US Connecticut pension to divest $11 mln from company linked to Sudan

June 13, 2007 (HARTFORD, Conn.) — Connecticut’s pension fund will sell its holdings in an oil company that does business in the African nation of Sudan, where human rights abuses in the Darfur region have sparked a worldwide outcry.

State Treasurer Denise Nappier said about $11 million in shares will be divested from China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. She said the unsettled climate and growing international pressure over the abuses jeopardize the long-term value of China Petroleum’s business and, as a result, pose a risk to the state’s investment in the company.

“The bottom line has been, and continues to be, to get the best possible investment return that money can buy without bloodshed,” Nappier said Tuesday.

The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when local rebels took up arms against the Sudanese government, accusing it of decades of neglect. Sudanese leaders are accused of unleashing the pro-government Arab militia, the janjaweed, to fight them — a charge they deny. More than 200,000 people are dead and 2.5 million homeless as a result of the fighting.

Nappier is also prohibiting direct investment in five other companies that have been accused of providing provide monetary and military support to the Sudanese government.

The companies are: Bharat Heavy Electricals, Nam Fatt, Oil & Natural Gas Co., PECD Group and Sudan Telecom Co.

Under the state law, there are several factors the treasurer can consider before divesting, including whether a company’s resources to the Sudanese government enables genocide and the extent to which a company presses Sudan to ease human rights abuses or undertakes humanitarian efforts in that country.

Nappier said she made her decision after several attempts to urge the companies to address the humanitarian crisis.

(AP)