Sudan is a failing, thug state, which has systematically allowed the rape, murder and forced expulsion of millions of people.

On Thursday, the country gave the western world an up-close taste of its strong-arm tactics when aides and members of the press accompanying U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were physically accosted during her meeting with the country’s president.

Demanding an apology for the treatment – and receiving one – Rice is reported to have been irate at the treatment. Her anger is justified both for the lack of respect that she was shown and the corresponding indifference on Sudan’s part that the incident illustrates.

During her mostly private meeting with the country’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, we hope Rice took as strong a position on the mistreatment of black Africans in the country’s Darfur region, where government-sanctioned genocide is occurring.

Humanitarian groups estimate that as many as 400,000 people have died, while more than 2 million others have been driven from their homes by Arab “Janjaweed” militias with support from government soldiers and aircraft. Rape is used as a weapon against women. Thousands die every month from the violence and its aftereffects: starvation, dehydration, exposure and disease.

If the political leaders of Sudan do not respect the U.S. secretary of state, what chance to the countless refugees huddled in camps have for assistance?

The catastrophe continues, and the response from the United States, Europe and the African Union has been slow and ineffective. While there have been signs of progress – there are about 8,000 African Union troops now in the country – not enough is being done to ease suffering and protect civilian populations. And, according to the State Department, an apparent slowdown in violence can be attributed to the devastation that’s already occurred. So many villages have been razed and so many people pushed into exile, there are fewer places for the militia to attack.

The United Nations Security Council, with U.S. support, must do more to enforce its arms embargo against Sudan and keep the country’s military aircraft grounded. And it must hold accountable the persons responsible for atrocities.

After Rice’s visit, all this should be clear.