AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA
PRESS RELEASE
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE:
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at 12:01 a.m. EDT

Human Rights and Investor Coalition Pushes Action on Darfur Atrocities by Stockholders of Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase
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Groups Urge Engagement to Help End Darfur Conflict

(New York) -- Beginning today and continuing through May 20th, shareholders of four major financial firms -- Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo -- are being asked to vote on proposals that will push the firms to use their investment relationships with Chinese, Indian and Malaysian oil companies to press the government of Sudan to end atrocities in Darfur.

The shareholder proposals (below) are being sought by human rights organizations and socially conscious investors out of concern about the government of Sudan's use of oil revenues to support its military campaign in Darfur, which has resulted in the loss of more than 200,000 lives. Civilians are routinely raped, tortured and kidnapped, more than 2.6 million people have been displaced and two-thirds of the population relies on humanitarian aid to survive.

Four oil companies dominate the industry in Sudan: China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC/PetroChina), China Chemical and Petroleum Corporation (Sinopec), Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India-Videsh (ONGC/OVL).

Proponents believe U.S. investors with stock in strategic companies in Sudan can advocate for an end to the violence by engaging with companies that provide revenue for the government to finance its military operations in Darfur. The shareholder proposals are coordinated by a coalition that includes Amnesty International USA, Genocide Intervention Network, Calvert Group, Ltd, Trillium Asset Management, Walden Asset Management, the Philadelphia Comptroller's Office and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, among others. (See full list below.)

PROXY Governance, Inc., which provides research and proxy voting recommendations to its clients, has recommended a vote in favor of the Sudan proposal, stating that "investment companies have the right, if not the fiduciary obligation, to seek to mitigate the potential risks associated with these stocks through active engagement on the issue" and it "could be beneficial to both the company and its shareholders."

"There is a misperception that divestment of stock is the only way to address risks associated with investment holdings in Sudan-linked companies," said Amy O'Meara, director of Business & Human Rights for Amnesty International USA, which filed the proposal with Citigroup. "We believe these firms need to talk to the companies in which they invest about the risks of doing business in Sudan, and urge them to use their unique leverage with the government of Sudan to support the full and speedy deployment of the full African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur."

The shareholder proposals are one component of a broader effort to encourage major investment firms with holdings in Sudan-linked companies to use their significant influence. In total, the coalition has reached out to more than 40 top firms. While a small number of firms, including American Funds and Vanguard, have acknowledged concern about Darfur and confirmed that they were engaging the companies they own that operate in Sudan, 26 firms have not responded at all. Shareholder proposals were originally filed with six non-responsive companies as an added measure of pressure. Since then, proponents have agreed to withdraw the proposals with T. Rowe Price and Merrill Lynch based on positive commitments made by those two firms.

As a result of a recent agreement reached with shareholder proponents of the Morgan Stanley proposal, the coalition intends to announce its withdrawal of that proposal at today's stockholder meeting, though those in attendance will still be able to cast their votes in favor as a means to signal support for continued engagement by the firm on this issue.

Tim Smith of Walden Asset Management, lead filer of the T. Rowe Price proposal, said, "The shareowner proposal provided an important platform to begin dialogue with companies like T. Rowe Price and to encourage them to think creatively about how to positively impact the conflict in Darfur through their investments. We commend T. Rowe Price for its multi-pronged approach of engaging strategic companies in the Sudan while scaling back their holdings in these companies."

Shelley Alpern of Trillium Asset Management, lead filer of the proposal with Merrill Lynch, added, "Merrill Lynch had already acknowledged the role they could play philanthropically, but had not yet considered how they could use their investment relationships or analytics in a positive way. Going forward, Merrill has pledged to consider Sudan-related risks in its investment decision making, to keep its investment banking relationship managers apprised of the situation in Sudan, and may also develop a Sudan-free investment index for its clients."

Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley have also met with members of the investor-NGO coalition, often including senior managers in the discussion, and have each begun taking steps to address concerns, though the coalition believes more is required. "By making Sudan a priority in their engagement and investment decisions, these firms can exert tremendous influence over companies that continue problematic operations in Sudan," said Adam Sterling of the Genocide Intervention Network. "Efforts to exert shareholder pressure on these companies have already begun to yield results - since 2005, several companies have significantly altered their behavior to exert a positive influence on the government of Sudan.

"We are disappointed in particular with the lack of response to date from Wells Fargo" said Stu Dalheim of Calvert Group, Ltd., the lead filer of the proposal with that company. "Wells Fargo should join its peers in considering ways to address the risks of investing in companies that are financially benefitting the government of Sudan."

Only Citigroup challenged the proposal at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in an unsuccessful attempt to block the vote by having the proposal removed from the shareholder proxy materials. All four firms have stated their opposition to the proposals and asked their shareholders to vote against them.

