Harvard should adopt a targeted divestment strategy
Sarah-Catherine Phillips
Issue date: 4/4/07 Section: Op-Ed
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In 2004, the US declared the Darfur crisis to be a genocide, a word reserved to describe the most severe and inhuman conditions dealt upon a people of one ethnicity, race or class.
Yet the atrocities in Darfur continue unabated, and we wait, and wait, and wait for it to end. And inevitably we will shake our heads in disappointment and reignite strong anti-genocide rhetoric.
This is no longer good enough. And so we urge Harvard University to adopt a targeted divestment strategy to influence an end to the genocide in Darfur.
Harvard divested in the past from Petrochina and Sinopec, but this divestment is morally inconsistent and less effective, given that other companies in Sudan are just as egregious in their de facto support of the genocide.
Emphasizing a policy of engagement before divestment, Harvard must start a conversation with companies fitting specific divestment criteria - mainly companies in the oil industry. Harvard must urge them to pressure the Sudanese government to accept an African Union/United Nations hybrid force or take action to end the genocide.
Failing any government response, companies would withdraw their activities from Sudan or face Harvard's divestment.
The chosen companies must fit all the following criteria: have a business relationship with the Sudanese government/be involved in a government-created project; fail to benefit civilians outside of the government; fail to implement a substantial corporate governance policy regarding the crisis in Darfur; and fail to respond to attempts at shareholder engagement.
Divestment first started at Harvard two years ago and since then has swept through US universities and state legislatures. Advocates have recently renewed their emphasis on divestment, given that it is one of the few mechanisms still active to influence President Omar al-Bashir.
Other options remain stalled. A 20,000 strong UN force voted under UN Resolution 1706 awaits final permission to enter Darfur and protect innocent civilians from the very person who helped launch the genocide, President Omar al-Bashir.
Yet the atrocities in Darfur continue unabated, and we wait, and wait, and wait for it to end. And inevitably we will shake our heads in disappointment and reignite strong anti-genocide rhetoric.
This is no longer good enough. And so we urge Harvard University to adopt a targeted divestment strategy to influence an end to the genocide in Darfur.
Harvard divested in the past from Petrochina and Sinopec, but this divestment is morally inconsistent and less effective, given that other companies in Sudan are just as egregious in their de facto support of the genocide.
Emphasizing a policy of engagement before divestment, Harvard must start a conversation with companies fitting specific divestment criteria - mainly companies in the oil industry. Harvard must urge them to pressure the Sudanese government to accept an African Union/United Nations hybrid force or take action to end the genocide.
Failing any government response, companies would withdraw their activities from Sudan or face Harvard's divestment.
The chosen companies must fit all the following criteria: have a business relationship with the Sudanese government/be involved in a government-created project; fail to benefit civilians outside of the government; fail to implement a substantial corporate governance policy regarding the crisis in Darfur; and fail to respond to attempts at shareholder engagement.
Divestment first started at Harvard two years ago and since then has swept through US universities and state legislatures. Advocates have recently renewed their emphasis on divestment, given that it is one of the few mechanisms still active to influence President Omar al-Bashir.
Other options remain stalled. A 20,000 strong UN force voted under UN Resolution 1706 awaits final permission to enter Darfur and protect innocent civilians from the very person who helped launch the genocide, President Omar al-Bashir.
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