The University of California announced on March 16 its plan to divest the system’s portfolio of ownership in nine companies that provide benefit to the government of Sudan ?” but more of the same divestments are needed to impact the Sudan’s Darfur policy, said Jim Shoch, Sacramento State assistant government professor.

“The regents made the decision to divest because it was the right course of action for the university and to lend its support and voice to efforts to end the genocide and violence in Darfur,” said Trey Davis, UC Director of Special Projects, in an e-mail.

The UC’s action follows the lead of some prestigious private universities ?” including Harvard, Stanford, Yale and Brown ?” and will be implemented if the state Legislature releases it from lawsuit liability, according to the Action Item document on the UC President’s Web site.

The universities are attempting to affect the actions of Sudan’s government in the Darfur region of the country, which have been labeled as genocide by the United States since 2004, according to the UC Web site.

In 1986, a similar UC divestment targeting South Africa helped catalyze a movement that resulted in the demise of the apartheid system.

Shoch said he doesn’t think the UC’s position will directly influence Sudan’s Darfur policy.

“But much more of this kind of protest might lead the Bush administration to put more pressure on the Sudanese government,” Shoch said in an e-mail.

Clara Potes-Fellow, director of media relations for California State University, said since the California State University system doesn’t manage any systemwide investments, it would be up to the 23 individual campuses to follow the UC’s lead in divesting.

“Campus foundations (usually one per campus), which are privately funded, manage investments related to contributions to the University,” Potes-Fellow said.

At Sacramento State, University Enterprises Inc. is the entity that handles such investments and sets the policy regarding which companies or mutual funds are supported. University Enterprises could not be reached for comment regarding the divestment.

The situation in Sudan began in early 2003 when Janjaweed, the Arab militia, gained control of the fighting and began promoting a campaign of murder, rape, arson and the forced displacement of civilians in Darfur.

The UN Commission of Inquiry assessed the situation as an allied effort between the Janjaweed and the government ?” a conflict killing around 5,000 civilians each month, according to the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit group that analyzes world conflict.

The UN pegs the death toll at 200,000 with up to two million driven from their homes in western Sudan, according to its Web site.

The UC also considered humanitarian factors in determining the scope of its divestment, according to its Web site.

Following state legislative action backing the UC move, the process would be completed in 18 months, at which time the dollar value of the divestment can be determined, according to the UC Web site.

Patrick Cannon, also an assistant professor in the government department, said he views the UC’s action mainly as taking ethical stand.

“Nonetheless, the decision to divest should not be minimized; it provides symbolic and rhetorical support for human rights and the notion that genocide is unacceptable,” Cannon said in an e-mail.

Both professors criticize the lack of intervention by Western powers, with Shoch labeling the inaction “scandalous.”

“It’s Rwanda all over again,” Shoch said.

Cannon acknowledges the complexities involved with intervening in genocide but thinks that an effort should be made.

“Even with sufficient political will and resources, stopping genocide would be very difficult, but the international community, including the United States, has never even tried,” Cannon said.

In addition to shedding ownership in the nine companies ?” including two state-owned Chinese corporations, Russian, Malaysian and Indian businesses ?” the UC cautioned four companies to ensure that their operations don’t inadvertently affect the Sudan region.

Norm Erickson can be reached at [email protected]