Minesota divested. Have you?

On May 23, Minnesota, where I go to school, became the thirteenth state to divest, or "un-invest," from Sudan so I think it is time for an update on the targeted divestment movement. Recently, Fidelity Investments cut some, though not all, of its ties to PetroChina, due to advocacy from Fidelity Out of Sudan! activists. PetroChina is one of the Chinese oil companies targeted for divestment from the Sudan Divestment Task Force. Some of the 2008 presidential candidates--Rudy Giuliani, Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Sam Brownback, specifically--have also taken steps to divest their personal investments from Sudan.

Divestment can be a daunting subject at first, so I want to clarify something important. The question I hear most often is, "Won't divestment hurt the Sudanese?" The answer is no. People think of South Africa when they think of divestment. Blanket divestment was used to fight apartheid, and ultimately ended it, but did impoverish ordinary South Africans. Targeted divestment only removes money from companies that are directly funding the genocide without having a corporate governance policy against it and that do not help Sudanese civilians. It will not hurt the states or other institutions that divest and it will not hurt the Sudanese civilians. Furthermore, the Sudan Divestment Authorization Act (S. 831), a bill in the Senate, will protect states and institutions that divest from Sudan once it passes.

As Sandy Pappas, a Minnesota state senator, said, "This is not just a symbolic gesture. Targeted divestment from Sudan is the most effective tool we have to stop the first genocide of the 21st Century."

To find out if your state has divested or has divestment legislation pending, click here.
To find out how you can become involved, click here.
Visit DarfurScores to find out if your Senators support S. 831. If they do not, write them a letter explaining that you think they should vote for/co-sponsor the legislation.