§ 147-86.41. Legislative findings.
Article 6D.
Sudan (Darfur) DivestmentAct.
§ 147‑86.41. Legislative findings.
(1) On July 23, 2004,the United States Congress declared that "the atrocities unfolding inDarfur, Sudan, are genocide."
(2) On September 9,2004, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell told the U.S. Senate Foreign RelationsCommittee that "genocide has occurred and may still be occurring inDarfur" and "the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bearresponsibility."
(3) On September 21,2004, addressing the United Nations General Assembly, President George W. Bushaffirmed the Secretary of State's finding and stated, "At this hour, theworld is witnessing terrible suffering and horrible crimes in the Darfur regionof Sudan, crimes my government has concluded are genocide."
(4) On December 7, 2004,the U.S. Congress noted that the genocidal policy in Darfur has led to reportsof "systematic rape of thousands of women and girls, the abduction ofwomen and children, and the destruction of hundreds of ethnically Africanvillages, including the poisoning of their wells and the plunder of their cropsand cattle upon which the people of such villages sustain themselves."
(5) Also on December 7,2004, Congress found that "the Government of Sudan has restricted accessby humanitarian and human rights workers to the Darfur area throughintimidation by military and security forces, and through bureaucratic andadministrative obstruction, in an attempt to inflict the most devastating harmon those individuals displaced from their villages and homes without any meansof sustenance or shelter."
(6) On September 25,2006, Congress reaffirmed that "the genocide unfolding in the Darfurregion of Sudan is characterized by acts of terrorism and atrocities directedagainst civilians, including mass murder, rape, and sexual violence committedby the Janjaweed and associated militias with the complicity and support of theNational Congress Party‑led faction of the Government of Sudan."
(7) On September 26,2006, the U.S. House of Representatives stated that "an estimated 300,000to 400,000 people have been killed by the Government of Sudan and its Janjaweedallies since the [Darfur] crisis began in 2003, more than 2,000,000 people havebeen displaced from their homes, and more than 250,000 people from Darfur remainin refugee camps in Chad."
(8) The Darfur crisisrepresents the first time the United States Government has labeled ongoingatrocities genocide.
(9) The FederalGovernment has imposed sanctions against the Government of Sudan since 1997.These sanctions are monitored through the U.S. Treasury Department's Office ofForeign Assets Control (OFAC).
(10) According to a formerchair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "the fact that aforeign company is doing material business with a country, government, orentity on OFAC's sanctions list is, in the SEC staff's view, substantiallylikely to be significant to a reasonable investor's decision about whether toinvest in that company."
(11) Since 1993, the U.S.Secretary of State has determined that Sudan is a country the government ofwhich has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism,thereby restricting United States assistance, defense exports and sales, andfinancial and other transactions with the Government of Sudan.
(12) A 2006 U.S. House ofRepresentatives report states that "a company's association with sponsorsof terrorism and human rights abuses, no matter how large or small, can have amaterially adverse result on a public company's operations, financial condition,earnings, and stock prices, all of which can negatively affect the value of aninvestment."
(13) In response to thefinancial risk posed by investments in companies doing business with aterrorist‑sponsoring state, the Securities and Exchange Commission establishedits Office of Global Security Risk to provide for enhanced disclosure ofmaterial information regarding such companies.
(14) The current Sudandivestment movement encompasses nearly 100 universities, cities, states, andprivate pension plans.
(15) Companies facing suchwidespread divestment present further material risk to remaining investors.
(16) It is a fundamentalresponsibility of the State of North Carolina to decide where, how, and by whomfinancial resources in its control should be invested, taking into accountnumerous pertinent factors.
(17) It is the prerogativeand desire of the State of North Carolina in respect to investment resources inits control and to the extent reasonable, with due consideration for, amongother things, return on investment, on behalf of itself and its investmentbeneficiaries, not to participate in an ownership or capital‑providingcapacity with entities that provide significant practical support for genocide,including certain non‑United States companies presently doing business inSudan.
(18) It is the judgment ofthe General Assembly that this article should remain in effect only insofar asit continues to be consistent with, and does not unduly interfere with, theforeign policy of the United States as determined by the Federal Government.
(19) It is the judgment ofthis General Assembly that mandatory divestment of public funds from certaincompanies is a measure that should be employed sparingly and judiciously. ACongressional and Presidential declaration of genocide satisfies this highthreshold. (2007‑486,s. 1.)