A/HRC/4/80 page 22 patrolling, escort/firewood patrols, deployments to prevent attacks, mediation and conflict resolution, deployment of CIVPOL and efforts to combat the recruitment of child soldiers. Since the recent spiralling of violence, many of these measures are no longer being carried out. 66. In its communiqué of 30 November 2006, the AU Peace and Security Council endorsed a three-phased United Nations support package for AMIS, and extended the mandate to 1 January 2007. Phase one would provide a light support package with a small number of UN advisors and some vital material assets. The second phase represents a heavy support package with a number of critical enabling capabilities, including 2,250 military personnel and a number of civilian personnel to undertake substantive tasks related to the implementation of the DPA. The third phase would bring a fully-hybrid AU-UN operation. At the time of the writing of this report, Phase One has been completed, and Phase Two is set to begin. C. The responsibility of the international community to protect the people of Darfur: current status 67. Important as these steps may be, they have not proven adequate in ensuring effective protection on the ground. The Government of the Sudan publicly opposed resolution 1706 and has actively resisted the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur. After intensive diplomatic effort, Khartoum accepted, in Addis Ababa in November 2006, to allow the three-phased hybrid approach. But in March 2007, almost five years into the conflict, and three years after the Security Council first expressed concern about the crisis in Darfur, the details of the arrangement are still being discussed with the Government of the Sudan. Gross violations of human rights and grave breaches of humanitarian law continue across the region. VI. NEEDS ASSESSMENT 68. Critical needs for improving the situation of human rights in Darfur are numerous and profound. The region has long suffered from neglect and marginalization vis-à-vis the country’s political, administrative and developmental centre in Khartoum. Underdevelopment is evident across all economic and social sectors. Democratic deficits are broad and longstanding. Those public institutions that have existed have been starved for resources, and short on credibility among the region’s inhabitants. The ongoing conflict has made a bad situation worse, further weakening public institutions, and distorting vital traditional mechanisms of governance, including, importantly, traditional mechanisms for the peaceful resolution of disputes between tribes. In Darfur today, claims are asserted and disputes settled not principally through courts, or ministries or councils, but through armed militias, banditry, and violence. The level of peace and stability necessary for development is absent. Human resource challenges are prohibitive. Millions have fled. Thousands have died. Many more are gravely wounded. In sum, war-torn Darfur, like most of the country lacks the most basic essentials for the rule of law, democratic governance, and the progressive realization of economic and social rights. 69. The long-term development challenges of the area, including those relating to addressing root causes, are daunting. A review of key documentation including the report of the Joint Assessment Mission, and that of the Commission of Inquiry, reveals low confidence in public authorities and services, significant regional disparities, much higher than average poverty rates,