University has no plans to divest from Sudan
Administration says it has no investments in Sudan, but has not considered formally divesting
Harvard University previously held direct investments in PetroChina, a Chinese oil company under the China National Petroleum Corporation that was notorious for its human rights violations in the region, including direct contributions to military spending that funded the genocide. Students protested when they discovered the investment, which eventually led the University to total withdrawal from companies doing business in Sudan.
In an official statement by the Harvard Corporation Committee on Shareholder Responsibility, the university's Advisory Corporation Committee on Shareholder Responsibility said that Harvard, "as an academic rather than a political institution, must take great care to avoid leveraging its endowment or prestige in ways that could embroil the institution in political and social controversies not directly related to its academic pursuits, and thus compromise the core values and independence of the academic enterprise."
The SDTF maintains a list of companies that do business in Sudan, which it updates yearly. The companies listed vary in the degree of severity of their offenses - some are indirectly linked to atrocities and some, like PetroChina, are directly fueling the fighting.
"Control over Sudan's considerable oil reserves is a major issue and has been for a long time," history professor Sara Berry said.
Sudan has been embroiled in civil war since its independence from British and Egyptian power in 1956, and economic struggle has always been part of the conflict. The issue of oil control overshadowed the two separate civil wars that plagued Sudan after reserves were discovered in the 1970s.
Genocide in Darfur is rooted in conflict that began five years ago between rebel groups based in the region and the regime in Khartoum, Sudan's capital city. The ruling majority population is Arab-African, while the people in Darfur are not.
Government-sponsored militias called the Janjaweed have decimated entire villages of Darfuris, but have had virtually no impact on the rebel groups. Not even a 2005 peace agreement could bring a definitive end to the conflict.
In an official statement by the Harvard Corporation Committee on Shareholder Responsibility, the university's Advisory Corporation Committee on Shareholder Responsibility said that Harvard, "as an academic rather than a political institution, must take great care to avoid leveraging its endowment or prestige in ways that could embroil the institution in political and social controversies not directly related to its academic pursuits, and thus compromise the core values and independence of the academic enterprise."
The SDTF maintains a list of companies that do business in Sudan, which it updates yearly. The companies listed vary in the degree of severity of their offenses - some are indirectly linked to atrocities and some, like PetroChina, are directly fueling the fighting.
"Control over Sudan's considerable oil reserves is a major issue and has been for a long time," history professor Sara Berry said.
Sudan has been embroiled in civil war since its independence from British and Egyptian power in 1956, and economic struggle has always been part of the conflict. The issue of oil control overshadowed the two separate civil wars that plagued Sudan after reserves were discovered in the 1970s.
Genocide in Darfur is rooted in conflict that began five years ago between rebel groups based in the region and the regime in Khartoum, Sudan's capital city. The ruling majority population is Arab-African, while the people in Darfur are not.
Government-sponsored militias called the Janjaweed have decimated entire villages of Darfuris, but have had virtually no impact on the rebel groups. Not even a 2005 peace agreement could bring a definitive end to the conflict.
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