Open letter to Peter Mathieson in support of divestment demands
Dear Peter,
We are writing about the ongoing situation in Palestine and in support of our students’ divestment demands, most recently brought to your attention in their solidarity encampment at Old College.
As we are sure you are aware, on 29 December 2023 the Republic of South Africa asked the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), to apply the Genocide Convention to Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, and requested “that the Court indicate provisional measures to protect the rights invoked herein from imminent and irreparable loss.” South Africa added that the “acts and omissions by Israel complained of by South Africa are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group, that being the part of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip (‘Palestinians in Gaza’)”.
The ICJ responded to the South African request on 26 January 2024, acknowledging that there is concrete risk of genocide proceeding in Gaza, and that in “the Court’s view, the facts and circumstances mentioned above are sufficient to conclude that at least some of the rights claimed by South Africa and for which it is seeking protection are plausible.” Given the plausibility of genocide in Gaza, the ICJ issued immediate provisional measures against Israel, and, in line with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the court ordered Israel to stop the following genocidal actions: “(a) killing members of the group; (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group”. The ICJ asked Israel to submit a report one month from the order.
On 6 March 2024, after Israel’s report to the ICJ, in light of the lack of implementation of the Jan 26 provisional measures, and the intensification of killings and starvation used as a weapon of war against the Palestinian population of Gaza, the Republic of South Africa asked the ICJ for additional provisional measures and asked the court to act “now — before it is too late — to do what is within its power to save Palestinians in Gaza from genocidal starvation.” On 28 March, the ICJ reaffirmed the provisional measures of Jan 26 and issued new provisional orders asking the State of Israel, in conformity with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to “take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full co-operation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza, including by increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary.”
As we are sure you are aware, the University holds direct and indirect investments in companies which produce weapons for the State of Israel. Such investments put the University at risk of complicity with plausible genocide. For instance, the UoE has investment assets in BlackRock (£50,187,222 as of January 2024), which invests in arms manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin which anticipates supplying an excess of $4 billion worth of weapons to Israel. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign has found that UK Universities collectively invest nearly £430m in companies complicit in Israeli violations of international law; the University of Edinburgh also invests in complicit companies including Albemarle Corp (£666,392 as of January 2024).
UCU Edinburgh urges you to:
1. Clarify the position of the University vis-à-vis the order issued by the ICJ, and make clear whether the UoE is evaluating the repercussions of its investments in companies holding shares in arms manufacturers which supply Israel in its annihilation campaign in Gaza;
2. Immediately de-risk and suspend all investments in companies that hold shares in these arms manufacturers;
3. Use any income from investments in the above companies generated since the beginning of the Israeli assault on Gaza to create a special fund for the support of academics and students from Gaza (whose universities have been completely destroyed).
Given the urgency of the situation, we look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
UCU Edinburgh branch committee