Africa

Sudan on the Blacklist?

The experts on the Darfur mission have called for the UN to draw up a list of foreign companies that have an adverse impact on human rights in Sudan. It is seen as a move to try and focus the minds of world leaders and spur them on to galvanize a global response for stopping widespread abuses in Darfur.

John Zarocostas - Creating a blacklist of companies that trade with Sudan could prove particularly embarrassing for China and its business interests in Sudan, if the UN acts on the recommendation, diplomatic sources said.

The recommendation to publish the list was contained in the report by Nobel Laureate, Jody Williams, released on March 12 and presented to the 47 member-country Human Rights Council, on Friday, March 16.

Sudan, backed by Islamic countries, has contested the accuracy and independence of the mission’s findings which were based on interviews with Darfur refugees in neighboring Chad. The UN mission had been denied entry into Sudan by the government in Khartoum.

A top human rights diplomat, who requested anonymity, said the target of the list is Chinese companies in Sudan. "It would certainly bring a specific focus to the debate on corporate social responsibility,” he said, adding that “it would be very embarrassing for many countries including some members of the Security Council, especially the Chinese, if it was carried out well.”

Similar to anti-apartheid actions

The expert panel recommended the list be published and periodically updated and that all UN agencies and offices "abstain from entering into business transactions with any of the identified companies".

Such a move is likely to fuel more calls for divestiture by state-run pension funds and university endowments from companies that appear on such a list. Similar actions in the 1980s played a major role in the demise of South Africa’s apartheid regime.

"Companies operating in Sudan may be complicit in crimes against humanity and liable in a lot of jurisdictions," said an eminent international jurist.

The drawing up of a corporate list "would certainly put pressure on all companies doing business with the government of Sudan," said an ambassador, who asked not to be identified.

In a telephone interview Jody Williams said: "This was a consensus report agreed paragraph-by-paragraph. The international community has not been spot on in protecting the people of Darfur," she added.

Sanctions next?

Mohammed Ali El Mardi, Sudan’s minister of Justice, told reporters that the mission report was "null and void" and "unfair" and did not represent the true situation. He said most of the oil companies operating in Sudan were mainly from Asia: China, Malaysia and India. Sudanese officials said the French group Total has also been active for many years, and the Britain-based company White Nile, also has oil interests.

The request by the expert panel calls for the drawing up of such a list not by the UN Security Council, but by the General Assembly, and would make it difficult for China to block. Senior western diplomats point out that UN Security Council resolution 1706 on the situation in Sudan, adopted on August 31, 2006, also provides language for "strong economic sanctions against human rights violations".

Asked in a press conference about reports of possible US contingency plans, that could stifle Sudan’s oil exports, El Mardi responded, "We are a sovereign country. That means no state has the right to dictate to us or impose its will on us. No entity can impose its hegemony on us."

Shut down Sudan’s ability to sell oil

China’s National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has a major stake in Sudan’s oil production, and is also active in exploration activity throughout the country. In February 2006, Sudan’s oil production averaged 536,000 barrels per day, according to estimates by the Paris-based International Energy Agency. China is the principal export destination for Sudan’s crude exports.

The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, Tom Lantos, (Dem-Calif.), has urged President George W. Bush to call "a summit of the world’s civilized nations, with a simple goal: “strong multilateral sanctions on Sudan, investment bans, prohibition on travel for Sudan’s top leaders, and most importantly, shutting down Sudan’s ability to sell oil and gas on the international market place."

Bush administration officials, including the US special envoy on Sudan, Andrew Natsios, have confirmed in hearings that the US government is looking at various classified plans - first revealed by the Washington Post - which include the US Treasury blocking US commercial bank transactions linked to the government of Sudan, including oil revenues, if the government of Sudan fails to act to stop the violations and obstructs peace efforts.