Darfur Advocates Encouraged by President Signing Divestment Bill, Urge 'Vigorous Enforcement'

Three years after labeling it 'genocide,' signing sanctions bill is important step towards full American engagement

WASHINGTON - President Bush today signed the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act into law - just two weeks after unanimous passage by the U.S. House of Representatives and, during the week prior, unanimous passage by the U.S. Senate. The law authorizes state and local governments to divest from companies that support the Khartoum government at the expense of marginalized populations in Sudan and prohibits federal contracts with those companies. Darfur activists hailed the bill's passage into law despite a loosely-worded signing statement attached to the bill.

In a joint statement, Darfur activist groups - including the Save Darfur Coalition, Genocide Intervention Network, and STAND - said the president must avail the full force of his administration to enure this measure is thoroughly enforced.

"This measure is intended to change Khartoum's behavior by putting pressure on the foreign companies lining the pockets of the ruling National Congress Party. Elected officials of all political persuasions joined together to unanimously pass this legislation in the Congress. It presents a stark choice - stop enabling genocide in Darfur or lose our business. The people of Darfur cannot afford an empty 'law on the books,' which is why the president must vigorously enforce this critical legislation."

Since the introduction of the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act, nine companies - including La Mancha resources, CHC Helicopter, ABB, Siemens, Rolls Royce, ICSA of India, Weatherford International, Weir Group, and Schlumberger - have ceased operations in Sudan or significantly changed their behavior in the country.

Since 2005, 22 states and more than 50 universities have adopted Sudan divestment policies. The movement has rapidly spread through Europe: in July the European Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution calling on European Union members to support targeted Sudan divestment efforts. Seven major foreign companies - CHC Helicopter, ABB, Siemens, Rolls Royce, ICSA of India, Schlumberger and La Mancha Resources - have ceased problematic operations in Sudan or significantly changed their behavior in the country since the proliferation of the Sudan divestment movement.

In 2001, President Bush wrote "not on my watch" in the margins of a memo detailing the Rwandan genocide. With a little more than a year left in office, President Bush has an opportunity to protect civilians in Darfur and help ensure lasting peace for Sudan. Signing the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act is an important step towards fulfilling the promise he made early in his presidency.

Other necessary actions include deployment of a full-time envoy with a team in the region to coordinate the Darfur peace process and ensure the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement; support for the deployment of the UNAMID force, including pressuring allies to volunteer military resources for the mission; and introduction of a sanctions resolution at the U.N. Security Council to address the blatant obstructionism and intransigence of the government of Sudan.

President Bush described the ongoing crisis in Darfur as "genocide" more than three years ago and identified the government of Sudan and its allied militia as responsible. Since then, diplomatic efforts by the United States and the international community have failed to leverage sufficient pressure on the Sudanese government to end the violence. As many as 400,000 men, women and children have died as a result of the conflict, and more than 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes to refugee and internally displaced persons camps.

A U.N. peacekeeping mission authorized by the Security Council in August has yet to deploy in large part because the Sudanese government has refused to allow non-African peacekeepers into Darfur, landing rights for U.N. transport and unfettered communications between peacekeepers. In addition, the government of Sudan continues to bomb villages and to relocate its supporters onto land vacated by the displaced.

The broad and diverse coalition that supported and played a critical role in the passage of Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act also includes the American Jewish Committee, the Armenian National Committee of America, the Armenian Assembly of America, B'nai B'rith International, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the National Council of Churches, the NAACP, the ENOUGH Project, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Religious Action Center, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, and dozens of state and local faith-based and community organizations.

Who will lose their federal contracts?

The Sudan Divestment Task Force, a project of the Genocide Intervention Network, maintains a list of problematic companies supporting the Sudanese government. The following companies appear on this list and, as of September 2007, maintained contracts with the federal government: ALSTOM (FRANCE), LAHMEYER INTERNATIONAL (GERMANY), MOTT MACDONALD ( UK). All companies renewing or pursuing new contracts with the federal government must now certify that they do not support the Sudanese government. The law includes explicit exemptions for South Sudan to ensure that its effects are felt by the regime in Khartoum and not by civilians elsewhere in Sudan.