More than 2,5 million people have been displaced from their homes and over 200.000 people have been killed since the conflict in Darfur, a western providence of Sudan, escalated in 2003. The international community has again failed to prevent a humanitarian crisis and protect the civilians even though strong evidence of ethnic cleansing and genocide performed by the government in Sudan and its Arabic para-milits ? The Janjaweeds ? against the African tribes in Darfur are enormous. Why is the world again experiencing a humanitarian crisis as the conflict in Darfur and what are the reasons for the international community for not preventing it? - the purpose of this paper is to answer this question by taking a case-study approach. The aim of this case-study is to analyze the power-networks within the Sudanese society and thereby explain the origin and escalation of the conflict to an ethnic cleansing and mass killing. Furthermore, the conflict is put into an international perspective by analyzing why the international community has not taken responsibility in preventing the conflict or protect the civilian victims. By looking at the international community?s very different responses to the civil war of Somalia in 1993 and the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 the reasons for their passive response to the conflict of Darfur is studied. Finally, a discussion of the possibility for having an international community that demonstrates the will and the responsibility to prevent genocide in the future is presented. The conclusion of this paper indicates a clear pattern of an international community with a lack of will to prevent humanitarian crisis unless they presents a danger to their national security and interests. The war against terror, oil- and military interest and risking the lives of their own forces are all essential elements of why the international community choose to be bystanders and not fulfil their responsibilities in the battle against genocidal governme...
