"We have, after four years, no idea how many people have died in Darfur as the sands of the desert swallow up the evidence. ... The U.N. has estimated that several hundred, mostly women and children, are being killed every day, and the numbers are expected to rise," said John Prendergast, former adviser to President Bill Clinton and now senior adviser to the International Crisis Group, in a public talk at Cornell, March 28 in Uris Auditorium.

However, he said, we can count the survivors in Darfur, who include some 2.5 million to 3 million refugees. And he called for taking a "three 'P'" approach to the crisis: peacemaking, protection and punishment.

His talk on policy initiatives was part of Cornell's Darfur Awareness Week, March 26-30, co-sponsored by 14 campus groups.

Prendergast said a peace treaty was needed that would identify who is responsible for the genocides in Darfur, compensate affected individuals and families and spell out how power and wealth should be shared between the central and regional government in Sudan. It is the White House's duty, he said, to invest in peacemaking at the highest levels of the government, which could involve sending a few diplomats to Sudan to make it clear that America cares what is happening in Darfur and will not tolerate genocide.

Prendergast also called for beefing up protection for aid workers and the citizens of Darfur. The 6,000 troops from the African Union currently in the area are not enough because they are confined to barracks protecting themselves, he said.

Prendergast also stressed harsher punishment to deter the government of Sudan. In his opinion, the United States is mistakenly trying to provide incentives to the regime in Khartoum through a "constructive engagement policy." Rather than pressures, the U.S. government is "offering carrots instead of sticks."

After 20 years of working in Darfur, Prendergast, who now is banned by Khartoum from entering Sudan, feels that no incentive will be strong enough to move people willing to commit genocide. "They will eat the carrots and move on," he said. Instead, he suggested targeted sanctions that include freezing the assets of companies that provide funding.

Prendergast said that individuals who want to get involved in the peace process should join such organizations as Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND) or Amnesty International, and, he added, to not underestimate the power of writing letters. He commended Cornell for barring investments of its endowment assets in oil companies currently operating in Sudan and urged students to push for a similar divestment by New York state.

Masiray Koroma '07 is a writer intern at the Cornell Chronicle.