Barbara Lee Urges CalPERS Board to Act to Stop Darfur Genocide
(Washington, DC) – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), California State Treasurer Phil Angelides and human rights advocates on Monday called on the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) to use the power of its $180 billion investment portfolio lead a national effort to push corporations to stop doing business in Sudan in order to increase pressure to end the genocide in Darfur, where government troops and janjaweed Arab militias have murdered, raped, and terrorized millions of black Sudanese.
Lee, who is the most senior Democratic woman on the House International Relations Committee, is a leader in the growing national movement to divest public pension funds and university endowments from companies doing business in Sudan. The following are excerpts from her testimony before the CalPERS Investment Committee:
“In January, I traveled to the region with a Congressional delegation and we were joined by Academy Award nominee, Don Cheadle, from Hotel Rwanda and his real life counterpart, Paul Rusesabegina. The horror of what we witnessed was something I will never forget, and it only strengthened my conviction that we have a moral obligation to do everything within our power to bring this murder, rape, and carnage to an end. We cannot let another Rwanda happen on our watch. One critical component to ending this genocide is stripping away the impunity the Khartoum regime derives from the business of companies operating in Sudan. No one should have to worry that their pension fund is supporting genocide.
“As the Senior Democratic woman on the House International Relations Committee and a member of the Subcommittee on Africa Global Human Rights and International Operations, I have been deeply involved in developing our nation's response to the ongoing genocide in Darfur.
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“I have also been active in Congress in support of the growing national movement to divest public pension funds and university endowments from companies doing business in Sudan. On July 21, 2005, the House International Relation's Subcommittee on Africa met to consider HR 3127, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act. The legislation that passed out of committee included three amendments that I authored. The first two amendments praised the state of Illinois for its recent divestment legislation and encouraged other states to follow its example, and commended Illinois, New Jersey and other states for their efforts to curb investments in Sudan. The final amendment would prohibit companies doing business in Sudan from trading in U.S. capital markets.
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“It has been almost a year since I first contacted CalPERS, requesting the identification of companies doing business with the Khartoum government. In that time some 100,000 people died of disease and famine alone.
“While some have been shamefully slow in taking any real decisive action to divest, Universities like Stanford and Harvard have exercised moral leadership by taking action. As we will here from Ms. Test today, Stanford responded to its students’ demands by divesting in companies doing business in Sudan and Harvard responded to a similar student-lead campaign by divesting in PetroChina, whose parent company is closely tied to the Khartoum government.
“State legislatures have taken action, too. To date, two states, Illinois and New Jersey, have passed legislation divesting their state pension funds from companies doing business in Sudan.
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“It is far past time to bring a serious financial component to our efforts to end this tragedy, both to cut off the impunity that allows the Khartoum regime to thumb its nose at the world, and to remove the complicity of innocent pensioners in its doing so.
“CalPERS has an admirable record as a voice of social conscience, and it is my hope that CalPERS will lead the way in these efforts. Because we must be clear: it is morally incumbent upon each of us to do everything within our power – whatever it takes – to end the rape, murder and suffering in Darfur.
“Let me highlight two important points:
“First, CalPERS must acquire a comprehensive list of the companies doing business in Sudan. Such lists are available for a minimal fee, and should provide a solid point of departure in what I hope will be a comprehensive, ongoing effort.
“Furthermore, it should be noted that it is neither the responsibility, nor would it be appropriate for the federal government to produce such a list. The Security and Exchange Commission was very clear on this point in responding to a similar request for companies doing business in countries that are state sponsors of terror. They said:
"It would be inappropriate for us to publish a list of companies who securities might be deemed to involve terrorism-related investment risk without publishing corresponding lists for every other possible type of investment risk. It also would be inappropriate for us to engage in any activity that might be construed as providing investment advice."
“In light of the existing availability of such information, efforts to require the federal government to reproduce it in an "official" form can only be viewed as an attempt to delay or defer substantive action.
“Secondly, divestment must be an option. CalPERS enjoys significant sway in the financial community, and we all hope that companies doing business in Sudan will remove such business at CalPERS urging. However, the degree of CalPERS commitment to ending this genocide and its credibility on this issue will be measured, in the final analysis, by its willingness to sell the shares of companies that do not respond to CalPERS requests in this regard.
“Finally, I recognize that the day to day operations of financial institutions are far removed from the immediacy of the violence on the ground in Darfur. Nonetheless, I encourage you not to lose sight of the human face of this tragedy, particularly when CalPERS can do so much to bring about its end. Now is the time for CalPERS to put our money where our values are. We cannot wait another year, we must act boldly and with the sense of urgency that genocide requires. We must act now.”
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