Mission impossible: UNAMID and the chances of it making a successful contribution to durable peace

Since January 1, 2008 the African Union/United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) has replaced the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). It is hoped that UNAMID will be better able to manage the conflict and as such to start reconstruction and development in Darfur. This article aims to provide an assessment of the chances for success and failure of the new operation to contribute to durable peace. In order to do so, it first reviews the most important developments up to this moment in the Darfur conflict, followed by an overview of the extent to which UNAMID fulfils the most important factors that determine success and failure of peacekeeping operations in contributing to durable peace.