On July 30, the UN Security Council, with the backing of Secretary General Kofi Annan, adopted a resolution that gives Sudan until the end of this month "to disarm the Janjaweed militias and apprehend and bring to justice Janjaweed leaders and their associates who have incited and carried out human rights and international humanitarian law violations and other atrocities," otherwise it might take measures. According to the UN, those measures could include issuing economic penalties, restricting transport and communications, and severing diplomatic relations.

The resolution also called for the resumption of political dialogue between the government and Darfur's two rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

United States Ambassador to the UN, John Danforth -- an Episcopal priest and one of the sponsors of the resolution -- said the Council had been forced to act because Sudanese Government forces and the Janjaweed had killed 30,000 people since February last year.

Danforth called the resolution "essential to global efforts to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians," adding that "the last thing we wanted to do was lay the groundwork for sanctions, but the Government of Sudan has left us no choice."

While visiting the United States this month, the Rev. John Chol Daau, a 29-year-old Episcopal priest at one of the Church of Sudan congregations at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya, told ENS August 3 that he was encouraged by the recent UN resolution and offered an update on the current situation in Sudan. "We don't need to give the Government of Sudan any more time," he said. "If they were willing to stop the fighting they could have done so by now, so we appreciate the 30 days that have been given by the UN."

During a recent trauma and recovery training course at the Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Daau was encouraged by the collaboration of different faith groups in the US. "It was a great time and quite an experience because the participants were from different backgrounds and different religions, and that was impressive for me because I live in a situation where we really don't discuss things together with Muslims and people of different faiths," he said. "[This collaboration] encourages me that people can come together and stay together and discuss things together."

Daau also emphasized the important role that faith plays in the Sudanese people's survival and hopes for the future. "If you survive that kind of situation it keeps up the hope that God is preserving your life in such difficulties," he said. "So the faith is very strong and we say: let's worship that God and see what will happen."

The full text of the interview follows:

ENS: How many years have you been a priest at Kakuma?

DAAU: Two years now, but I have been working since 1993 as an evangelist in the Church doing mostly pastoral work.

ENS: Where exactly is Kakuma?

DAAU: Kakuma is in the northern part of Kenya. It is 195 miles from Juba in Sudan.

ENS: What are your plans while visiting the United States?

DAAU: I want to visit different people and different Episcopal churches. I have received an invitation from the Diocese of Florida. They want me to speak to them and update them on the situation in Sudan. Also, I will go to Michigan. There is a Sudanese congregation there. Then at the end of August there is the Sudanese Lost Boys conference in Phoenix, Arizona. They have requested that I attend that conference.

ENS: During your time in the United States what is the central message that you want to convey?

DAAU: People have been hearing that the Sudanese peace talks are going on in Nairobi, but most of the time as we talk with the Government of Sudan they don't do what has been agreed. They do the opposite. At this time we have hope that things will work well because many protocols have been signed. Certain things have been agreed upon: things such as power sharing, wealth sharing, the issue of religion. So there is high hope that people will be able to return to Sudan, especially those who have been in refuge for a number of years and those who have been displaced. So it is good for the international community to keep on pressurizing the two parties to come together and implement what has been agreed. It is the same government, however, that is negotiating peace with the south and also causing the atrocities in Darfur. Maybe they are buying time and preparing for something else.

I also wanted to let people know that the Government of Sudan doesn't want an international peacekeeping force to come to Sudan so that implementation of the peace agreement can be met. Most of the time they are not being pressurized so it is easy for them to dishonor the agreement.

ENS: Are you satisfied with the recent resolution of the United Nations?

DAAU: Yes. We don't need to give the Government of Sudan any more time. If they were willing to stop the fighting they could have done so by now. They have been fighting the south for more than 20 years. So we appreciate the 30 days that has been given by the UN.

ENS: You must have heard some horrific stories from the people at Kakuma. What are the challenges that you have experienced during your time there?

