Rolls Royce has said it will ‘progressively withdraw’ from any
contracts it has in Sudan, owing to concerns about the country’s
humanitarian crisis.
The British engineering group, which supplies engines to some oil
companies operating in Sudan, said it would also ‘not seek new
business’ there.
Commercial links with Sudan have become a sensitive human rights issue
in the US, where 12 states have passed legislation requiring their
investing institutions – principally pension funds – to divest from
companies doing business in the African country, whose government the White House has accused of genocide.
Approximately one-quarter of Rolls-Royce’s sales last year were in
North America, with a value of at least $3.9billion (£1.95bn), and its
investment in the US stands at $1bn.
Last month Ford Motor Company decided to stop exports of Land Rover
vehicles to Sudan over concerns about their use by military or
paramilitary groups. It said it would no longer supply ‘for any
reason’. Kansas and Indiana are the latest states to divest.
