Engagement with UNGC – May 2008

NGOs call on UN Global Compact to use its influence with PetroChina over Sudan, 05-12-2008

A broad-based international set of over 80 civil society organizations including human rights, corporate accountability, religious and anti-genocide groups from 19 countries have signed an open letter to the United Nations Global Compact. The letter was also signed by four members of the US Congress, members of the Canadian Parliament and other distinguished individuals. The letter called upon the UN Global Compact to use its influence with PetroChina, a compact participant, to help bring an end to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. PetroChina, the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Sudan’s largest oil industry partner, is indisputably linked to the regime perpetuating the five-year humanitarian crisis in Darfur which many consider to be genocide.The Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, Georg Kell, posted both our letter and his reply to the UN Global Compact website.   Further, he forwarded a copy of our letter to PetroChina.  Lastly, Mr. Kell closed by stating that our “continued engagement and vigilance is much appreciated.”  We were very encouraged by Mr. Kell’s prompt and receptive response to our letter and looked forward to continuing the dialogue with him and his office.

Press conference

Investors Against Genocide hosted a press conference on the release of the letter on May 12, 2008. The press conference featured short statements, followed by Q&A with the press.

  • Eric Cohen – statement – Chairperson, Investors Against Genocide

    “PetroChina’s lack of interest and effort in working for human rights in Sudan is significantly in conflict with the aspirational commitments expected of signatories to the UN Global Compact. Therefore, we ask the Executive Director of the Global Compact to use the privilege and prestige of membership in the Global Compact to engage with PetroChina, on behalf of the people of Sudan, to address the egregious violations of human rights that continue in Sudan to this day. We strongly believe that such engagement can have a very positive impact on bringing an end to the humanitarian crises in Sudan.”

  • Bart Slob – statement – Senior Researcher, Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)

    “The first principle of the Global Compact states that businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights. The second principle requires that businesses ensure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses. In spite of these principles, PetroChina, the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Sudan’s largest oil industry partner, is linked to the regime that perpetuates the violent conflict in Darfur.”

Audio of press conference

Full sign-on list for the letter to Georg Kell, UN Global Compact

* Since May 12, 2008, additional groups have signed-on to the letter. Those groups are flagged with an asterisk *

American Jewish World Service
Ruth Messinger, President
New York, NY, USA

Americans Against the Darfur Genocide
Nikki Serapio, Director
Palo Alto, CA

Archdiocese of San Francisco
George Wesolek, Director, Public Policy and Social Concerns.
San Francisco, CA, USA

Armenian Assembly of America
Bryan Ardouny, Executive Director
Washington, DC, USA

Armenian National Committee of America
Aram Hamparian, Executive Director
Washington, DC 20036

BanglaPraxis *
Zakir Kibria, Exective Director
Dhaka, Bangladesh

Berne Declaration – Erklärung von Bern
Oliver Classen, Media Officer
Zurich, Switzerland

Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analyses
João Sucupira, Director
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Buddhist Peace Fellowship
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, Executive Director
Buddhist Peace Fellowship National Office
Berkeley, CA, USA

Canadian Students for Darfur
Clement Apaak, Founder and Chair
Vancouver, BC, Canada

Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR)
Undule Mwakasungura, Executive Director
Lilongwe, Malawi

Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)
Bart Slob, Senior Researcher
Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo de la Mujer (CEDEM)
Pamela Caro, Researcher
Santiago de Chile, Chile

Collectif Urgence Darfour
Dr. Jacky Mamou, President
Paris, France

Comité Soudan
Diagne Chanel, Presidente
Paris, France

Clean Yield Asset Management
Rian Fried, President
Greensboro, VT, USA

Corporación DOMOS
Carolina Peyrín
Santiago, Chile

Corporate Accountability International
Kathryn Mulvey, International Policy Director
Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Corporate Governance
James McRitchie, Publisher
Elk Grove, CA, USA

Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy
Mohamed Yahya, Founder and Executive Director
Washington, DC, USA

Darfur Alert Coalition
Jim Remsen, Interim Executive Director
Philadelphia, PA, USA

Darfur Association in the United States of America
Mahmoud Braima, President
Baton Rouge, LA, USA

Darfur Call
Ahmed M. Mohamedain, Managing Director of Human Rights and Advocacy
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Darfur Community Organization
Bakheit Shata, Founder/Executive Director
Omaha, NE, USA

Darfur Peace and Development
Omer Ismail, Vice President / Advocacy
Washington DC, USA

Darfur People’s Association of New York
Motasim Adam, President
Brooklyn, New York, USA

Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre (DRDC) *
Abdelbagi Jibril – Executive Director
Geneva, Switzerland

Domini Social Investments LLC
Adam M. Kanzer, Managing Director & General Counsel
New York, NY, USA

Dream for Darfur
Jill Savitt, Executive Director
New York, NY, USA

EARTHWORKS
Stephen D’Esposito, President and Executive Director
Washington, D.C., USA

ENOUGH: The Project to End Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
Cory Smith, Acting Executive Director
Washington, DC, USA

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Pat Zerega, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility
Chicago, IL, USA

