A law we can all be proud of

At a time when finding fault in our government is all too easy, it’s refreshing to note that our local government has passed legislation in the spirit of social justice.

In April, House Bill 291 passed the North Carolina House of Representatives unanimously. The bill was then approved by the state Senate in July. On August 31^st, Governor Mike Easley signed the bill into law, making North Carolina the 20^th state to commit to divestment from companies that support Darfurian genocide.

By now, few people are unaware of the atrocities taking place in Sudan. It is estimated that at least 450,000 people have been killed and more than two million have been displaced to date. Murder, rape and the dismantling of an entire group of people are hidden within those massive statistics.

If you’re anything like me, though, understanding the concept of divestment is as daunting as trying to read an x-ray. For help untangling the financial jargon, I turned to my go-to woman for all things investment, Kim Lutes, a financial consultant at AG Edwards in High Point. With her translation, the details of this bill became wonderfully clear.

Though the U.S. enacted sanctions prohibiting trade with Sudan back in 1997, Americans have been funding the genocide through investments in companies that do business with the Sudanese government, which openly funds the militias terrorizing the Darfur region. HB 291 opens the door for the state to ensure that the pension funds managed for its employees – including teachers, firefighters, National Guardsmen and so on – aren’t indirectly providing arms or other support for Janjaweed militias.

The real beauty of this bill lies between the lines of its dense language. There, the legislatures acknowledge three key points: 1) It is North Carolina’s responsibility to care for the people who spend their careers caring for us, the citizens; 2) That North Carolina must take ethical concerns into account when investing on behalf of its employees; and 3) That, even without involving ethics, market data has shown that companies with terrorist ties are simply not profitable investments.

The method of executing HB 291 will be a slow process, during which companies will be identified, investigated and given an opportunity to end their ties to the Sudanese government before monies are withdrawn. Though seemingly tedious, the process allows the North Carolina government to send a very clear message to the companies involved about why the divestment is happening, making this a one-two punch of taking a public moral stand, then depriving the militias of some of their funding. Moreover, the bill is structured such that the North Carolinians whose money is involved are guaranteed to see miniscule, if any, drop in the value of their pension funds.

Even more than the direct impact HB 291 could have, the bill also sets a valuable example for all North Carolinas. In our capitalistic democracy, each dollar we spend is a vote, and the simple truth is that when we allow our money to find its way into the pockets of groups like the Janjaweed, we are voting for genocide.

Ignorance is not an excuse. Call your financial consultant and ask where your money is going. Explore online resources like the Sudan Divestment Task Force and the American Jewish World Service. Take advantage of funds sources that that focus on ethical investing. Follow the worthy example of the men and women of our General Assembly in committing your hard-earned money to social justice; it makes for better investments and a better world.