Bill Now Goes to Governor to be Signed into Law
TRENTON – Senator Nia H. Gill, D-Essex and Passaic, the prime sponsor of legislation that would require New Jersey to divest all state-administered pension investments held in companies with ties to the Sudanese government, issued the following statement regarding the approval of the bill today by the Assembly by a vote of 79-1, giving it final legislative approval:
“The actions being perpetrated in the name of ethnic cleansing in the Darfur region of the Sudan are an affront to humanitarianism across the globe. The atrocities being committed every day are an abomination on the face of basic human decency the world over.
There needs to be a strong voice of opposition, disgust and condemnation, to send the message that rational people in a rational world do not stoop to the levels of discrimination, racism and religious sectionalism that have defined the conflict in Darfur.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to the plight of people on the other side of the world. A supposedly enlightened society cannot face the darkness of slavery and death without wanting to shed some light, to reveal the evils of bigotry and discrimination, and to help the people of the region overcome those evils with compassion, understanding and respect for one’s fellow person.
“I am proud of my fellow legislators, from both sides of the aisle, who stood on the side of humanity over blind prejudice, and I am optimistic that our actions today will reverberate in Darfur, and that New Jersey will be only one of the first of many messengers to let the Sudanese regime know that their actions will not be tolerated.”