DAAU: At Kakuma, the people -- including myself -- have experienced so many things. We have lost or been separated from our parents, we have lost property, we've lost our friends. Many people have lost their hope too. You can see things happening at Kakuma like people being traumatized ... they don't know what to do. Some people commit suicide because of the hopelessness they have.

There is no adequate food at Kakuma either. The UN is only able to provide six kilograms of food per person for 15 days. Some people have been there for 10 years without the hope of returning to Sudan. It is very hard as a priest to minister to such people ... very hard.

ENS: How do you approach this then? How do you instill confidence in people?

DAAU: Well the thing that keeps us going as Christians is the Gospel that we hear and read. This is one of the motivating factors that enables most of the people at Kakuma to survive. We are victims of so many things that have happened. Even when we were running away from the country, some of us died of starvation because we would go a number of days without food. At some points we had to cross rivers and some of us would drown. We could be attacked by militia groups and other things. But if you survive that kind of situation it keeps up the hope that God is preserving your life in such difficulties. Most of us keep encouraging one another and saying, "Who am I that God preserved me among millions of people who have died." So the faith is very strong and we say: let's worship that God and see what will happen.

I keep telling people: you still have a bright future and we see the longer time ahead of us and we hope that one day peace will come back to Sudan. So why give up? Let's push on, as when God is in our lives he can protect us the way he protected us before. So faith is very strong in Sudan.

ENS: Are people optimistic that there will be peace soon?

DAAU: What has happened is history and we want to see what comes next. If you dwell on the past you cannot move forward. It's the faith we have in Christ that helps us to see a bright future.

People really do think there will be peace soon. People are tired of fighting and being refugees all over the country. And it has cost many lives. It is the will of all that we should negotiate strongly. With the help of the international community there should be peace soon. Previously, we have not been heard and people in the international community have not been aware of what is happening in Sudan until this year.

We have lost two million people and recently we have lost over 50,000 and people are dying every day. That situation needs to stop.

ENS: Tell me about your time at the Eastern Mennonite University.

DAAU: It was a great time and quite an experience because the participants were from different backgrounds and different religions, and that was impressive for me because I live in a situation where we really don't discuss things together with the Muslims and people of different faiths. So, that encourages me that people can come together and stay together and discuss things together. So it was really quite an experience to discuss the same issues and agree on certain points.

ENS: How many people attended the course?

DAAU: Over 30 people. Some people came from Cambodia, some people came from Liberia, Rwanda. I came from Sudan. Some people from Latin America.

ENS: Was it a good opportunity for fellowship; for you to share your experiences and to hear those of others?

DAAU: Yes. When I was presenting the situation of the Sudanese people, and the Liberians and Rwandese were also presenting their situation, we were of one mind: why do we as human beings conduct such things. It made me ask the question: why does the Government of Sudan not value the lives of people in southern Sudan and especially in Darfur? Why don't we all have a perspective where we value one another? We should give one another a peaceful life.

ENS: How do you feel that you, as an Anglican, can influence change?

DAAU: I would like to extend the influences that we are only human beings and we are created by one God. We should love one another and there is no religion that could refuse for us to love one another. So I want to encourage my colleagues to minister together and not to dwell on the perspective that this person is coming from a different religious background. We should keep loving one another, because it is through love that people realize they can change.

So when I go back to Kakuma I will be delivering the message that we all are one and we should not see one another differently.

All this takes time and as Christians we don't want to force people to come and believe. It should be a personal conviction. We should inform people about our religion, telling them what we believe and what we celebrate. This is a message that the Muslims in Sudan should understand too.

ENS: Is there any kind of Muslim/Christian dialogue currently taking place in Sudan?

DAAU: No, not at all. It's impossible because of the political situation. In Nairobi, when people were coming to sign the peace protocols, Sudanese people from the south and the north were coming together. The first time people were meeting they could not bring themselves to shake hands. It took days for them to sit together and discuss. I believe that was the thing that made it so difficult previously when people came to talk.

What we believe in is the divine intervention. You see people getting on in difficult situations, but they keep on saying: we have hope that God will bring peace.