The Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act which authorizes state and local governments to divest from companies that support the Khartoum government in Sudan and prohibits federal contracts with those companies has been signed into law by President Bush.

Darfur activists have been aggressively pushing this legislation, and the groups – including the Save Darfur Coalition, Genocide Intervention Network, National Association of Evangelicals, American Jewish World Service and NAACP – together hailed this critical step and have been urging the Bush administration to not obstruct it.

"We commend the Senate for pushing the United States towards fulfilling its responsibility to protect civilians in Darfur,” the groups said in a joint statement. “We specifically highlight the tireless efforts of Senators Dodd, Shelby, Reid and Durbin, who all worked to ensure the measure passed in a unanimous, bipartisan fashion.”