Petition to Bath and North East Somerset City Council: Divest from Companies Complicit in Human Rights Abuses in Palestine

We, the undersigned, call on Bath and North East Somerset Council to divest its Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) fund from companies that enable Israel’s severe violations of Palestinian rights and to end any procurement contracts with these companies. 

Israel’s ongoing assault on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians, nearly half of whom are children. Entire neighborhoods have been leveled, and critical infrastructure, including hospitals and UN schools providing shelter, have been repeatedly targeted. As a result, 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced, many multiple times. Additionally, Israel’s blockade and systematic targeting of essential infrastructure have led to widespread famine, which UN experts in June 2024 identified as part of a “genocidal violence campaign.”

In January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found plausible evidence of genocidal acts by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. As a State Party to the Genocide Convention, the UK, including its local authorities, has a binding obligation to take all possible measures to prevent and deter further acts of genocide.

Bath and North East Somerset Council, along with four other local councils, invests £20 million from the Avon Pension Fund in companies linked to these human rights abuses. This includes £10 million invested in companies such as General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and Safran, which supply Israel with weapons used against Palestinian civilians. Furthermore, the Avon Pension Fund invests in companies that directly facilitate and profit from illegal settlements.

In June, UN experts called upon both states and companies to cease all arms transfers to Israel and warned that financial institutions like pension funds that invest in arms suppliers may face accountability for complicity in potential atrocity crimes.

We urge Bath and North Somerset City Council to:

1. *Divest the Avon Pension Fund* administered by the council from companies complicit in Israel’s actions against Palestinians. This includes divestment from arms manufacturers supplying Israel, companies providing infrastructure for the occupation, and those conducting business in illegal settlements on Palestinian land.

2. *End procurement contracts with companies complicit in Israel’s actions*, including terminating all banking arrangements with institutions like Barclays, which finances companies supplying Israel with weapons used in these attacks on Palestinians.

Recent legal developments in the UK affirm that public bodies retain the right to make ethical investment and procurement decisions. There is no legal barrier preventing the council from exercising its profound moral obligation not to contribute to Israel’s serious violations of Palestinian rights.