Sudan/Darfur has brought human rights issues to the forefront in proxy voting.

Photo:Genocide Intervention Network, Creative Commons, Flickr

Springtime is proxy voting season and this year one of the newest issues is that of human rights. Human rights have been brought to the forefront by the events in Sudan/Darfur and many socially conscious investors are concerned that companies that they invest in may, in turn, be investing in foreign companies and governments that have dismal human rights records. One example includes companies that invest in PetroChina (PTR), a company that plays a big role in funding the Sudanese government through the oil industry.

This year, votes in Big Oil companies Chevron (CVX) — on May 28 — and ConocoPhillips (COP) — on May 14 — are going to include proposals on human rights. These proposals encourage reports on investments being made, as well as force the companies to change their policies to include human rights when determining investments. Even Halliburton (HAL) is looking at a human rights report proposal on May 21.

Financial companies are also seeing these proposals. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has vote on this issue on May 20.

Disclosure: I do not own stock in any of the companies listed above.

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