Paper short abstract:

Violent conflicts have become synonymous with the Africa. The Darfur conflict took a genocidal dimension prompting the intervention of African Union. Denial of economic and political rights to the people of Darfur by the Sudanese government prompted the violence.

Paper long abstract:

The African continent has become a continent in dire straits and encumbered by violent conflicts. The conflict in Darfur region of Western Sudan can be termed the worst humanitarian disaster ever witnessed in the continent having claimed over 200,000 lives with 2.5 million people rendered homeless. This study looked at the role of the African Union (AU) in resolving the Darfur conflict. The study is designed to explain the causes of the conflict in Darfur, study the framework for African Union conflict resolution in the continent and also examine the various mechanisms adopted by the Union towards the resolution of the conflict in Darfur. The study assumed that the conflict resulted from political and economic deprivation of the people of Darfur and that there is a co-relation between the African Union conflict resolution mechanisms and the current low level of violent conflict in Darfur. Methodologically, the study adopted qualitative design which invariably led to the sourcing of data through secondary sources. The theory of Relative Deprivation was adopted as a theoretical device for the work. Findings among others reveal that there is obvious denial of political and economic privileges to the people of Darfur by the Sudanese government which precipitated the violent conflict. The study recommended that there should be cohesion among the rebel groups, the deployment of robust peacekeeping troops with full mandate to protect civilian population.