About the Corporate Sponsor Campaign

China can play an important role in bringing peace and security to Sudan. As Sudan’s economic and diplomatic protector the Chinese government has not only allowed the genocide to continue, but has done virtually nothing to speak out against to Khartoum. In fact, China has given Sudan the necessary items to commit genocide, as a supplier of arms shipment into Darfur for the government forces. China has continued to purchase a vast amount of Sudan’s oil, enabling the government, to in turn use the money to cause destruction and death in Darfur. China also protects Sudan in the international community, as it allows and even assists Khartoum in preventing the full terms of the UNAMID from being applied in Sudan.

Amid China’s complicity in the genocide, it has been given the special opportunity to host the 2008 Olympics, an event that represents peace and unity among the world’s countries. Unfortunately, China has not lived up to the ideals, the games are supposed to represent. As a result, corporations who are sponsoring the Beijing Olympics are in a unique position—they have the ability to urge China to act upon the genocide in Darfur. Corporate sponsors exert important financial influence over the Chinese government and could do a series of things in order to help ensure that they are using their sponsorship position to help bring significant progress to the situation in Darfur.

Dream for Darfur, a targeted advocacy campaign focused on the 2008 Olympics has spent the past year working with 19 corporate sponsors, in hopes that they would use their power to voice their concern over China’s complicity in genocide. However, all but two of the corporate sponsors have stayed virtually silent on the issue of Darfur.

Of the 19 corporate sponsors, Dream for Darfur has been in contact with, STAND has decided to focus primarily on four, based upon a number of important factors including those sponsors policies regarding corporate responsibility. Their commitment to upholding the core values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, should include using any opportunity they have to protect the people of Darfur.

STAND is asking that Coca-Cola, GE, Swatch and Volkswagen do the following:

1. Voice their concern —publicly or privately— that China’s role in the Darfur genocide is contradictory to the Olympics mission. They can contact following organizations or individuals, but are not limited to this list alone: The UN Security Council, Adolf Ogi- Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace, President Hu or the Beijing Organizing Committee.
2. Work with other corporate sponsors on the issue of Darfur. Corporate sponsors should meet together to discuss what they could be doing to actively engage China into the issue of Darfur. They should sign a collective statement of concern in order to demonstrate to China that they are united on the issue.
3. Corporate sponsors set up meetings with STAND members to discuss why we believe it is important that they act on the issue of Darfur, as well as specifically outlining what more they could be doing in order to help stop the genocide.

GE and Coca-Cola have both contributed to crucial humanitarian effort in Darfur. STAND believes, however, that sponsors' donations to aid organizations do not excuse them from their larger responsibility: to use their influence with China to help end the crisis. Sponsors are in a position to address the roots of the conflict instead of its symptoms. Sponsors must urge China to ensure that UNAMID is fully deployed; donations alone are not enough.

STAND’s student activists will work for the next two months to ensure that corporate sponsors use their opportunity to help bring change to Darfur. Until they use their power to promote peace, corporate sponsors will hear from STAND members everyday leading up to the Olympics.