Mia Farrow
Actor and Human Rights Advocate
USA

Forum for Environment and Development (ForUM)
Elin Enge, Director
Oslo, Norway

Foundation CentrumCSR.PL
Grzegorz Piskalski, Director
Warsaw, Poland

Friends of the Earth Europe
Darek Urbaniak, Extractive Industry Campaign Coordinator,
Brussels, Belgium

Fundación Casa de la Paz
Carolina Silva, Executive Director
Santiago, Chile

Fundación El Otro
Marcelo Ugo, Presidente
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Fundación SES
Roque A. Grunauer, Coordinator
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Genocide Alert
Robert Schuette, Head Executive
Cologne, Germany

Genocide No More – Save Darfur
Marv Steinberg, Coordinator
Redding, CA, USA

groundWork (Friends of the Earth)
Bobby Peek, Director
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

Harrington Investments, Inc.
John Harrington, CEO
Napa, CA, USA

Holocaust Center of Northern California
Morgan N. Blum, Director of Education
San Francisco, CA, USA

Humanity United
Randy Newcomb, President
Redwood City, CA, USA

IDP Action
Frank Smith, Director, Policy and Communications
London, UK

India Committee of the Netherlands
Gerard Oonk, Director
Utrecht, the Netherlands

Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
Laura Berry, Executive Director
New York, NY, USA

Investors Against Genocide
Eric Cohen, Chairperson
Boston, MA, USA

Jewish Community Relations Council
Rabbi Douglas Kahn, Executive Director
San Francisco, CA, USA

Jewish World Watch
Tzivia Schwartz-Getzug, Executive Director
Encino, CA, USA

Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Marie Lucey, Associate Director for Social Mission
Silver Spring, MD, USA

Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur
William Rosenfeld, Treasurer and Board Member
Boston, MA, USA

Member of House of Representative – Massachusetts *
Byron Rushing, State Representative and Second Assistant Majority Leader
Boston, MA, USA

Member of the Legislative Assembly, Alberta
Dr. David Swann
Alberta, Canada

Member of Parliament – Government of Canada
Paul Dewar
Ottawa-Centre, Ontario, Canada

Member of Parliament – Government of Canada
The Hon. Marlene Jennings P.C.
Montreal, Qc, Canada

Member of Parliament – Government of Canada *
Dr. Keith Martin, M.D., P.C.
Esquimalt – Juan de Fuca, British Columbia, Canada

Member of Parliament – Government of Canada
Alexa McDonough
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Member of Parliament – Government of Canada
Alan Tonks
Weston, Ontario, Canada

Member of U. S. Congress
Michael E. Capuano (MA-08)
USA

Member of U. S. Congress
James P. McGovern (MA-3)
USA

Member of U. S. Congress
Donald M. Payne (NJ-10)
USA

Member of U. S. Congress
John F. Tierney (MA-6)
USA

My Sisters Keeper
Rev. Gloria White Hammond, MD, Executive Director
Boston, MA. USA

National Association Of Seadogs (NAS) International *
Prof. Olatunde Makanju, President
Lagos, Nigeria

New York City Coalition for Darfur
Eileen Weiss, Co-founder
New York, NY, USA

Observatorio de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa
Orencio Vázquez Oteo, Coordinator
Madrid, Spain

Organización de Consumidores y Usuarios (ODECU)
Stefan Larenas Riobó, President
Santiago de Chile, Chile

Programa Laboral de Desarrollo (PLADES)
Giovanna Larco Drouilly, Executive president,
Lima, Peru

Eric Reeves
Sudan researcher, analyst, and advocate
Northampton, MA, USA

San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition
Martina W. Knee, Member, Executive Committee,
San Francisco, CA, USA

Save Darfur Coalition
Jerry Fowler, President
Washington, DC, USA

SaveDarfurWashingtonState
Deborah Jones, President
Seattle, WA, USA

Social Support Foundation
Louis Acheampong, Executive Director
Obuasi – Adansi, Ghana

Society for Threatened Peoples
Christoph Wiedmer, Director
Bern, Switzerland

Society for Threatened Peoples
Sharon Silber, UN representative
Gottingen, Germany

Socio-Economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP) *
Eze Anaba, Director, Research & Publications
Lagos Island, Nigeria

STAND Canada
Yoni Levitan, Executive Director
Canada

SETEM Madrid
Gabriela Arizmendi, Managing Director
Madrid, Spain

Stop Genocide Now
Gabriel Stauring, Co-founder and Director
Redondo Beach, CA, USA

Sudan Divestment UK
Hamish Falconer, Executive Director
London, UK

Taller de Acción Cultural
Verónica Salas, Director
Santiago, Chile

Jennifer Taub
Coordinator of the Business Law Program
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

The Aegis Trust
Dr. James Smith, Chief Executive Officer
Nottinghamshire/London, UK

Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment
Patricia A. Daly, OP, Executive Director
Montclair, NJ, USA

Unitarian Universalist Association
Timothy Brennan, Treasurer
Boston, MA, USA

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Charlie Clements, President and CEO
Cambridge, MA, USA

U.S. Campaign for Burma
Jeremy Woodrum, Director
Simon Billenness, Co-chair, Board of Directors

Waging Peace
Louise Roland-Gosselin, Executive Director,
London, UK

Walden Asset Management
Tim Smith, Senior Vice President
Boston, MA, USA

Wassa Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM)
Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, Executive Director
Ghana