Agenda item
ITEMS FROM THE PUBLIC - TO RECEIVE STATEMENTS, PETITIONS OR QUESTIONS
Minutes:
The ongoing atrocities in Gaza are a moral catastrophe without parallel. There is no comparable case in recent times in which a captive population has been so relentlessly targeted, persecuted, and killed by a State act on this scale. The suffering Israel is inflicting has already claimed more than 45,000 lives, laid Gaza to waste, and undermined international institutions and the rule of law in the process. If we do not act, there may be worse to come – and history will judge us all gravely.
It is incumbent on us all to do what we can to end this terrible suffering. In this context, we note that Avon Pension Fund have investments of:
· £12 million of public money in companies profiting from illegal Israeli settlements and human rights abuses in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
· £10 million of public money in arms companies supplying Israel with military equipment used to kill Palestinians.
The world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, ruled in January 2024 that Israel may be committing genocide in Gaza. Our government and public institutions must employ all means reasonably available to prevent and deter further genocidal acts.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israel’s leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity. If convicted, complicity by UK citizens would also be a criminal offence in the UK.
In June 2024, the UN warned that investors failing to cut ties to arms companies supplying Israel “could move from being linked to human rights abuses to contributing to them, with repercussions for complicity in potential atrocity crimes”.
The UK Government’s own advice identifies the economic and financial risks associated with investments in illegal Israeli settlements and discourages such business activities.
The APF has a fiduciary duty to its investors. This includes a legal duty to give due regard the potential reputational impacts of its business activities. The last year or so has witnessed some of the largest demonstrations in recent UK history and the potential for reputational damage from continuing to invest in companies widely perceived to be complicit in Israeli genocide is demonstrable.
Investing in companies which may be facilitating genocide, war crimes, and egregious breaches of international humanitarian law clearly does not constitute a socially beneficial purpose. Adherence to international law is not optional.
With this in mind, and to avoid any potential due diligence or human rights challenges in future, can the APF confirm:
- What actions have APF taken to implement heightened due diligence on human rights harms in the OPTs as a result of Israel’s war in Gaza?
- What action have APF undertaken to evaluate the feasibility of engagement on actual human rights harms with Palestinians in the OPTs, or with their legitimate representatives?
- What leverage might APF have to influence the cessation of human rights harms in the OPTs?
- Is APF invested in any companies linked by the UN to human rights violations connected to illegal Israeli settlements in the OPTs?
- Are there any ‘no-go’ areas for APF business activities linked to the expansion of Israeli settlements in the OPTs?
It is incumbent on Avon Pension Fund to divest now from companies facilitating or profiting from Israel’s actions in the OPTs, including those operating in illegal settlements or facilitating Israel’s human rights abuses in the OPTs.
I am deeply troubled about the many equity investments that APF holds in companies that profit from the illegal occupation of Palestinian land as well as from the aerospace and defence sector that is decimating Gaza and perpetrating a genocide.
Information supplied this year by the Avon Pension Fund confirms that APF holds over £22 MILLION of public funds in such equity holdings. I will identify just a few of the companies, their products and briefly describe the harm that they do to Palestinians.
General Dynamics Corporation, the fifth-largest military contractor in the world in 2022, manufactures bombs including BLU-113 and BLU-109 ‘bunker-busting’ bombs, and ‘general purpose’ MK82 and MK84 bombs being widely used to destroy Gaza and exterminate its population.
Northrop Grumman, the third-largest military contractor in the world in 2022, provides Israel with missile systems including Longbow radar systems and Hellfire missiles for Israel’s Apache helicopters and critical components its F16 and F35 fighter jets used to target Palestinian homes, schools, hospitals, infrastructure and places of worship.
BAE Systems, the world’s seventh largest military contractor in 2022, supplies Israel with components for combat aircraft, munitions, missile launching kits, and armoured vehicles. BAE technologies are integrated into Israel's main weapon systems, including fighter jets, drones, and warships. BAE Systems provides weapon systems and components for Israel’s F-15, F- 16, and F-35 fighter jets, used to shred Palestinian children.
Boeing supplies the Israeli military with a wide variety of weapons, including fighter jets, attack helicopters, missiles, bombs, and precision-guided bomb kits. Boeing manufactures the F-15 fighter aircraft, which is one of the main warplanes used by the Israeli Air Force, as well as the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor military aircraft, Chinook helicopters, and the KC-46 Pegasus military refuelling and transport aircraft.
Investing in companies which, according to the International Court of Justice may be facilitating genocide, war crimes, and egregious breaches of international humanitarian law clearly does not constitute a socially beneficial purpose. Adherence to international law should not be optional.
Fay Pafford addressed the Committee, a copy of her statement will be attached as an online appendix to theses minutes and a summary is set out below.
About six weeks ago, I was put in contact with a trainee doctor in Gaza called Said Arooq - a young man of 21 whose life-long ambition is to serve his people by becoming a surgeon. In October of last year he was looking forward to starting his third year of medical school. This all stopped when his university was destroyed by Israeli bombs. His family fled after their home was destroyed and they have now been displaced twice. Said volunteers in one of the few remaining hospitals in the north of Gaza. He puts his life at risk every time he walks from his home to the hospital as Israeli drones regularly shoot and kill people walking in the streets. He is never safe.
The UN Global Compact asks companies to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set of core values in the area of human rights. Principles 1 & 2 state that businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights and make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
Investments in General Dynamics Corporation financed the ‘bunker-busting’ bombs used to destroy the University Said studied at and the Al Shifa hospital he trained at. They have provided the guns and ammunition used to maim the many children Said has operated on - including the child whose stomach he picked shrapnel out of earlier this week.
