At a camp in Chad, refugees line up to give Kofi Annan a heroes welcome. Over 30,000 Sudanese have been murdered and a million more displaced by rebel forces aided by the government. Haunted by the genocide in Rwanda a decade ago, Annan has vowed to prevent another African state from sliding into anarchy. But, with no army of its own and members still deeply divided, what can the UN actually do? "The war in Iraq has really distorted this international agenda," Annan complains. "Resources have gone into Iraq and there's very little left for other issues." He has less than half the money he needs to keep these refugees alive and, without the support of member states, is powerless to act. But the UN's moral authority has been seriously damaged by the Oil for Food scandal in Iraq and America's threats to bypass the organisation altogether. "The UN has declining moral authority on the world stage," states Dr Nile Gardiner from the US Heritage foundation. While a storm rages about the UN's future, UN aid workers race against time to help the rufugees. It's here in Africa where Annan's moral authority counts the most. Yet it's this authority that is being increasingly undermined at a time when there is nothing else to take its place.