Shareholder must apply more pressure to bring peace to Darfur

I am writing today to ask you to recognize the considerable influence your firm has as a result of financial investments connected to Sudan. Much of the revenue fueling the devastating conflict in Darfur, western Sudan, is generated by the oil industry. Through your substantial investments in these oil companies and/or their various listed arms and majority-owned subsidiaries, you are in a unique and powerful position to actively contribute to bringing security to the people of Darfur. I am writing today to urge you to join other economic and political actors in putting pressure on the Government of Sudan to allow United Nations peacekeepers on the ground in Darfur without delaying or otherwise obstructing their deployment. This is a step you can take without selling your shares.

The United Nations has called the situation in Darfur one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world today. Hundreds of thousands of Darfuri civilians have died, two-thirds of the population relies on some form of humanitarian aid, and over 2.5 million people in Darfur, eastern Chad, and northeastern Central African Republic are now displaced. Multiple parties to the conflict have committed grave human rights abuses, but the Sudanese armed forces and the government-backed Janjawid militia bear primary responsibility for the systematic and widespread murder, rape, torture, abduction, looting, and forced displacement that have characterized the Darfur conflict over the past four years.

On July 31 of this year, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1769 authorizing a hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping force (UNAMID) for Darfur. While passage of the resolution gives some long-awaited hope to millions of Darfuris, implementation is by no means guaranteed. The Government of Sudan has a longstanding, consistent record of signing international agreements and then obstructing their implementation. Urgent pressure from key players both economic and political is needed to ensure that Khartoum moves forward on Resolution 1769 and UNAMID is on the ground quickly.

Those players include the four oil companies that have come to dominate Sudans oil industry: China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Chemical and Petroleum Corporation (Sinopec Corp.), Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India-Videsh (OVL). Revenues fueling the Darfur conflict are largely generated from oil. Ninety percent of Sudan's export income is derived from oil, and a majority of this revenue goes towards military expenditures, while virtually none supports social development.

Ultimately, the Government of Sudan is responsible for ensuring that human rights abuses end in Darfur. But companies operating in Sudan cannot ignore the Darfur crisis or pretend they have no influence with the government. As one of the largest investors in these companies, neither can you. Your firm owns holdings in one or more of these four companies and/or their various listed arms and majority-owned subsidiaries. I urge your firm to leverage its substantial investor power, and ask oil companies in Sudan to put pressure on the Government of Sudan to admit UNAMID without impediment.

Over 20 US states, nine cities, 50 colleges and universities, numerous private institutional investors, and countless individuals have adopted Sudan investment policies regarding these companies. These investors, with hundreds of billions of assets under management, have recognized the unique shareholder responsibility and risk associated with the Darfur crisis. I sincerely hope that you will do the same.