Investments in Northrop Grumman provide Israel with the Hellfire missiles used to destroy Said’s home and local mosque.
Investments in BAE technologies provide Isreal with the drones used to shoot, kill, and maim the many people Said and his colleagues daily risk their lives for.
Investments in Boeing Corporation provided Isreal with the precision-guided bomb-kits used to kill three of Said’s medical colleagues and their families a few days ago.
All of these are grave war-crimes which the ICJ clearly state may amount to Genocide. If you do not wish to be complicit in this, there is only one course of action open to you. Divestment.
Dave Searby addressed the Committee, a copy of his statement will be attached as an online appendix to theses minutes and a summary is set out below.
In June 2023, The UK Govt, in the guise
of Department for Business & Trade and Foreign and Commonwealth
office updated their guidance on Overseas business risk in Israel.
Note that this was before the terrible events of October 7th
2024 and the judgements of the ICJ, which will have hugely
increased the risk outlook.
I quote from section 2 of the report:
“The UK has a clear position on Israeli settlements: The
West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Golan Heights
have been occupied by Israel since 1967. Settlements are illegal
under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and
threaten a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
We (the UK govt) will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967
borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those
agreed by the parties.
There are therefore clear risks related to economic and financial activities in the settlements, and we do not encourage or offer support to such activity.
UK citizens and businesses should be aware of the potential reputational implications of getting involved in economic and financial activities in settlements, as well as possible abuses of the rights of individuals. Those contemplating any economic or financial involvement in settlements should seek appropriate legal advice.”
The January 2024 Country Risk Report for Israel in Israel, from the prestigious Allianz group includes the following conclusions. Again, I quote:
“The ongoing conflict is expected to have severe, short-term
consequences, affecting private consumption, labor supply and
foreign investors’ confidence Internal tensions and prolonged
hostilities exacerbate political uncertainty. Trust issues with
international allies and potential internal dissatisfaction pose
challenges to the government.
Anticipated military spending in 2024 may lead to a deficit of over 6% of GDP, contributing to public debt nearing 70%. This could impact government bonds and economic sustainability.
The internal tensions that emerged in the first nine months of 2023 and the prospect of a prolonged conflict around Israel’s borders portend greater political uncertainty.”
I put it to you that if the Avon Pension Fund is looking to minimise commercial and legal risk, it needs to eliminate investments in the occupied territories and in companies involved in the supply of weapons to Israel.
Julia Thomas addressed the Committee, a copy of her statement will be attached as an online appendix to theses minutes and a summary is set out below.
I am here today to speak about apartheid. The Avon Pension Fund is perpetuating this dehumanizing system of oppression by investing over £12 million in companies that profit from their operations in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank.
The Israeli government has encouraged the building of many colonial settlements all over the West Bank. These settlements are connected by "settler-only" roads, which lead back to Israel. Palestinians can only travel via a complex system of permits and military checkpoints. These barriers restrict Palestinian access to education, healthcare, and livelihoods. And, the Israeli separation wall, built on stolen Palestinian land, isolates farmers from their fields and olive groves. Israel also controls 80% of the water resources in the West Bank, further compounding the hardship for Palestinian communities. These policies amount to apartheid.
In the 1960s, revelations about South African apartheid led many local councils to reassess their investments in pension funds. It was clear that divesting from apartheid South Africa was an effective tool for driving change. This same logic must be applied today to our investments in companies supporting Israeli settlements.
The Avon Pension Fund must also take into account the International Court of Justice’s declaration that Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem is illegal. In July 2024, the ICJ ruled that Israel’s legislation and actions violate the international prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid. The Court mandated that Israel end its occupation, remove the settlements, provide full reparations to Palestinian victims, and facilitate the return of displaced people.
Our pension fund must align with the ICJ’s ruling.
Youssef Ibrahim addressed the Committee, a copy of his statement will be attached as an online appendix to theses minutes and a summary is set out below.
Since October 7, 2023, Gaza has faced an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. Over 43,000 Palestinians have been killed, the majority of whom are women and children. More than 100,000 people have been injured, with hospitals overwhelmed and critical medical supplies running out. Over 1.9 million people have been displaced, with entire families forced to live in dire conditions without basic necessities like clean water or food.
The suffering in Gaza is a direct result of systemic violations of international law, including the use of advanced military technologies by companies profiting from arms sales and illegal settlements. Avon Pension Fund is currently complicit in this suffering.
· £12 million is invested in companies profiting from illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories—settlements that the United Nations and international courts have declared unlawful.
· Over £10 million is invested in aerospace and defence companies like Boeing, BAE Systems, and Northrop Grumman, all of which directly supply arms used in the devastating attacks on Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.
These investments expose this fund — and by extension, its stakeholders — to significant legal, financial, and reputational risks.
We are calling on the Avon Pension Fund Committee to:
- Immediately divest from all companies profiting from illegal settlements and arms sales linked to violations of international law. This includes companies such as General Dynamics, Boeing, and Safran, which are directly implicated in the ongoing violence.
- Ensure fund managers implement rigorous risk assessments, particularly in light of recent international legal developments concerning Israel’s actions since October 2023.
- Commit to compliance with UK and international legal standards, ensuring all investments respect human rights as enshrined in international law.
This is not just a moral failing—it’s a breach of the legal and ethical obligations this committee has to its members and the communities it serves.
It is time for Avon Pension Fund to lead with integrity, divest from complicity, and ensure that public money is not used to fund human rights abuses.
The Chair thanked all the speakers for their statements.
The Head of Pensions added his thanks and emphasised how moved the Committee was by the speakers’ personal testimonies. He said that the Fund was actively considering this matter and that any such work would take a period of time and that there may be a need for the Committee to meet again in early 2025 to discuss this matter.