Secretary of State Colin Powell today described the humanitarian crisis in Sudan as genocide against the black African population in the Darfur region.

Humanitarian groups and the U.S. Congress have long called the violence in Sudan genocide. But the Bush administration had stopped short of declaring “genocide” in Darfur until now.

The designation is based on a U.S. State Department report of interviews with 1,136 Darfur refugees. And the genocide announcement today comes on the heels of a draft resolution that the U.S. circulated at the United Nations on Wednesday, calling for a stronger international force to monitor the situation in Darfur.

Tune in to hear more about Colin Powell’s announcement of genocide today in Sudan and what it means for the crisis in Darfur.

Guests:

Charles Snyder, senior representative on Sudan, US State Department

Jan Egeland, undersecretary general for Humanitarian Affairs and emergency relief coordinator, United Nations

Jerry Fowler, staff director, US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience

Eric Reeves, professor at Smith College who has written and testified extensively on the Sudan.