Unfortunately, over the past five years, the peace in Sudan has been anything but comprehensive. War has raged in Sudan's western Darfur region, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and displacing another 2.5 million people. Although the scale of violence has declined in recent months, there is no comprehensive political solution and violence could reignite at any time. At the same time, critical elements of the CPA were stalled or frustrated, and the promise of democratic transformation has all but evaporated.

Too often, the international community has tended to seek solutions to one conflict at the exclusion of addressing the other. This tendency is understandable, but it ignores fundamental interconnections. The African Union's own High Level Panel on Darfur, headed by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, described the conflict in Darfur not as the Darfur crisis, but as the "Sudanese crisis in Darfur." Both conflicts are rooted in the lack of accountability and transparency of the current regime and in the systematic marginalisation of the country's peripheries.

The African Union has declared 2010 the year of peace and security in Africa. Although there are many conflicts in Africa in need of attention, it is difficult to point to another for which 2010 will be of such critical importance. January 9 had marked the beginning of the final year of the interim period envisaged by the CPA as an opportunity to make unity attractive and build a new Sudan. It will end with a referendum in which Southerners will vote on secession - and it is widely predicted that the South will, in fact, secede. If critical issues with regard to border demarcation, wealth sharing and the transitional areas are not addressed the potential for violence around the referendum will rise.

Election may also serve as a flashpoint for violence. With just three months to go in the run-up to the elections there is little indication that they will be free and fair. Indeed, there have been significant reports of serious violations of freedom of speech and freedom of association rights desperately needed for a fair contest. There have also been reports of violations of the electoral process itself.

If the African Union is going to make good on its promises of peace and stability in Africa, it must play a leading role in addressing the ongoing crisis, including by:

•  Increasing technical support for the implementation of the CPA, including the popular consultations in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile as well as the Abyei and Southern referendums;
• Pushing for free and fair elections; and
 • Supporting civilian protection including by reinforcing and ensuring adequate contingency planning for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMIS) and the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur (UNAMID).

The people of Sudan have been waiting too long for peace and the international community has wasted too much time to see the peace get to those who badly need it. Let 2010 become a year for peace in all Sudan.

The author is the Co-Chair of the Darfur Consortium (www.darfurconsortium.com)