"We've been disappointed by the opposition statements, which seem to deliberately misrepresent our stockholder proposal and understate the ability and responsibility of these companies to act to mitigate the risks of investing in companies in Sudan," said O'Meara. These companies have a unique opportunity to play a leadership role on one of the most pressing policy issues of the day, and as investors, to protect the interests of their shareholders."

More details on how particular firms have responded can be found online at www.amnestyusa.org/progress.

Proposals have been filed by Amnesty International USA, Calvert Group, Ltd., Marianist Province of the United States, Northstar Asset Management, Needmor Fund, Sisters of Saint Joseph of Brighton MA, the Tides Foundation, Trillium Asset Management, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, the Vermont State Treasury and Walden Asset Management among others.

Contact information for lead filers on shareholder proposals:
Shareholder proposals with Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch:
Trillium Asset Management is a Boston-based, socially responsible investment firm that manages $1 billion for individual and institutional clients.
Contact Shelley Alpern at 617-292-8026 x 248 and 617-970-8944 (mobile)

Shareholder proposal with Citigroup:
Amnesty International is the largest grassroots human rights organization in the world, with more than 2.2 million members.
Contact Amy O'Meara at 212-633-4288

Shareholder proposal with T. Rowe Price:
Walden Asset Management has $1.8B in assets under management and for 35 years has been a leader in Responsible Investing.
Contact Tim Smith at 617-726-7155

Shareholder proposal with Wells Fargo:
Calvert Group, Ltd. offers socially responsible mutual funds with 41 portfolios and more than $16 billion in assets under management.
Please contact Bennett Freeman at 301-951-4865

Text of Shareholder Proposal
HUMAN RIGHTS AND OUR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO

The issue of human rights increasingly impacts investors and companies alike. Company reputations are affected by both direct and indirect involvement in human rights violations. Operating in countries with clear patterns of these violations, such as Sudan and Burma, may heighten reputational and financial risk. Furthermore, companies can face similar risks when they or their suppliers are found to be using forced labor or discriminating against employees, among other abuses.

Proponents believe that institutional investors, including asset management firms such as COMPANY, bear fiduciary and moral responsibilities as owners of stock in companies that may be connected to human rights violations. Thus we are encouraging our company to report on policies and guidelines that address these issues. This report and guidelines can address how our company as a shareholder can most effectively respond to these human rights issues, including strategies for shareowner engagement with the companies and/or divestment of stock as appropriate.

RESOLVED

Shareowners request that the Board of Directors authorize and prepare a report to shareowners which discusses how our investment policies address or could address human rights issues, at reasonable cost and excluding proprietary information, by October 2008.

Such a report should review the current investment policies of the company with a view toward adding appropriate policies and procedures to apply when a company in which we are invested , or its subsidiaries or affiliates, is identified as contributing to human rights violations through their businesses or operations in a country with a clear pattern of mass atrocities or genocide.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Proponents believe one example, clearly demonstrating the need for this report concerns the ongoing atrocities in Sudan, and how certain types of foreign investment contribute to the conflict.

Sudan’s western region, Darfur, continues to experience human rights abuses on an unimaginable scale, including systematic and widespread murder, torture, rape, abduction, looting and forced displacement. Since February 2003, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed by both deliberate and indiscriminate attacks, and 2.5 million civilians in the region have been displaced.

Much of the revenue fueling this conflict is generated by Sudan’s oil industry. Rather than funding social development, the majority of these revenues are funneled into military expenditures.

With little capital or expertise to efficiently extract its own oil, Sudan relies almost entirely on foreign companies for both. The oil industry in Sudan is dominated by four foreign companies: China National Petroleum Corporation of China, Petronas of Malaysia, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India, and Sinopec of China.

Over 20 US states and 50 colleges have adopted Sudan investment policies, including engagement, screening and divestment, regarding these and other foreign companies operating in certain sectors in Sudan. A 1997 presidential executive order generally bars American companies and citizens from conducting business in Sudan. In 2007, President Bush reinforced that executive order.

Proponents believe that our company, as an investor , has a responsibility to address this internationally condemned conflict in the Sudan.

Members of the NGO-investor coalition
Amnesty International USA
Amnesty International Switzerland
Calvert Group, Ltd.
Christian Brothers Investment Services, Inc.
Clean Yield Asset Management
FairPlanet GmbH
Genocide Intervention Network
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility-Promoting Human Rights Working Group
JMR Financial
Marianist Province of the United States
Northstar Asset Management
Office of Controller, City of Philadelphia
RettetDarfur.de
Shikaya (South Africa)
Skoll Foundation
Society of Threatened Peoples-Germany
Society of Threatened Peoples-Switzerland
Sudan Divestment Task Force
Sudan Divestment UK
The Aegis Trust
Trillium Asset Management
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Walden Asset Management

Additional Background
Info on joint sign-on letter at www.amnestyusa.org/signonletter
Progress report on company responses at www.amnestyusa.org/progress
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150 or Ben Somberg, 212-633-4268

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