I fought as a child soldier in Sudan. And I say act now on Darfur

When most kids where playing soccer, watching cartoons and learning how to read and write, I was learning how to fight. I left my home when I was seven after I saw a close relative raped and people's heads cut off by the government bombers. Death was in my face every day and I cried every day until I could not cry any more. The situation was so bad that I was forced to fight for our freedom. At the age of seven I was enlisted as a child soldier to fight in southern Sudan's bloody war. For years I was wielding an AK47, taller than myself.

Although I was glad when the decades of fighting ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, my joy was tinged with unease. Though it is better than nothing, I do not trust the peace deal. While the world's attention has been diverted by it, the government of Sudan's campaign to ethnically cleanse has begun in earnest.

Today marks the fourth anniversary of the start of the genocide in Darfur, the perpetrators of which are members of the Janjaweed militia, known to be armed and funded by the Sudanese government. In four years as many as 400,000 civilians have been brutally killed, approximately three million forced to live in camps bereft of supplies or sanitation, and women and children raped on a daily basis.

After Rwanda, the world leaders made a promise that nothing like this would happen again. Yet they have persistently ignored warnings that Darfur would become the greatest humanitarian disaster this century, allowing the violence to spread to neighbouring Chad and the Central African Republic.

As an African, I feel the international community has much to do to prove that black African lives are worth more than profitable oil and arms deals. It must do better than what it has achieved so far in Darfur. Sixteen resolutions, including the imposition of sanctions against the Sudanese government, have been passed, yet not one has been imposed.

On Friday the UN Secretary-General gave an interview in which he said that he and President Bashir of Sudan had "decided to first of all have technical consultation as soon as possible" and asked people to be patient. I don't know if Mr Ban has been to a war zone, but if he were to go, I think he might inject some urgency into his work.

Eighteen months ago UN member states agreed that they had a "responsibility to protect" victims of genocide, ethnic cleansing or war crimes. Yet the UN's excuse for not dispatching a hybrid force to protect the civilians of Darfur is that it awaits a written invitation from the very perpetrators of the crimes, i.e. the Sudanese government. This isn't good enough.

In the heart of a bloody struggle like Darfur, hunger, drought and disease will kill you if the bullet doesn't get there first. The Sudanese government is well aware of this, which is why it has done everything possible to obstruct humanitarian access to those who need it most.

The time for excuses and platitudes has passed. Today, those of us campaigning on behalf of Darfur are calling time on our politicians worldwide. With demonstrations from London to Bahrain, we will insist that our political leaders exert whatever pressure is necessary to secure the admission of an effective peacekeeping force. Failure again is not an option.

Emmanuel Jal is a hip-hop artist. A demonstration for Darfur takes place at Downing Street at noon today

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