Rhode Island § 35-10-12 - State Investment Commission

§ 35-10-12. Investment in corporations doing business in South Africa.

(a) It is hereby found by the general assembly that:

(1) The African national congress (ANC), led by Nelson Mandela, has called upon the international community to lift all sanctions previously imposed to censure South Africa for its apartheid policies and to apply economic pressure to leverage political and humanitarian change in that country; and

(2) South Africa has held elections in April, 1994, allowing black South Africans their first opportunity to vote in national elections.

(b) Following democratically-held elections in the Republic of South Africa, the commission and all quasi-public agencies shall be free to hold the stocks, bonds, and other forms of financial investments of any banks or publicly-traded corporations which operate in South Africa, hereby lifting the sanctions previously imposed on these investments.

(c) The commission shall encourage, through the voting of proxies with other institutional investors, United States corporations operating in the Republic of South Africa to endorse and comply with the responsible reinvestment standard set forth by the South African council of churches (SACC), known as the “Code of Conduct for Businesses Operating in South Africa”, which is designed to promote equal opportunity, workers’ rights, environmental protection, and community economic development benefitting all South Africans.