A meeting in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi has highlighted the importance of giving Sudanese women a greater voice in their country's political affairs, if Sudan is to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). While a peace agreement was signed in January bringing an end to more than two decades of civil war in southern Sudan, the western region of Darfur continues to be plagued by conflict between government and rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). African Union-sponsored peace talks for Darfur are scheduled to resume Sep. 15 in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.