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The Board of Trustees of American University in Washington, D.C., which is associated with the Baltimore-Washington Conference, issued a resolution on Sept. 15 that addresses investing in companies doing business in the oil and gas sector in Sudan.

The text of the resolution follows.

WHEREAS American University has declared its commitment to human rights and social justice in its governance documents and policies and has taken affirmative steps throughout its history to promote these values; and

WHEREAS the United States Senate and the House of Representatives and the President of the United States have found that the Government of Sudan bears responsibility for massive atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan, which they declared have reached the level of genocide; and

WHEREAS the United Nations has found more than 200,000 civilians have been killed or have died and more than 2.5 million individuals have been displaced and remain at risk as a consequence of attacks conducted by the Government of Sudan and the deployment of thousands of armed troops into Darfur in violation of the Darfur Peace Agreement; and

WHEREAS the U.N. Secretary-General has urged the international community to press the Government of Sudan through sanctions and other activities to end immediately its military attacks on Darfur, to abide by its obligations under the Darfur Peace Agreement, and to cooperate with a UN peacekeeping force authorized under U.N. Security Council Referendum 1706;

BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Trustees of American University that American University (1) will not invest directly in companies doing business in the oil and gas sector in Sudan, (2) will communicate its decision to its investment managers and advisors urging them to end any investment in companies doing business in the oil and gas sector in Sudan, (3) will request that its investment managers and advisors inform the University within the calendar year of any companies in its managed funds doing business in the oil and gas sector in Sudan, and (4) will convey to the U.S. higher education community American University?s actions with respect to divestment in Sudan and urge them to do the same.