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VII - Dartur Divestment Resolution SANDRA L. PAPPAS State Senator District 6S • CAPITOL OrFICE: 120 State Capitol. ?~ Rev. Dr. Martin .L,uther King, Jr. Blvd. St. Paul, MN 55155-1606 Phone: (651) 296-1802 Fax: (65.1) 22.5-7567 www. Sena te. mn'sena torE~appas ~~Y.~,~~ -;. xu a ~.~.~ 5tat~ ~f ~'1~ir~nes+~ta Mazch 18, 2009 Janet Delmore 2660 Civic Center Drive Roseville, MN SS 113 Dear Janet, The first genocide of the 21 ~` century is happening in Darfur, Sudan, Although Former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Former President George W. Bush called this crisis genocide more than five years ago, the violence, brutality, and ethnic cleansing continue unchecked. More than 400,000 people have died and 2,500,000 have been displaced from their homes and their villages. Minnesotans have said, "Genocide -not on our watch; not on our dime." They don't want their money to be used to support the genocidal Sudanese regime. For that reason, I sponsored a tazgeted divestment bill which Minnesota's legislators unanimously passed in May 2007, the 13`~ state in the nation to do so. A few dozen companies are known to be complicit with the genocidal regime in Sudan. The divestment movement takes money out of these companies as a way to limit funding for bombs, planes, guns, and bullets. As a boazd member of the Genocide Intervention Network - Minnesota, I was also instrumental in the city of St. Paul's successful passage of divestment from these companies. To date, four Minnesota cities have divested: St. Paul, Minneapolis, Edina, and Hopkins. The city of Edina is the third city in the country to pass ananti-genocide resolution, joining Chicago and San Francisco in decrying crimes against humanity. The University of Minnesota is one of 61 colleges and universities to divest. The citizens of your city don't want any of their city's funds to be invested in companies that support genocide. I urge you to join Minnesota's state and local efforts to speak out against genocide and to divest your city's funds from companies that are complicit in funding these atrocities. As the leadership voice for human rights in your city, we aze asking you to join us in passing a divestment resolution. I'm enclosing a copy of a divestment resolution that your city can adopt. For those cities with no current investments in the tazgeted companies, this resolution assures that, going forwazd, funds aze scrutinized on a regular basis. This resolution also makes an important statement to national and international leaders about the responsibility to protect innocent civilians everywhere. Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding steps that your city can take to stop the fast genocide of the 21 ~` century. Sincerely, Sandra L. Pappas State Senator Enclosure: Edina. divestment resolution * Visit www.mn in.orgldivestment for the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Hopkins divestment resolutions. CUi<titilt'ITEES: Chair; Higher Education Budget and Policy Division • Finance, State and Local Govenunent Clperations, State Gcn•ernment Budget Division, Capitol Tnvestmem, Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement