Genocide evidence must not be lost in Darfur

So when the word genocide gets raised and debated, we would make a plea to spotlight what is happening now to cover up the human rights crimes that have been and are being committed, losing the evidence to the vast sands of the Sahara Desert.

We also hope that debate can eventually fixate on how to integrate the need for justice into more intensive peace-making efforts in both Darfur and Southern Sudan.

For peace to have a chance, peace efforts must be leveraged with real consequences for crimes against humanity, whether they are called genocide or not.

John Prendergast is co-founder of Enough, the project to end genocide and crimes against humanity at the Centre for American Progress. Omer Ismail is senior adviser to Enough and also serves as vice president for advocacy at Darfur Peace and Development.