By crossing the border into neighboring Chad, where they have
been burning crops, stealing cattle and killing civilians,
Sudanese-sponsored militia have escalated a crisis that has been
attracting international attention for the past three years and
have brought a new dimension to the situation.
Far from the conflict, members of the University of California
community are watching the escalating conflict, and the UC Board of
Regents is scheduled to decide whether to accept a divestment
proposal that supporters hope will put economic pressure on the
Sudanese government to take action to stop the attacks.
The proposal, created by a task force established by the regents
in January, would outline how the university could withdraw its
investments from companies that have economic ties to the Sudanese
government ““ and with the situation worsening, Student Regent
Adam Rosenthal said he hopes the board will support divestment.
Rosenthal said the severity of the situation “has not
waned, and if anything has only expanded in scope,” and
believes the regents will consider this before voting.
“The regents, as thoughtful, informed citizens, no doubt
are well aware that the situation has not improved. Time is of the
essence ““ we can’t afford to wait any longer as an
institution,” he said.
The conflict in the Darfur region, which began in 2003 as a
clash between rebel groups and government-sponsored forces, has had
dire effects on Darfur’s civilian population since the
beginning.
Called a genocide by the U.S. government, an estimated 400,000
people have died ““ either at the hands of Sudanese government
forces or from conditions that were a result of the conflict
““ and at least 2 million have been displaced from their homes
in Darfur.
The number of dead and displaced is increasing, and attacks are
now spilling over the Sudan-Chad border. Sudanese
government-sponsored militias and Chadian rebel groups have been
conducting attacks similar to those reported in Darfur for almost
three years, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch
last month.
These attacks “reflect utter absence of pressure on (the
Sudanese government) to stop the genocide,” said Eric Reeves,
a professor at Smith College who has researched Sudan for seven
years.
He cites divestment as a way to put needed economic pressure on
the Sudanese government in the absence of stronger actions by
foreign governments.
The push for UC divestment began in 2004, when students called
for the UC to help the people of Darfur by putting economic
pressure on the Sudanese government.
Members of the UC Sudan Divestment Taskforce continue to work
toward an approval of divestment and emphasize the importance of
immediate action.
“With the situation as it is, getting worse by the minute,
there is no more time to keep discussing the issue,” said
Adam Sterling, co-chair of the task force. “With genocide
being even more imminent, I would hope the regents would be
inspired to take action.”
Because the issue of divestment is a complex one, the regents
created a task force last month to research the effects that
divestment would have on citizens of Darfur and on the UC’s
finances, among other things.
Though private universities ““ Harvard, Stanford, Yale and
Brown Universities, as well as Amherst and Dartmouth Colleges
““ have already divested some funds from companies involved
with the Sudanese government, the UC’s investments are more
complex, and divestment would require a more complicated strategy
because of the way the UC allocates its investments, said UC
spokesman Trey Davis.
The UC “doesn’t have any direct holding in any of
these companies,” but invests in indexes that include both
companies that do business with the Sudanese government and ones
that do not, so withdrawing funds would be a complicated process,
he said.
The regents have “many things to consider,” and it
is difficult to determine which companies the UC should and can
divest from, Davis said.
The task force will present its findings to the regents at the
March 16 meeting, and a vote for or against divestment is expected
to follow.