Sanctions for Sudan?

Last month, the UN security council passed a US-backed resolution against Sudan, giving Khartoum to take action against the Janjaweed and help the people of Darfur.

It's been a month now, and the security council meets on Thursday to discuss the matter. Hopefully this will be a topic of conversation:

On a shallow slope between two hills of orange rock and sand, a man's body lies curled in a foetal position. His hands are thrown up as if to protect his face from the bullet that punched a hole in his temple.
A few feet away on the bare slope, another man's body lies between two youths. His arms are stretched out to the two younger ones, as if he was embracing them at the moment of death.

This was the scene of an execution in north-western Darfur. The killings took place in April, but scenes like this are being repeated in Sudan now.

The atrocities are still continuing if Darfur, and the Sudanese government is still working hand in hand with the Janjaweed. Can the UN put a stop to this? The Christian Science monitor has some doubts in this excellent analysis piece. This was the most troubling paragraph:

The deadline passed Monday, and Tuesday the UN staff will report on Sudan's compliance. On Thursday, the Council meets to discuss possibly taking action (or not). By most accounts, the European and Chinese members are reluctant to impose economic sanctions, as the US proposes, let alone intervene militarily.

While I thank the Bush administration for taking the moral high road over Europe in this case, it's still not doing enough. Bush could declare this is genocide and said drastically needed help immediately to the region, but the Genocide Watch counter has climbed to 39 days. I imagine it will reach 40, then 41, then 45, then 50, then...

30,000 - 50,000 people have died so far. How long are we going to wait? How many more people have to die before the world pays attention?