Send page to a Friend Stopping the Genocide in Darfur JCRC is a founder and member of the Massachusetts Coalition To Save Darfur and we would like to thank all of you that made this historic legislation pass! Legislative Item S2217:  Sudan Divestment Act In partnership with the Sudan Divestment Taskforce, JCRC has has advocated for S2217 over the past year. Within the last four years, the Sudanese government has systemically killed at least 400,000 people and displaced more than 2.5 million in Sudan's Darfur region. For the first time in history, the US government has declared ongoing atrocities to be genocide. The U.N. has declared the crisis the "worst humanitarian disaster in the world today." S2217, a bill similar to one passed in California, intends to dissociate the state of Massachusetts, in a financially prudent manner, from the moral and financial concerns linked to investments in those companies doing business in Sudan that significantly support the government of Sudan. While the international community has been strong on rhetoric, it has woefully failed to take the requisite actions to end the atrocities in Darfur. History has repeatedly demonstrated that genocide, from the Holocaust to Rwanda, can only persist in the face of inaction by bystanders. The international community's failure to stop the genocide in Darfur has given states like Massachusetts the impetus to act against the genocide in Darfur. Divesting from targeted companies doing business in Sudan will demonstrate that Massachusetts will not allow its pension funds to facilitate genocide, while simultaneously putting much-needed economic pressure on the government of Sudan. The Sudanese government has a long history of susceptibility to economic pressure. Several major companies operating in Sudan have also altered their business practices or left the country largely in response to the divestment movement. Out of the 400+ companies operating in Sudan, roughly two dozen companies are currently targeted for engagement and divestment. These "scrutinized" companies have a business relationship with the Sudanese government or government-created project, fail to benefit civilians outside of government controlled circles, fail to reasonably address the genocide through corporate action, and have proven unresponsive to repeated attempts at shareholder engagement. Because of longstanding US sanctions on Sudan, S2217 targets no US companies. Additionally, S2217 does not target companies that provide significant humanitarian benefit to the marginalized population of Sudan. S2217 differs significantly from Sudan divestment legislation passed in states like Illinois and New Jersey. Developed in consultation with financial and legal experts, S2217 targets only a vanishingly small portion of Massachusetts's total investment holdings. By targeting a limited number of firms and types of investments, S2217 protects Massachusetts's portfolio returns. This "targeted" model of divestment, recently passed by California, is now being considered in over 20 states, as well as dozens of universities and cities in the US and abroad. In order to protect S2217 from litigation, the legislation was written in close consultation with Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, one of the nation's top law firms. Click here to visit the MA Coalition To Save Darfur's website