Twenty-four institutional investors and managers including Calvert Asset Management and Boston Common Asset Management called on oil companies doing business in Libya to halt payments to the Libyan government. The investors are asking oil companies to place revenue payments into a Libya Recovery Fund that would cut financial support from the government while avoiding undue economic harm to civilians.

"Oil companies operating in Libya possess tremendous economic leverage and have an opportunity - and responsibility - to ensure their operations do not support the Libyan government, which has launched horrific attacks on civilian protesters," stated Bennett Freeman, Senior Vice President for Sustainability Research and Policy at Calvert Asset Management Company.

"Investors are in a unique position to influence the management of oil companies doing business in Libya," said Dawn Wolfe, Associate Director of Environmental, Social and Governance Research at Boston Common Asset Management. "The risks and uncertainties in that operating environment are extreme and the human rights implications vast. Companies and investors cannot stand idly by."

The investors are members of the Conflict Risk Network (CRN), a network of nearly 100 international institutional investors, including public pension funds such as the New York State Common Retirement Fund and socially responsible investment firms such as Calvert Asset Management. CRN calls on corporate actors to fulfill their responsibility to respect human rights and to take steps that support peace and stability in areas affected by conflict.

"It would be unconscionable if revenues from Libya's lucrative oil sector support Colonel Qaddafi's deliberate attacks on Libyan's citizens," stated Melany Grout, Director of the Conflict Risk Network. "Creating a Libya Recovery Fund is a way forward that would cut support to the government while enabling civilians to benefit from their resources."

For more information including a list of oil companies doing business in Libya, please see CRN's Engagement Fact Sheet.

Background on Libya Oil Production
Oil is the primary source of revenue for the Libyan government, which relies on the resource for 95 percent of its export earnings and 80 percent of its domestic revenue. Recent reports claim a gap of several billion dollars a year between the amount of money Libya makes from its oil reserves and government spending - a shortfall some believe Col. Qaddafi claimed for personal use.

By now, most people are familiar with the Story of Stuff Project directed by Annie Leonard and produced by Free Range Studios. This year, they've put together a great video focusing on Citizen's United vs. FEC.

Watch the video which explains the issues in a fun, easy to digest way.  At the same time they propose solutions such as a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling and implement public financing of elections. 

The Story of Citizens United vs. FEC (2011)