Yale dumping oil investments linked to Sudan

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) _ Yale University is selling off its oil stocks linked to the African nation of Sudan because the country has been accused of genocide. <br/><br/>``The time-honored principles that

Thursday, February 16th 2006, 11:10 am

By: News On 6

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) _ Yale University is selling off its oil stocks linked to the African nation of Sudan because the country has been accused of genocide.

``The time-honored principles that Yale observes as an ethical institutional investor have guided us to take this strong action,'' Yale President Richard Levin said Wednesday in announcing the move.

He said he did not know the value of the stock, calling it ``a small piece of a large fund.''

Levin said the university had stock in one of seven oil companies that it determined were providing ``the lion's share of the revenue to the Sudanese government.''

Levin identified the companies as: Bentini, Higleig, Hi-Tech Petroleum, Nam Fatt, Oil & Natural Gas Corp., PetroChina and Sinopec.

Levin said the companies are presumed to be committing ``grave social injury'' by providing financial assistance to the perpetrators of genocide.

The United States and international humanitarian groups have accused the Sudanese government of using its oil wealth to wage genocide against the people in the western Darfur region.

The Yale Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility, with help from Yale Law School's international human rights clinic, recommended the move, and Yale Corporation voted at a meeting last week to divest.