LANSING – State Representatives Lisa Wojno (D-Warren) and Fred Miller (D-Mount Clemens) today announced a plan to increase efforts to halt the violence and provide humanitarian assistance in the Darfur region of Sudan, where the Sudanese government has systematically killed more than 400,000 people and displaced more than 2.5 million people in what the U.S. government has declared a genocide.
"We must do everything we can to stop the atrocities in the Darfur region of the Sudan," Wojno said. "Those suffering in Darfur desperately need economic and medical aid, and we must take action to provide relief."
The House Democratic plan will:
- Target divestment of all state pension funds from any companies that do business with the nation of Sudan;
- Memorialize Congress and the U.S. State Department to increase efforts to stop the genocide and provide humanitarian assistance in the Darfur region of Sudan; and
- Memorialize Congress to prohibit federal funds from being sent to the Sudanese.
"'Targeted divestment' minimizes potential harm to Sudanese civilians while denying the corrupt Sudanese government the economic means by which they conduct their war of oppression," Miller said. "Michigan cannot stand by as the Sudanese government commits these heinous acts of genocide."
The package would affect the capital Michigan has invested in its retirement funds for legislators, public employees, and public school employees. The money is in investment funds managed by private fund managers, who have invested the monies in a multitude of international companies.
The total value of the Michigan pension funds is estimated at $60 billion. According to the Sudan Divestment Task Force (www.sudandivestment.org), the state roughly has $180 million invested in companies that conduct business in Sudan.
House Democrats today also supported legislation that prohibits state investment in certain countries, including Iran for its engaged role in destabilizing the Middle East.