North Carolina severs Sudan financial ties

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Nov. 2 (UPI) -- In protest of atrocities in Sudan, North Carolina has pulled its state retirement funds from nine companies with links to the Sudanese government.

State Treasurer Richard Moore made the announcement Wednesday addressing 2,000 delegates at the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina in Winston-Salem, The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., reported Thursday.

Oil resources have made Sudan's economy the fastest-growing in Africa but the country has come under international condemnation for alleged human-rights abuses and government complicity in a war that involves militia groups and government forces, the report said.

"Our state pension funds should not be used to invest in companies that profit from genocide," Moore said. "As the ninth-largest pension fund in the nation, we have both the clout and the resources to make a difference."

About $24 million of the state's $70 billion pension investments were withdrawn from companies doing business with Sudan, Moore said.