Diplomats around the world recently gathered in San Francisco to celebrate the United Nations 60th anniversary of peacekeeping and promotion of human rights.

The U.N. charter was signed on June 26, 1945 to prevent events such as the Holocaust from happening again. There is no known exact number of Jews killed but many historians estimate that over six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, which was dubbed genocide because of the ethnic cleansing.

According to the United Nations, genocide is “any act committed with the idea of destroying, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”

Major countries around the world saw the Holocaust as disastrous and promoted a campaign called Never Again to stop any bloodshed of a targeted ethnic group. Yet, 60 years later, genocide still exists in Sudan and ten years ago it existed in Rwanda.

Article V of the U.N.’s Declaration of Human Rights states, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

Ricken Patel, a director with DarfurGenocide.org, said he believes that over the years, the term "genocide" has slightly changed.

According to Patel, genocide during the Holocaust age used to be something a government would hide from the world. Today, it’s misguiding everyone to believe there is a certain group that is doing the killings instead of the actual perpetrators.

Sudan is located in Northern Africa, connected with the Red Sea and in between Egypt and Eritrea. Inside Sudan is the region called Darfur and according to the Web site Wikipedia.org, Darfur has an area of 493,180 square kilometers with a population of approximately 6 million people.

The tension started in Sudan in early 2003, when many tribes in Darfur decided to take action against the government they couldn't trust. The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) rebelled against the Sudanese government for not protecting the villagers from violence and economic oppression. The Sudanese government responded by financially supporting an Arab band of soldiers known as the Janjawid against the groups in Darfur.

The number of deaths in Sudan is still uncertain, but according to Amnesty International, an organization dedicated to promoting human rights, it is estimated that over 200,000 people are dead in Sudan. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan had twice asked the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization to help put an end to the disaster, but responses are coming along slowly. NATO needs to talk to the rest of its 16 members along with voting before acting upon a decision. After being under this disaster for over two years, NATO is now taking charge and forming with the African Union to keep peace within the continent.

The African Union, made up of peacekeepers, is working toward stability in Sudan, but the rebels are problematic. Both the Sudanese government and the ethnic rebels signed a peace truce; but unlike the Sudanese government, the rebels are not acting their part.

In the beginning of the civil war, the United States sent food to Sudan, but many other countries wonder what ulterior motives the United States may have.

“Because of Iraq, not many nations trust the United States anymore. America lost the trust of the world,” said Patel.

The genocide in Sudan strikes another blow to the African continent and peace movement. Nearly ten years ago over 800,000 Rwandans died.
Seeing the many deaths of their loved ones, thousands of Rwandans fled to neighboring countries.

According to the U.N. News Centre, Sudanese’s fleeing number has already raised past 1.45 million. Under genocide, people of Sudan migrate to surrounding countries for a better chance of life.

The recent gathering of the United Nations may have been momentous, but many wonder why they even have a celebration, while the Darfur situation continues.

According to Patel, the United Nation is trying hard, but they are not capable of doing anything without a unanimous vote of the group.