Since the beginning of the tragic chapter of Sudan’s history in 2003 more than 200,000 have been killed and more than 2 million have been displaced but the first ‘genocide’ of the 21st century waited and waited for the UN to provide that diplomatic and other peaceful tools to bring the violations to an end.

When it was necessary for the UN peacekeepers to stand in front of those girls and women being raped and their children and peers being chopped in front of their eyes, the highest authorities responsible to protect people could only engage in the debate whether to call the death and suffering a genocide or ethnic cleansing. ‘Responsibility to Protect’ doctrine affirmed by the United States and other nations two years ago also proved all bark and no bite, with Khartoum becoming even more determined in their extraordinarily brazen show of contempt.

The spineless UN has however found its spine and after nine months of intense negotiations, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday agreed on a resolution to send what will become the world’s largest peacekeeping force to Sudan. The United Nations Security Council has agreed to deploy a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force to bring an end to the bloodletting in the region.

With the planning for a UN peacekeeping mission now underway, the warring factions in Darfur’s four-year conflict meet on Friday for talks aimed at finding common ground. Darfur is long calling for the imposition of strong economic, legal and military measures while millions of civilians are paying the price for years of unkept promises and empty commitments. That’s why they say, stitch in time saves nine.

Well, the demand that has been made for the last several months for a UN peacekeeping force to be put into Sudan is not nearly specific enough. A UN peacekeeping force is not a panacea and has no specific magical ability to keep peace. In order to do better than the existing AU force, any UN peacekeeping force would have to be very different in terms of mission and rules of engagement.

Different mission terms or rules of engagement are not only important but also the basis of bringing peace and stability to the region. Some things, unfortunately, cannot be achieved by force and the fact that current slaughter in Darfur is more or less a consequence of anarchy. It’s very doubtful that any feasible size of peacekeeping force could have a material effect on the factional conflict, but genuine help could be given here.

UNSC resolution offers small discernible glimmer of hope but it needs to tread very carefully or else it would involve fighting a war against the Sudanese army which could only end in Sudan requiring a similar reconstruction effort as needed in Iraq or Afghanistan (neither of which have gone so well). We are at a point where even hope may escape us.