France, the United States, China and some 15 other nations open a conference in Paris on Monday to shore up international efforts to end the bloodshed in Sudan's Darfur region.
But Sudan will not be attending the one-day meeting held after President Omar al-Beshir bowed to months of pressure and agreed to a new peace force for Darfur under both the United Nations and the African Union.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy ahead of the conference, said it was important for Khartoum to deliver on its promise to allow the 20,000-strong AU-UN force into Darfur.
The "hybrid force" would significantly bolster the current 7000 ill-equipped AU soldiers who have failed to stop the violence in Darfur since their deployment in 2004.
"I do not think that the international community has really lived up to its responsibilities here," said Rice, who arrived in Paris on Sunday.
The success of the Paris conference will ultimately "come down to the will to insist that the government in Khartoum permit the UN hybrid force with the AU to ... intervene," she said.
The war in Darfur is pitting a rebel insurgency against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum and its proxy militia known as the Janjaweed, whose leader stands accused of war crimes.
At least 200,000 people have been killed and two million driven from their homes since February 2003, according to the United Nations. Khartoum says the figures are exaggerated.
The United States has described the violence in Darfur as a genocide and moved to tighten sanctions on Sudan despite opposition from China, Khartoum's leading oil customer and a top arms supplier.
Prospects for advancing the peace process in Darfur were significantly raised when China agreed to take part in the conference, signalling a new willingness on the part of Beijing to try to use its leverage with Sudan.
China has been facing calls from activists to improve its human rights record ahead of the 2008 Olympics and promoting peace in Darfur could be key in that effort.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and representatives of Britain, Egypt, Japan and Russia along with officials from the Arab League and the European Union are taking part in the conference.
But the African Union, which has brokered peace talks between Khartoum and Darfur rebels, is staying away from a meeting that it sees as duplicating its own efforts.
Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner have made Darfur a high priority amid concern for the instability spreading to neighbouring Chad and the Central African Republic, two French allies in the region.
France earlier this month launched an air bridge to ferry aid to Darfur victims in eastern Chad and is considering a humanitarian force to help some 500,000 internally displaced Chadians and refugees from Darfur in camps in eastern Chad.
The initiative followed a visit by Kouchner to refugee camps in eastern Chad and talks with Beshir in Khartoum.
On Sunday the French foreign minister laid out three goals for the conference: supporting the new Darfur peace force which he said will "perhaps have an important effect on stopping the massacres."
He also said the big powers would step up pressure to re-launch peace talks under the auspices of the African Union and offer financial support for the AU-UN force.
Rice has praised the new French leadership for taking an "energizing role" in the effort to end the Darfur conflict.
The conference formally opens at 1000 GMT.
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