Resolution for Targeted Divestment of PERSI Investments in Sudan

PETITION TO THE RETIREMENT BOARD
OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF IDAHO
FOR A BOARD RESOLUTION TO DIVEST FROM TARGETED COMPANIES IN SUDAN

BACKGROUND: For over three years the Government of Sudan has undertaken an ethnic cleansing to exterminate the people in Darfur region of Sudan. 400,000 defenseless civilians have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes, totally dependent on humanitarian aid. The United Nations calls the situation the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. The US Congress in July 2004 declared the atrocities genocide. US companies are prohibited from doing business in Sudan. The Sudanese government is completely dependent on foreign investments to support its government and the military operations perpetrating the genocide. Most foreign investments in Sudan are in the oil and gas industry, providing little benefit to the civilian population, with over 70\% of the oil royalties received by the Government of Sudan used to support the military.

NATIONAL DIVESTMENT CAMPAIGN: Because of the prolonged failure of international diplomatic efforts to halt the genocide, and realizing that continued investment (and profiting) from foreign companies financially enabling genocide is morally reprehensible, states, cities, and universities are divesting those holdings. Divestment is aimed at applying maximum economic pressure on the Sudanese government to permit UN peacekeepers into the country. A bipartisan US Congressional coalition has endorsed the national divestment advocacy and research group, Sudan Divestment (sudandivestment.org) urging all states, governors, and retirement boards to divest. Oregon, Illinois, Maine, California, New Jersey, and Connecticut have passed divestment legislation. In Colorado, the retirement board has endorsed the bill. Texas Governor Rick Perry has endorsed its bill. Twenty more states are slated to take up legislation.
Three state retirement boards have passed divestment resolutions.

IDAHO DIVESTMENT CAMPAIGN: Idahos divestment campaign began in January when the Idaho Task Force for Divestment in Sudan presented the Board of the Public Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI) with findings that 9 companies in its portfolio were financially (and in some cases militarily) enabling the genocide. The Board, however, refused divestment relying on the profitable returns cited by its Executive Director, Alan Winkle: There is no investment rationale for the divestmentthose companies have provided a profit just in our portfolio of $ 81 million on a $ 65 million investment (as of 12/31/2006). Most of our holdings are due to active manager decisions and our investment managers continue to believe they are very good investments. (PERSI Staff Report of January 16, 2007.) Afterwards the Board vigorously opposed the efforts of the Idaho Task Force to introduce legislation developed by the national organization, Sudan Divestment and modeled after the California, Colorado and Texas legislation. The legislation would have required divestment over 15 months without loss to PERSI members or retirees. The Retirment Board is out of touch with its rank and file who have entrusted the Board with their retirement funds. PERSI members and retirees are raising their voices of consciousness to their Board, their legislators, and to Idaho Governor Butch Otter.

PETITION
We the undersigned hereby demand that the Retirement Board of Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI) immediately pass a binding resolution requiring PERSI to divest within 15 months from any foreign company doing business in Sudan, which is documented to be either: (1) financially enabling the genocide in Sudan and refuses to adopt corporate governance policies to halt the genocide; (2) is complicit in the Darfur genocide; or (3) supplies military equipment within Sudan documented to be used in the Darfur conflict.