Targeted Divestment's Unique Power to Stop the Darfur Genocide

What is divestment?
Divestment is the exact opposite of investment. With a pension fund such as the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, better known as KPERS, it involves identifying companies whose revenues go to the Sudanese government (which funds the Darfur genocide), and then selling the pension fund's holdings in these companies.

How will this help stop the Darfur genocide?
By divesting from companies whose revenues fund the genocide, pension funds drive these companies' stock prices down, forcing them to reconsider their operations in Sudan. These companies then have two options to raise their stock price: (1) leave Sudan, which would allow pension funds to be reinvested in them, or (2) press their governments to increase political pressure on Sudan to end the genocide.

The first option, which a number of companies have already chosen, has a direct impact on the Sudanese government, as it limits their financial resources for the genocide. The latter, while not quite as effective, increases certain countries' willingness to take united international action to put an end to the Darfur genocide. Although the United States has already recognized the atrocities being committed in Darfur as genocide, two U.N. Security Council members (Russia and China) and two other U.N. member nations (Malaysia and India) are heavily invested in Sudan and are blocking international action out of their own self-interest. Once companies in these countries begin to pressure their governments to end the genocide, those countries will become increasingly reluctant to continue supporting Sudan.

Will targeted divestment alone end the genocide?
No. A successful targeted divestment movement must be combined with escalating international political pressure on the Sudanese government in order to end the genocide. Fortunately, this pressure is already being applied by a number of United Nations member nations (including the United States) and will be intensified by targeted divestment.

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Potential Criticisms
Couldn't divestment actually end up hurting the Sudanese people?
Blanket divestment, which involves divesting from any and all companies connected to Sudan, could end up hurting the same people we are trying to protect, but we are pushing for targeted divestment instead. Targeted divestment excludes all companies in the agriculture, health, education and religious sectors, targeting only those companies in the oil, power and construction sectors that are not aiding the people of Sudan in any way and have not pressured the government to end the genocide. This minimizes the impact of divestment on the Sudanese people while maximizing the effect on the government.

How do we know the Sudanese government will respond to economic pressure?
Sudan has been historically responsive to economic pressure. In the 1990s, Sudan was a safe haven for terrorists, and the Sudanese government ignored political pressure from America to cooperate and uncover terrorist cells in their country. This sparked President Clinton to impose harsh sanctions on Sudan in 1997, which do not allow any American companies to directly invest in Sudan.

Sudan's economy took a hit following these sanctions, and they now cooperate willingly with the United States on terrorism. Today, the Sudanese government helps detain Al Qaeda suspects, transfers evidence recovered in raids in suspected terrorists' homes, expels extremists, and interdicts foreign militants traveling through Sudan.

Also, in the late 1990s, a North American divestment campaign began in opposition to Sudan's 21-year civil war between the North and the South. Although the government (the North) originally had no intention of ending the civil war, the campaign caused oil giants Talisman Oil, Lundin Petroleum, and OMV to cease operations in Sudan. These withdrawals played a major role in the government's decision to reach a peace agreement with the South.

Lastly and most importantly, a successful divestment movement coupled with extreme international political pressure led to the end of apartheid in South Africa in the 1980s. The Columbia University Press Encyclopedia writes:

"Probably the most forceful pressures, both internal and external, eroding the barriers of apartheid were economic. International sanctions severely affected the South African economy, raising the cost of necessities, cutting investment, even forcing many American corporations to disinvest, for example, or, under the Sullivan Rules, to employ without discrimination."

Thus, there is ample evidence to show that economic pressure will have a significant impact on the Sudanese government's actions.

Will targeted divestment from Sudan hurt KPERS?
No. If targeted divestment legislation is passed in Kansas, KPERS will have to divest any holdings in companies currently operating in Sudan and then reinvest that money in other, more socially responsible companies. The targeted divestment bill has been crafted in a fashion that will be revenue-neutral for KPERS, which is why KPERS has expressed neutrality on this bill.

Won't targeted divestment from Sudan trigger an onslaught of divestment requests concerning a whole range of social concerns?
As the Sudan Divestment Task Force writes: Divestment is an option that should be considered only in the most extreme of circumstances. Heeding every call for divestment is impractical and imprudent. The Task Force argues that the overwhelmingly heinous nature of genocide, combined with validation of the genocide by official, non-biased, and highly trustworthy sources, makes the call for Sudan divestment truly singular among recent divestment campaigns.

It should also be noted that this is the first time in history that a genocide has been declared while atrocities are still ongoing. This clearly makes a Sudan divestment decision unique and allows fiduciaries to maintain an extraordinarily high benchmark for considering divestment in the future.

More in-depth information about targeted divestment is available at the Sudan Divestment Task Force's official website.