Donors are usually generous, as they will donate money to countries affected by war after they reach a peace agreement. Frequently, this money is geared towards peace building activities, nation building or state building. Unfortunately that wouldn’t be the case for the Darfur donor conference scheduled to take place in Doha-Qatar from April 7^th 2013, even though on July 14^th 2011, the Government of Sudan GoS and the Liberation and Justice Movement LJM signed a fragile agreement known as the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur DDPD. 

Donors are usually generous, as they will donate money to countries affected by war after they reach a peace agreement. Frequently, this money is geared towards peace building activities, nation building or state building. Unfortunately that wouldn’t be the case for the Darfur donor conference scheduled to take place in Doha-Qatar from April 7^th 2013, even though on July 14^th 2011, the Government of Sudan GoS and the Liberation and Justice Movement LJM signed a fragile agreement known as the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur DDPD. 

Over recent days I have been bombarded with e-mails about events on Darfur that mark the 10-year anniversary of the conflict. Some analyze why the conflict is ongoing; others link Darfur to other conflicts such as South Kordofan and Blue Nile.  For inexplicable reasons, most assume that we can now apply the same type of methods that failed to “save” Darfur to the current conflicts on Sudan’s border.  Gripped by the desire to do something, nearly all assume that sending more press releases will make the international community sit up and take action to stop the government of Sudan. Ramping up to “act” for Sudan, these groups appear to be operating in a time warp from 2003, using the same faulty logic. 

Reading recent government accounts, one might be forgiven for thinking that a parallel universe has now emerged in Darfur, filled with human rights, honest officials and social justice for all. This new region welcomes human rights monitors such as Mashood Adebayo Baderin, shows them around and takes them wherever they want to go. It gives full access to the judicial process and allows such officials to interact with Darfur’s residents (who are, of course, free to discuss their situations in full and frank detail). Finally, these cozy chats allow the people to express just how much they are enjoying their lives under the care of the new Darfur Regional Authority (DRA). 

If the last year has taught us anything about Sudan, it is that there is already so much hot air in Khartoum that the Sudanese government does not feel in the slightest bit concerned about some more from the international community. Endless discussions about Abyei, the 14 mile area, Darfur, Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan have singularly failed to protect innocent people or provide any hope for security. Sudanese government airplanes bomb large areas of Kordofan, Darfur and even inside the territory of South Sudan with apparent impunity. They cut off food supplies and humanitarian corridors in flagrant breach of international laws. They renege on deadlines, ignore reasonable requests, fail to pay their UN dues and play the international community like a violin. And well they might, because all evidence suggests that moral equivalency has become high fashion for diplomats and governments the world over, leaving no consequences whatsoever for the Government of Sudan’s actions. 

If the dragging of student bodies from a water-filled ditch this week served to illustrate anything, it showed that the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) is not worth the paper it is written on. It also showed that Tigani Seisi is a disingenuous, disinterested and ineffective leader who, for the second time, is now selling the people of Darfur in the NCP market.