CalPERS will continue its current policy of "constructive engagement" with companies in its portfolio that have ties to Sudan, CalPERS Investment Committee Chair Charles P. Valdes said in a CalPERS press release. Such engagement "means identifying companies that have a presence in Sudan, determining the impact of their business on human rights, and demanding that they respond to our concerns." Last month, CalPERS sent letters to 11 companies in its portfolio that it had recently identified as active in Sudan. The letters asked the companies to clarify their involvement in Sudan, including information on whether the companies are doing "anything to promote and/or protect human rights" in light of ongoing atrocities. CalPERS sent similar letters to five companies last summer and met with representatives of those companies this winter.

The divestment decision is part of CalPERS' continuing compliance with a resolution passed by the state legislature last year, asking CalPERS and the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) to examine their holdings in companies doing business in Sudan in order to ensure that their investments are not furthering human rights abuses. In April, the CalSTRS board adopted a motion stating that the system would "move forward to divest its holdings from companies identified as doing business with the government of Sudan," using "the same general criteria utilized by the UC Regents."

A bill that would mandate CalPERS and CalSTRS divestment from Sudan is pending in California's legislature.