Whether a situation is labeled as a "genocide" is absolutely critical to the response of the international community. The situation in Darfur, Sudan, as of July, 2004, is a prime example. The following excerpt from an article appeared in the New York Times on July 23, 2004:

SUDAN MEMO
In Darfur, Appalling Atrocity, but Is That Genocide?
By MARC LACEY

HARTOUM, Sudan - Appalling, gut-wrenching and vicious are just some of the terms that can reasonably be used to describe the mass killing and displacement of villagers in the Darfur region of Sudan. But does what has occurred there - and continues to unfold - amount to genocide?

The question is more than academic. The Genocide Convention, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, calls on signers to "prevent" and "punish" genocide. If what is happening in Darfur is genocide, as many contend, the United States and other governments would be compelled to step in and put a stop to it.