UPDATE 30/05 ~ We just won the official student general meeting vote! , Send an email to the Vice-Chancellor: vc@uq.edu.au to call for a meeting for the Student 4 Palestine demands to be met! Use your UQ email if possible! We won’t be silenced!

Introduction

The University of Queensland has a long and esteemed history as a center for learning and innovation. However, partnerships with companies like Thales, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, and Boeing Defense raise serious concerns about our university's commitment to peace and justice. These companies are major players in the global arms industry, and profit from weapons that destabilize regions and violate human rights.

For the last 7 months, Palestine has been indiscriminately attacked by Israel with technology from these companies. Over 35,000 civilians have been killed since October, with approximately 70% being women and children. Israel has disregarded international law for decades with its expanding settlements, occupation, apartheid system, and has reached a staggering level of criminality in these past months in what a Rapporteur for the UN Human Rights Council has called out as a genocide. Crimes that include the blocking of aid, bombing of hospitals and schools, sexual assault, the use of banned white phosphorus gas, targeting of aid workers, disregard of the UN security council ceasefire resolution, and more must be held accountable.

Our university must take a stand for human rights and a free Palestine- not be complicit in its destruction before our eyes with its investments!

The Problem

Our university's association with destructive arms corporations goes beyond simple investment. The presence of a dedicated research hub for Boeing within the engineering building sends a clear message that prioritizes military applications over research for the greater good. The University of Queensland has also received $60.5 million from the United States Defence Department since 2007. This department gives way to major defense companies to subcontract universities for defense and intelligence-related research.

This militarization of our campus environment normalizes the arms industry and undermines the core values of peace, social responsibility, and ethical research that our university should uphold. The time for change is now!

Our Demands

We, the undersigned students of the University of Queensland, demand the following:

● Transparency: The student body deserves complete transparency about how our university allocates its resources. We demand the university publish a clear list of all its investments, including any ties to the arms industry and companies with ties to documented human rights abuses (such as Israel’s unfolding genocide against the Palestinian people). This is vital to ensure our university's investments align with its values.
●  Divestment: We demand the university divest from all companies in the arms industry and those complicit in human rights violations, and sever all research partnerships with companies that are complicit in violence and fuel human rights violations (including with Thales, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Boeing Defense, etc). Shut down the Boeing center!
●  Reallocation: We urge the university to reallocate resources currently directed towards unethical military applications to initiatives that promote peace, social justice, and sustainable development.

Sign Now!

●  Students , Alumni , Faculty , Staff , UQ community-  Your voices matter! Sign to stand in solidarity.

By signing this petition, we are sending a clear message to the University of Queensland. We stand for peace and justice, not genocide. We urge the university to prioritize research for the betterment of humanity and to divest from the arms industry. With widespread support and enough signatures, we will bring our case to UQ's decision-makers to enact real change. We can make UQ a true champion for peace and justice!

Sources of information:
1. UQ partnerships https://research.uq.edu.au/partner/industry/defence-national-security

2. Companies profiting from Israel's attacks: https://afsc.org/gaza-genocide-companies#:~:text=The%20world's%20largest%20weapons%20manufacturer,using%20extensively%20to%20bomb%20Gaza 

UN list of companies operating in illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territories https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session31/database-hrc3136/23-06-30-Update-israeli-settlement-opt-database-hrc3136.pdf
BDS movement: https://bdsaustralia.net.au/about/what-is-bds/

3. Independent UN Expert Alleges Israeli Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XrwNGWF108

4. Israel’s system of Apartheid has been happening for decades: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/

5. latest reports and press releases from the UN human rights office , on human rights abuses in Palestine  https://www.ohchr.org/en/countries/palestine

6. The US military and arms dealers are paying hundreds of millions of dollars to ‘educate’ Australians at our leading universities https://declassifiedaus.org/2024/04/18/revealed-the-pentagons-infiltration-of-australian-universities/#:~:text=29%20of%20Australia's%2041%20universities,fundin g%2C%20an%20extraordinary%20%2472%20million. 

7. More on the divestment movement across universities: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/25/divestment-israel-college-protests

8. A petition from Amnesty calling on the Australian government to not allow arms exports to Israel: https://action.amnesty.org.au/act-now/australia-stop-selling-arms-to-the-israeli-authorities#:~:text=As%20people%20in%20Gaza%20face,is%20being%20exported%20from%20Australia  -----Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35 fighter jet, has said that “every F-35 built contains some Australian parts and components.”