Divestment

Periodically I receive emails from the Sudan Divestment Taskforce that inform me of recent developments in their mission of divestment. If you don't know what divestment is you can go here, or here is a quick explanation: the goal of this taskforce is to stop companies from doing business with the Sudanese government and as a result, stop the perpetuation of genocide in the area. Their main criteria for tagging companies for divestment are as follows:

The company,

1. Has a business relationship with the
government, a government-created project, or
companies affiliated with a government-created
project; AND
2. Provides little benefit to the disadvantaged
populations of Sudan; AND
3. Has not developed a substantial business practice
policy that acknowledges and deals with
the fact that the company may be inadvertently
contributing to the Sudanese government’s
genocidal capacity.

Though most of the companies deal in the oil and defence sectors and are impossible to boycott on a personal level, it is interesting to find out which countries harbor companies that do business with the Sudanese government.

Today, I found out that the Rolls-Royce company sends engines and other machinery to the Sudanese government. At first they denied it, but after the taskforce investigated, they had to admit their ties to Sudan. Though I am sure none of us are on the market for a new Rolls-Royce, I think its important to know that companies like this lack moral integrity and unless we cause a stir about it, there will always be companies from all around the world supporting the genocide in Sudan.