The Council has a direct interest in the WMPF. This petition is
raised appropriately to ask the Council to meet obligations in
international law. Investments held by the West Midlands Pension
fund are currently committed to armament manufacturers which supply
Israel. Israel is using these armaments against civilians in the
current iteration of the ongoing occupation and subjugation of
Palestinians in what the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has
ruled is "plausibly a genocide”. These investments are
contrary to humanitarian and ethical behaviour and do not meet the
standards set for responsible investment.
In a letter (dated 21 November 2021) the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian
territory occupied since 1967 called on the managers of all Local
Government Pension funds:
1) To conduct enhanced human rights due diligence for all companies
that are listed in the OHCHR Database, as well as others beyond the
scope of the database that may be involved in the illegal Israeli
settlement economy. This should include using leverage to influence
investee companies to desist from involvement in the settlement
economy, as well as accounting for steps taken by LGPS in this
regard.
2) To divest LGPS of its holdings in any of the companies that are
listed in the database, if the company cannot give clear assurance
that it itself has removed itself entirely from the settlement
economy.
3) To ensure that holdings in companies in high-risk,
conflict-affected areas (wherever they may be in the world) are a
priority for LGPS’s ESG strategy, and provisions should be
made with the LGPS’s Investment Strategy Statement.
(https://balfourproject.org/bp/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/LetterLynk22112021-1.pdf)
As reported by Pension Expert (6 December 2021) PSC director Ben
Jamal said: ‘The ask of local government pension schemes is
that they do not invest money in companies identified, including by
the UN, as being complicit in violations of international
law”. But as
Rachel Brothwood, director of pensions at WMPF, told Pensions
Expert in October 2020: “The West Midlands Pension Fund
adopts a risk-based approach to responsible investment based on the
principle of engagement for positive change where this can
influence and protect the value of the fund’s
investments.”
[https://www.pensions-expert.com/Law-Regulation/LGPS-urged-to-divest-from-Israeli-settlement-economy?ct=true
Since 2021 many representations have been made to the West Midlands
Pension Fund and also to the Coventry representative on the Pension
Fund Committee urging progress on this matter.
On 28 February 2024 a fund member (Simon Cardy) wrote to the Fund (in the context of the International Court of Justice Ruling) as follows:
“I understand investments are held by the West Midlands
Pension Fund (WMPF) in the following arms manufacturing companies
who sell weapons systems, equipment and parts to Israel:
BAE Systems, Boeing, Chemring, General Dynamics, Honeywell,
Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, Meggitt, Raytheon, Rolls-Royce, Smiths
Group, Textron, Thales, Ultra Electronics.
Please could you provide me with the following information:
1. In view of Amnesty International’s call for Israel to be investigated for war crimes following 7 October and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recent ruling that Israel and parties should take all steps to prevent genocide taking place in Gaza, has the West Midlands Pension Fund, or the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) on its behalf, expressed any concern, by way of engagement, with or to any of the above companies to immediately stop selling and supplying arms to Israel?
2. If so which companies have been approached and what has been their response?”
The response received from the West Midlands Pension Fund reported that no direct action had been taken on this matter despite the call from the United Nations Special Rapporteur back in 2021 and the International Court of Justice ruling in 2024 as follows:
“The West Midlands Pension Fund (“the Fund”) and the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) on its behalf, have not directly engaged with companies on the specific topic to immediately stop selling and supplying arms to Israel.”
Instead the Fund explains that it “undertakes engagement through collaborative investor action with its engagement partners, including but not limited to, its pooling company and the LAPFF. As part of a broad Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and responsible investment engagement approach, the Fund’s engagement partners have engaged with several companies on matters relating to humanitarian and human rights impacts in global conflict zones. Engagement focus has been on understanding companies’ approaches to managing risks and ensuring adherence to international humanitarian and human rights standards.” Despite this extensive engagement process no progress was reported as having been achieved.
(see https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/investment_in_arms_companies_sel)
This policy of engagement has not prevented continued
significant investment by the West Midlands Pension Fund in
companies which are complicit in widespread destruction in Gaza and
the killing of tens of thousands of civilians. The urgency of the
situation requires that prompt disinvestment is adopted as the Fund
strategy rather than continuing with the, by now, discredited
approach of ‘engagement’.
This ePetition runs from 19/08/2024 to 23/10/2024.
184 people have signed this ePetition.