19 Apr 07 – Rolls Royce has informed the Aegis Trust’s Darfur Divestment campaign that the company is withdrawing from Sudan. 

Rolls Royce was supplying diesel engines and support for Sudan’s oil sector.  Booming oil revenues have helped Khartoum to finance its armed forces in Darfur and pay the Janjaweed militia, responsible for four years of ethnic cleansing and the murder of hundreds of thousands of African civilians. 

‘Darfur Divestment’ is pushing for British companies which provide revenue for Khartoum to end their operations while the mass killings in Darfur continue.  To avoid damaging humanitarian consequences, the campaign only seeks withdrawal of investments from companies which:

  • Contribute to government revenue or government-sponsored projects;
  • Impart minimal benefit to the country’s people; and
  • Demonstrate no substantial corporate governance policy regarding the Darfur crisis.

Around fifty British companies involved
Around 50 companies which meet these criteria.  Many pension funds also have investments in these companies. Aegis, which runs the international Darfur Divestment campaign, is also calling for British investors to withdraw from owning shares in Chinese, Malaysian and Indian oil companies operating in Sudan.

Barclays, for example, holds shares via its iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 fund in two Chinese companies: PetroChina and Sinopec, and via Barclays’ iShares MSCI Malaysia Index fund in Petronas, a Malaysian company operating in Sudan. (See www.darfurdivestment.org for details.)

Other British companies involved include Petrofac and the Weir group, while European companies include Total and Lundin. 

‘Others should follow Rolls Royce’ lead’
Dr James Smith, Chief Executive of the Aegis Trust, said, “Rolls Royce’ recognition of its moral duty to withdraw from Sudan while the killings in Darfur continue is to be saluted.  During apartheid, many UK companies heeded the call of the anti-apartheid movement to withdraw from South Africa.

“The time has come for other European companies to follow Rolls Royce’s lead. We call on Barclays Bank – one of the companies that left apartheid South Africa – to follow the campaign by selling its stake in these Chinese oil companies while the mass killings continue.  Nobody’s pension should be invested in companies which line the pockets of the mass murderers running Sudan.”