Welcome to the Sudan Divestment Task Force

As the coordinating entity for the targeted Sudan divestment movement, the Sudan Divestment Task Force (SDTF), a project of the Genocide Intervention Network, provides support for individuals, public fiduciaries, asset managers and government officials who are participating in targeted Sudan divestment campaigns around the world. With pro bono legal support from Cooley Godward Kronish LLP and analytical support from the Calvert Group, SDTF has developed a unique and financially sound approach to shareholder engagement and divestment, focusing efforts on the most problematic and risk prone companies in Sudan. This approach, termed targeted Sudan divestment, recently was authorized by the United States government. It helps to maximize impact on the Sudanese government while minimizing potential harm to both innocent Sudanese civilians and investment returns. SDTF also provides company research and corporate engagement assistance to thousands of fiduciaries worldwide, representing more than US $3 trillion in total assets.

Interactive State of Divestment Map

Instructions: Click on a state or campaign to find more information, take action immediately, and sign up for future action alerts! To zoom in, click and drag your cursor to create a box around the region

Latest Announcements

Seattle, Washington divests from Sudan – 12/10/08
The Board of Directors of the Seattle City Employees Retirement System (SCERS) has voted to adopt a targeted Sudan divestment policy. Seattle is the twenty-first city to adopt a divestment policy from Sudan.

Updated Sudan Company Report released – 11/30/08
The Sudan Divestment Task Force has released its quarterly update of the Sudan Company Report, which tracks the operations of over 50 multinational companies whose business operations in Sudan warrant scrutiny by investors.

Governor Sarah Palin divests from Sudan, joins Senators Obama and McCain – 10/10/08
ABC News has reported that vice-presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin has personally divested from Sudan. Governor Palin joins Senators McCain and Obama who have already implemented personal Sudan divestment policies. According to a Genocide Intervention Network review of his financial disclosure form, Senator Biden does not have investments in “highest offender” companies in Sudan.

California prohibits contracts with problematic companies in Sudan – 9/25/08
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed Assembly Bill 498, prohibiting problematic companies operating in Sudan from receiving state contracts, unless they commit to taking Substantial Action. California follows the actions of the U.S. federal government which adopted the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act of 2007, prohibiting problematic companies operating in Sudan from receiving federal contracts, and the state of Arizona which passed similar legislation earlier this year. There is also a contract prohibition campaign underway in Canada.
In a written statement, Governor Schwarzenegger stated, “California will not underwrite the horrors of murder and genocide in Sudan. With this legislation, we are continuing to send a message that California will not condone nor enable economic gain at the expense of innocent people in Sudan.”

Wall Street Journal: Companies hesitant to drill in Darfur due to public pressure – 7/8/08
The Wall Street Journal has reported that a consortium of companies, including Ansan Wikfs Investments Ltd. of Yemen and Sudan’s state-owned Sudapet, is preparing to begin seismic exploration in Sudan’s 12A oil block, which covers much of North Darfur. However, the article reports that public pressure over the situation Darfur has made companies hesitant to begin working the region, and includes a quote from Sudanese Oil Minister Zubair Ahmed al-Hassan: “[Companies] are not operating up until now because [they] are afraid… of the image in the media saying things are terrible in Darfur.”
New analysis shows “Highest Offenders” in Sudan underperform competitors – 5/27/08
The Genocide Intervention Network’s Sudan Divestment Task Force (SDTF) has released an extensive analysis examining the historical and forecasted financial performance of companies identified by SDTF analysts as “Highest Offenders” in Sudan. A key finding of the new analysis, entitled Sudan Peer Performance Analysis, was that on average, the “Highest Offenders” in Sudan underperformed their peer group average by 45.97% over one year, 22.23% over three years and 7.22% over five years.

GI-NET teams with FOLIOfn to Launch First Genocide-Free Stock Screening Tool for Investors – 5/12/08
The Genocide Intervention Network (GI-NET) and FOLIOfn Investments, an online discount broker that focuses on building and managing entire portfolios, has launched a new tool to screen out companies identified as “Highest Offenders” in Sudan.

Petrofac takes substantial action in Sudan – 5/11/08
Petrofac, a London-based oilfield services company, has committed to taking substantial action in Sudan and has been moved off the “Highest Offenders” category of the Sudan Divestment Task Force’s Sudan Company Report. The company has implemented a robust corporate policy in the country, including a full Human Rights Impact Assessment of its operations and meetings with the Government of Sudan and business partners to discuss the political and humanitarian situation in the country. A complete profile of Petrofac and other companies operating in Sudan can be found in the Sudan Company Report.
Since the spread of the targeted Sudan divestment movement, at least eleven companies have either ceased operations in Sudan or significantly changed their behavior in the country.

T. Rowe Price sheds PetroChina stock – 4/11/08
T. Rowe Price has sold 55 million shares of PetroChina and has adopted a policy for analyzing risks and engaging with companies with business ties to Sudan. In a statement to Bizjournals, T. Rowe Price chairman, Brian Rogers, stated: “We do believe there’s some link between a company’s performance as a corporate citizen and its performance over time.”
In August 2007, the Genocide Intervention Network, Amnesty International USA Business & Human Rights, and Calvert assembled a coalition of investors to file shareholder resolutions at six financial institutions (Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, T. Rowe Price, and Wells Fargo) calling on the institutions to adopt policies and procedures for investments linked to countries where genocide or mass atrocities are occurring. The resolutions have been withdrawn at Merrill Lynch, T. Rowe Price and Morgan Stanley for complying with the coalition’s requests.

European Union divests from PetroChina over Sudan – 3/17/08
The Members of the European Parliament’s (MEP) pension fund has divested from PetroChina, the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corporation, Sudan’s largest oil partner. PetroChina was the only company on the Sudan Divestment Task Force’s Highest Offenders list owned by the pension fund. MEP Glenys Kinnock, stated, “The sale of the stockholdings in PetroChina sends a very clear signal that the European Parliament abhors that company’s links with a regime which does little to end the violent conflict in Darfur.”
The European Union’s move follows PGGM’s recent decision to divest from PetroChina. PGGM is one of the largest public pension funds in Europe. The fund made the decision to sell PetroChina after extensive efforts to engage the company over Sudan failed. According to published reports, the sale marks the first time a Dutch pension fund has decided to act against a Chinese oil operator.
While PetroChina is connected to Sudan through its parent company, PGGM notably stated that “ownership, governance and financial streams between CNPC and PetroChina overlap to such an extent that PGGM regards both organizations as a single entity.”