Student activists who have been lobbying the state since early 2006 to divest from Sudan saw the fruits of their work this summer. In June, Gov. Donald Carcieri '65 signed into law a bill that mandates the divestment of the state's pension funds from certain companies doing business in Sudan.
The legislation, passed unanimously in the House and Senate in April, calls for the divestment of about $2 million from companies specifically cited as indirectly supporting violence in the Sudanese region of Darfur. According to many international experts, government-supported militia groups are perpetrating genocide against certain ethnic groups. Upwards of 200,000 individuals have been estimated to have been killed in four years of conflict in Darfur.
The law makes Rhode Island the 19th state to divest from the country, said Scott Warren '09 of the Darfur Action Network, a student group which has successfully lobbied Brown administrators, city officials and state legislators to divest. The University divested from Sudan in February 2006, and Providence divested in April of that year.
Darfur Action Network students - "well-versed" in the details of the bill - arrived at the State House on the day of the vote and spoke to legislators individually, explained Colin O' Brien '10, another member of the group.
Students participated in hearings and attended press conferences, Warren said. They also worked closely with the bill's sponsors, Rep. Joseph Almeida, D-Dist 12, and Sen. Rhoda Perry, D-Dist. 3, whose district includes Brown's campus.
Rhode Island was invested in two companies named among the "worst offending companies" by the Sudan Divestment Task Force, a national group that lobbies local governments to divest from Sudan,Warren said. Offending companies include Rolls-Royce, which provided support for Sudan's oil industry and has since divested from the region, he said.
The bill allows the state to reinvest in companies in Sudan if the pension funds are threatened - a provision that was important to legislators, Warren said.
Frank Caprio, the state's general treasurer who was elected in 2006, said he added state divestment from Darfur to his campaign platform after students discussed the issue with him earlier in the year.
"They took the time to meet me and help make me aware of the issue," Caprio said.
Though the state has divested funds from culpable companies in Sudan, not all Rhode Island cities have divested their pension funds, Caprio said.
The Sudanese government, which rarely responds to activism aimed at ending genocide in Darfur, has expressed opposition to the divestment movement, Warren said.
On Saturday, twelve Brown students will attend a national conference in Washington, D.C., where they will lobby national legislators, O' Brien said.
The group will also help organize symbolic torch relays in Providence on Oct. 26, intended to link China - host of the 2008 Olympic games and a country with significant economic investment in Sudan - with the genocide in Darfur. Though the relay will not promote a boycott of the Olympics, students hope to send a message to China to stop "protecting" Sudan, Warren said.
