why would that work when the AU wouldn’t? It may be that there is a Lebanon/Hezbollah situation there. If the Lebanese army were the only group policing the actions of Hezbollah, there might be a reluctance to do so since many Lebanese support Hezbollah. I don’t know the ethnic or political situation in Darfur, but it may be that an international force may be more dispassionate in their work than a local one.

A military force could defend the defenseless until such time as the situation could be resolved. I would think that unless the defending force could respond in-kind to attacks, it wouldn’t be much of a deterrent, so that would have to be a condition.

Thanks for your thought-provoking comment.

Raising more awareness for the suffering in Darfur is good and necessary. However, I believe there is already a lot of awareness, but awareness is not enough.
I think most or all of our readers know what is going on in Darfur. They want to see an end to the Darfur crisis, but they don’t know what EXACTLY should be done.

Therefore, I would like to ask you: What kind of action shall we advocat?
What exactly should the international community do?

Donate more to aid agencies isn’t enough, because the agencies can’t do their work freely in the current (in)security situation.

Only more divestment and diplomatic pressure?

Create safe heavens?

Try to disarm the Janjaweed? How many troops do you need for that?

Bomb Khartoum? Then what?

Regime change? Are we prepared to deal with civil war and attempts of “ethnic cleansing in reverse” after a regime change? How long would that occupation last?

What realistic and fast course of action shall we advocate?

What are the Darfur and military experts suggesting?

The African Union has a Chapter VII resolution for Darfur and can use force to protect civilians. Shall we ask the international community to send more money and ressources to the African Union? Is the African Union willing and capable to fight and disarm the Janjaweed and their supporters?
The consensus seems to be that the AU hasn’t done enough and that UN troops are needed, but I don’t quite understand, why the UN would do a better job. The countries with most military and peace enforcement experience are not volunteering to sending troops to the UN, are they?
What exactly should the UN troops do?

I will write about Darfur soon and create awareness for the Darfur Day on September 17th, but I would also like to mention some specific suggestions by the experts.

Any help you can provide (like some links to expert recommendations) would be very much appreciated! Thank you.