( CNN ) -- Ten years ago this week , then-Secretary of State Colin Powell declared that genocide had been committed in Darfur and that the government of Sudan and the janjaweed bore responsibility for those acts . Even though it did not actually trigger a legal obligation to act , many hoped that using the `` g word '' meant that the United States was crossing the Rubicon and committing itself to stopping the violence in Darfur , Sudan 's most troubled region . The janjaweed , however , are still at large in Darfur -- and with the Sudanese government 's help , they are now arguably more powerful than ever . It is this reality that makes it so disturbing that the United Nations recently declared that getting weapons out of this militant group 's hands is no longer `` relevant '' to their work . After all , janjaweed fighters formed the backbone of the genocidal attack forces that the Sudanese government unleashed on Darfur 11 years ago . When the spotlight finally fell on the ethnically motivated killing in the region , it was clear that these men committed some of the very worst crimes against humanity . The looming specter of their attacks kept displaced Darfuri refugees trapped in camps and , as long as the janjaweed were at large , their victims would not be able to go home . In recognition of this reality , the U.N. Security Council ordered the Sudanese government to take steps to disarm the janjaweed , but it did little toward this goal . Fast forward to last month , and the Security Council voted to keep peacekeepers in Darfur for another 10 months . At a time when budgets are already stretched , the vote was hailed as a final lease of life for the mission , which has been accused of covering up its failure to protect Darfuri civilians . But buried among small technical tweaks to the mandate 's language , the Security Council made a huge concession to the government of Sudan by deeming aspects of the peacekeepers ' work -- including monitoring , verifying , and promoting efforts to disarm the militias -- `` no longer relevant . '' Why has this happened ? Some have argued that any attempt to disarm the janjaweed was doomed to fail because , in practice , taking away their weapons would also mean taking weapons away from Darfur 's powerful Arab tribes . Others said that it was hard to know who exactly the `` janjaweed '' were . But with its latest resolution , the United Nations seems to be saying , in effect , the janjaweed are no longer of concern . The facts on the ground show just the opposite . Today , the same brutal forces that carried out those crimes remain the primary threat to civilian security in Darfur . Indeed , the janjaweed have been openly embraced by the government of Sudan . And despite for years denying it had any connection to the fighters marauding across Darfur , the government has , under the banner of the Rapid Support Forces , allegedly welcomed many of these brutal fighters back to the scene of their old crimes , in uniform and newly armed and equipped . Already this year , the Rapid Support Forces have reportedly been in Darfur , South Kordofan , and Blue Nile , where they have been accused of burning civilian areas to the ground , raping women , and displacing non-Arab civilians from their homes . In exchange , the Sudanese government has showered these janjaweed reincarnate with praise and rewards . By giving these forces a new name and official status , the Sudanese government seems to have convinced the Security Council that Darfuris are no longer living under the threat of janjaweed attacks . Just as bad , the United Nations seems reluctant to even use the word janjaweed , at least according to Aicha el Basri , a former spokeswoman for the operation , who wrote in Foreign Policy that `` since the deployment of UNAMID in 2008 , only one mention of the word janjaweed has appeared in the more than 30 reports that [ the UN ] has issued on Darfur . '' In declaring that efforts to disarm these fighters are no longer relevant , the United Nations effectively endorsed the Sudanese government 's flimsy claim that things in Darfur are getting better . Meanwhile , the killing continues .
Ten years ago this week , Colin Powell declared that genocide had been committed in Darfur . The UN has since said it will investigate the claims and report back to the Security Council within a year. Security Council has voted to keep peacekeepers in Darfur for another 10 months , Kumar says . But Kumar argues new guidelines overlook ongoing threat posed by fighters .