Res. No. 954

Resolution calling on United States corporate sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics with headquarters and operations in New York City to meaningfully engage the Chinese government in proactively addressing their role in the ongoing crisis in Darfur and to withdraw from and withhold any commitment to support the Olympics if the Chinese government fails to sever its financial connections with Sudan or to leverage its connections to hold Sudan accountable for ending the genocide in Darfur before December 31, 2007.

By Council Members Felder, Brewer, Dickens, Fidler, Gennaro, Gerson, Gioia, James, Koppell, Mark-Viverito, Nelson, Palma, Recchia Jr., Sanders Jr., Weprin and Avella

Whereas, According to Human Rights Watch and American Jewish World Services (AJWS), since early 2003, the government of Sudan, through a group of ethnic militias, such as the Janajaweed, has engaged in a brutal military campaign in the Darfur region of Sudan; and

                     Whereas, According to AJWS, at least 400,000 people have been killed and two million people have been forced from their homes in Darfur; and

Whereas, According to UNICEF, an estimated, 3.6 million people, including an estimated 1.8 million children, have been affected by the crisis in Darfur; and

                     Whereas, The State Department of the United States of America described the crisis in Darfur as “ethnic cleansing” as early as April 2004 and determined in September 2004 that the crisis in Darfur constitutes state sponsored genocide; and

                     Whereas, In May 2007, the Bush Administration stated that it will look for new U.N. Security Council sanctions against Sudan, and will seek a resolution that will stop the Sudanese government from carrying out military flights in Darfur; and

                     Whereas, China is the most prolific consumer of Sudanese oil and a partner in developing Sudan’s oil output, with the China National Petroleum Corporation owning 40% of Sudan’s Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company; and

Whereas, According to the ex-Minister of Finance for Sudan, 70% of Sudan’s oil profits help to fund the Sudanese government’s military; and

                     Whereas, Since the 1990s, China has sold arms and weapons to Sudan, including an estimated $100 million in fighter aircraft and troop transport helicopters; and

Whereas, According to Amnesty International, many small arms used by rebels, Janajaweed, and government forces in Darfur come from China; and

Whereas, China has opposed actions to sanction the Sudanese government for its genocidal activities in Darfur; and

                     Whereas, The Chinese capital city of Beijing was selected as the host city for the 2008 Summer Olympics; and

                     Whereas, Some critics have labeled the 2008 Summer Olympics “The Genocide Olympics” as a result of China’s close relationship with Sudan and its refusal to intervene to stop the suffering in Darfur; and

                     Whereas, The sponsorship of the Olympics by American corporations with headquarters and operations in New York City, including Johnson and Johnson, Coca-Cola, General Electric (GE), Samsung, and Kodak, is essential to the economic viability of the Olympic Games; and

Whereas, GE, parent company to the National Broadcast Corporation, which is headquartered in New York City, purchased the broadcasting rights to the 2008 Olympics for $894 million; and

                     Whereas, By GE’s own estimate, the 2008 Olympics will generate more than $1 billion in revenue, with some estimates projecting revenue at more than $1.7 billion; and

Whereas, Even more important than the economic consequences of the aforementioned corporations withdrawing their support and participation from the 2008 Olympics would be the tremendous attention brought to China’s compliant relationship with Sudan throughout the genocide in Darfur and the additional pressure put on China to leverage its position to end ethnic cleansing in Sudan; and

Whereas, The Chinese government and other corporations that do business with Sudan are in the unique position to demand ample UN peace-keeping forces, publicly press Sudan to adhere to ceasefire commitments and to keep its multiple commitments to disarm the Janajaweed militias, suspend all weapons transfers to Sudan and suspend debt forgiveness to its economy, demand a cessation of aerial bombardment of civilian targets, demand unfettered humanitarian access to all regions of Darfur, publicly announce other punitive actions that China is prepared to take in the event that Sudan refuses to accept an international peace support operation, disarm the Janajaweed, impedes or harasses humanitarian efforts, or refuses to halt indiscriminate aerial attacks, and rescind the interest-free loan for Sudan’s presidential palace; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on United States corporate sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics with headquarters and operations in New York City to meaningfully engage the Chinese government in proactively addressing their role in the ongoing crisis in Darfur and to withdraw from and withhold any commitment to support the Olympics if the Chinese government fails to sever its financial connections with Sudan or to leverage its connections to hold Sudan accountable for ending the genocide in Darfur before December 31, 2007.

LS# 3243

JN

7/16/07