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Thompson on Darfur
April 4th, 2007

Photo by Michael Kamber for Vanity Fair

There has been a lot of discussion lately about what New Yorkers can do to stop the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, where hundreds of thousands have been killed and around 2 million displaced by fighting between rebel forces and the government. And much of this discussion has focused having New York’s public pensions sever their investments in businesses in Sudan.

But City Comptroller William Thompson doesn’t think that’s a good idea. Writing in the Compact Quarterly, the publication of the United Nation’s Global Compact, which seeks to promote responsible corporate citizenship, Thompson argued that rather than divest, the city pension funds should approach the foreign companies it invests in that do business in Sudan (due to U.S. sanctions, there are no U.S. companies) and ask them to help deliver much needed services.

Thompson held an event at the Global Compact to, in his words, “discuss the development of a framework for institutional investors and businesses to collaborate in protecting human rights in conflict zones, such as Sudan.” And he wrote to 14 companies the fund invests in that have investments in Sudan.

But Councilmember Eric Gioia doesn’t think New York should rule out divestment. He points to California, which plans to strategically divest from businesses that are “financing these atrocities,” rather than from all companies operating in the country, reports Metro New York. Gioia is pushing a resolution in the City Council that would call on the city and state to divest in companies doing business with Sudan.

And Anne Stausboll, of the California Public Employees Retirement System, writing in the same publication as Thompson, points out that California seeks to negotiate with businesses, but will use divestment as a last resort.

There are currently three bills in the state legislature that would divest from any companies doing business in Sudan, and one that would divest from companies doing business with the government of Sudan.

In the meantime, you can look and see the record your mutual fund has in Sudan and make your own decision.

By Mike Muller on April 4, 2007, 3:50 pm
In category: Civil Rights, Finance
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