Oregon Statutes - Chapter 293 - Administration of Public Funds - Section 293.813 - Findings.

(1) The people of Oregon condemn the human rights abuses, enslavement and genocide in Sudan and declare these atrocities to be absolutely contrary to the fundamental principles of human rights and standards of justice and individual freedom.

(2) The Legislative Assembly finds:

(a) The Congress of the United States has declared that genocide is occurring in the Darfur region of Sudan;

(b) The National Black Caucus of State Legislators Resolution 05-144 declares that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur are genocide under Articles 1 to 3 of the 1948 United Nations Convention;

(c) The United Nations International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur found that government forces and militias of Sudan have conducted indiscriminate attacks, including the killing of civilians, torture, enforced disappearances, the destruction of villages, rape and other forms of sexual violence, pillaging and forced displacement throughout Darfur;

(d) Sudanese government forces and government-supported militia forces have implemented a coordinated policy of ethnic cleansing;

(e) More than 2.2 million people are affected by the crisis in Sudan, with 1.2 million displaced inside Sudan, 200,000 living as refugees and more than 50,000 people having died, according to the Catholic Relief Services;

(f) Sixty percent of the villages in Northern Darfur have been destroyed or abandoned according to the Intermediate Technology Development Group;

(g) Sudanese government forces have pursued a scorched earth policy aimed at removing populations from around a newly constructed oil pipeline and other oil production facilities, according to the United States Department of State Report on Human Rights Practices in Sudan;

(h) Fourteen thousand Dinka women and children have been abducted in Sudan according to the United States Department of State 2005 Trafficking in Persons Report;

(i) Christian Solidarity International reports that the government of Sudan is responsible for the revival of the evil institution of slavery;

(j) The Methodist Church of Southern Africa reports mass rapes of girls and women, the displacement of millions of people and genocide and ethnic cleansing in Darfur;

(k) The Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has declared a genocide emergency in Sudan;

(L) Genocide, enslavement and such atrocities are repugnant to the basic principles of liberty and justice in the Bill of Rights, Article I of the Oregon Constitution, which are fundamental to the character of a free society; and

(m) The investment of subject investment funds in business firms and financial institutions with ties to the repressive regime in Sudan is inconsistent with the moral and political values of the people of Oregon. [2005 c.774 §4]

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Last modified: August 7, 2008