University of California (UC) Regents unanimously voted to divest from Sudan on March 16, after students initiated a yearlong campaign that persuaded the governing board for the university to research the proposal.
UC will divest from nine companies that contribute to the Sudanese government’s genocide against the black African population, and whose services provide minimal benefit to the underprivileged. Letters were also sent to four companies.
UC is the only public university that has divested from Sudan, and the sole university to pull out from index funds, similar to mutual funds, that include companies conducting business in Sudan. Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Brown, Amherst, Dartmouth and Brandeis have also restricted their investment in Sudan, according to Jason Miller, co-chair of the UC Sudan Divestment Taskforce.
The other universities “technically didn’t divest,” Miller said. “They just said in the future they won’t purchase these companies.”
UC’s divestment from Sudan is only symbolic at this point, but Miller expects that as other universities and entities join suit, Sudan’s government will eventually feel the economic impact.
UC’s investment in companies that conduct business in Sudan ranges from $20 million to $2.6 billion. The university has not yet revealed the dollar figure of its divestment, but UC’s Treasurer reports that the divestment is nominal and will not adversely impact the university. UC’s total investments amount to $66 billion, the largest university investment portfolio in the world, according to Miller.
In addition to working with other universities, the UC Sudan Divestment Taskforce is crafting a bill with Assemblymen Paul Kortez and Joe Coto to require the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CALPERS) and California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CALSTRS) to withdraw its investment in Sudan. The pension funds investment portfolio exceeds $300 billion, but it’s unknown how much is tied up in Sudan.
The UC Regents vote marked a milestone victory for UC students, who launched the effort. As students produced more research, the Regents were finally persuaded to form a study group in January to investigate the issue, Miller said.
“Throughout the discussion and debate on the issue, their approach was so constructive and informative and, frankly, persuasive. They really do deserve a lot of the credit for the ultimate outcome,” said Regent Stephen Schreiner.
University of California, San Diego (UCSD) formed Students Take Action Now: Darfur to raise awareness about the conflict. Thirty students laid across the campus’ sidewalk, hoisting signs that read “I am a victim of genocide.” A Sudanese refugee was invited to speak and the group hosted screenings about the genocide. Thirty students traveled to the March meeting in Los Angeles to join throngs of students from all UC campuses.
“It united every single UC,” said Tara Ramanathan, President of the activist group at the UCSD.
Miller is a graduate student studying health sciences at University of California, San Francisco. He’s not interested in pursuing a career in politics but he does feel strongly about genocide.
“If there’s ever a time that victims do not have the ability to speak up for themselves, it’s surely when they’re being systematically wiped out,” Miller said. “This requires us to pick up their voice.”
UC Regents hasn’t completely divested yet, however; the decision is contingent on the state passing a bill of indemnification that will cover legal expenses if UC is sued for divesting. The bill is certain to pass, Miller said.
“We have significant bipartisan support,” Miller said. “It’s not a matter of it going through; it’s a matter of how fast it will go through.”
UC will also divest from PetroChina and Sinopec, two Chinese oil firms, Oil and Natural Gas Company and VideoCon; two Indian oil firms, Nam Fatt and PECD; two Malaysian construction firms; Bharat Heavy Electricals, an Indian power firm; Sudatel, a Sudanese telecom company implicated in facilitating the genocide by selectively controlling the phone systems in Darfur; and Tatneft, a Russian oil firm.
The U.S. State Department has prohibited American companies from conducting business in Sudan, but has not restricted investment, Miller said.
UC has divested its funds only two times before: to protest apartheid in South Africa in 1986 and from tobacco in 2001.
Conflict in Sudan began in 2003 after a rebel group attacked government targets, claiming that western Sudan and its black Africans are being neglected by the largely Arab government, according to BBC News.
The government admits mobilizing “self-defense militias,” but denies links to the Janjaweed, who have slaughtered the black African men, raped the women and destroyed the villages, reports BBC News.