Norwegian fund bars US, German arms makers over Gaza war
A picture taken from Jabalia city inside the Gaza Strip shows the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia amid destroyed buildings, in the north of the Gaza Strip, on 28 June.
Photo:
AFP/ Bashar Taleb
Norway's biggest pension fund KLP says it has dropped US group Oshkosh Corporation and Germany's ThyssenKrupp from its investment portfolio for selling weapons and equipment used by Israel's military in Gaza.
KLP - which is separate from Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest - said Oshkosh Corporation was supplying trucks to the Israeli military, which adapts them into armoured troop transport vehicles.
The fund also accused ThyssenKrupp of agreeing to supply Israel's navy, before the outbreak of the war in Gaza, with corvettes and submarines.
"Companies have an independent duty to exercise due diligence in order to avoid complicity in violations of fundamental human rights and humanitarian law," said Kiran Aziz, head of responsible investments at KLP Asset Management, in a statement.
KLP, which managed assets worth $US114 billion in the first quarter, sold its holdings in Oshkosh Corporation valued at 19 million kroner ($US1.9 million).
It also sold its investment in ThyssenKrupp worth 10 million kroner.
The two companies were excluded on the basis of KLP's criterion relating to the "sale of weapons to states in armed conflicts that use the weapons in ways that represent serious and systematic breaches of international law governing the conflicts", KLP said.
The fund emphasised that the two companies had long-established cooperations with the Israeli army, and their deliveries continued after the start of the Gaza war on 7 October, 2023.
"The transfer of weapons and ammunition to Israel may constitute serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian laws and risk state complicity in international crimes, possibly including genocide," UN experts warned in June 2024.
Meanwhile, Norway's sovereign wealth fund, whose assets are valued at around $US1.9 trillion, is also under pressure to divest further from groups accused of helping Israel wage war on Gaza and continue its settlement policy in the occupied West Bank.
- Agence France-Presse
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
5 hours ago
- RNZ News
Norwegian fund bars US, German arms makers over Gaza war
A picture taken from Jabalia city inside the Gaza Strip shows the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia amid destroyed buildings, in the north of the Gaza Strip, on 28 June. Photo: AFP/ Bashar Taleb Norway's biggest pension fund KLP says it has dropped US group Oshkosh Corporation and Germany's ThyssenKrupp from its investment portfolio for selling weapons and equipment used by Israel's military in Gaza. KLP - which is separate from Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest - said Oshkosh Corporation was supplying trucks to the Israeli military, which adapts them into armoured troop transport vehicles. The fund also accused ThyssenKrupp of agreeing to supply Israel's navy, before the outbreak of the war in Gaza, with corvettes and submarines. "Companies have an independent duty to exercise due diligence in order to avoid complicity in violations of fundamental human rights and humanitarian law," said Kiran Aziz, head of responsible investments at KLP Asset Management, in a statement. KLP, which managed assets worth $US114 billion in the first quarter, sold its holdings in Oshkosh Corporation valued at 19 million kroner ($US1.9 million). It also sold its investment in ThyssenKrupp worth 10 million kroner. The two companies were excluded on the basis of KLP's criterion relating to the "sale of weapons to states in armed conflicts that use the weapons in ways that represent serious and systematic breaches of international law governing the conflicts", KLP said. The fund emphasised that the two companies had long-established cooperations with the Israeli army, and their deliveries continued after the start of the Gaza war on 7 October, 2023. "The transfer of weapons and ammunition to Israel may constitute serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian laws and risk state complicity in international crimes, possibly including genocide," UN experts warned in June 2024. Meanwhile, Norway's sovereign wealth fund, whose assets are valued at around $US1.9 trillion, is also under pressure to divest further from groups accused of helping Israel wage war on Gaza and continue its settlement policy in the occupied West Bank. - Agence France-Presse
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- RNZ News
Report into aid shootings in Gaza makes waves in Israel
Middle East correspondent Perry Wilton spoke to Lisa Owen about a report into shoots at aid and food distribution sites in Gaza making waves in Israel, as well as a push to establish a ceasefire in Gaza as the fragile truce between Israel and Iran manages to hold. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Big crowds gather in Hungarian capital to defy ban on Budapest Pride
By Olivia Kemp , CNN People gather for the 30th Budapest Pride March in Budapest, Hungary, on July 28. Photo: AFP/BALINT SZENTGALLAY Beneath a blaze of rainbow flags and amid roars of defiance, big crowds gather in the Hungarian capital Budapest for the city's 30th annual Pride march - an event that, this year, is unfolding as both a celebration and a protest. Moving through the capital in the sweltering heat, demonstrators carried signs reading "Solidarity with Budapest Pride" and waved placards bearing crossed-out illustrations of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Music played from portable speakers as people of all ages joined the march - families with pushchairs, teenagers draped in capes and older residents walking alongside activists. From the city's historic centre to its riverside roads, the procession swelled in numbers and noise - visibly reclaiming public space in defiance of a law designed to push them out. The march proceeded in open defiance of a police ban imposed earlier this year under sweeping new legislation that prohibits LGBTQ+ events nation-wide. Eszter Rein Bodi was one of those who joined the massive crowds in Budapest on Saturday (US Time), telling Reuters: "This is about much more, not just about homosexuality… This is the last moment to stand up for our rights." Krisztina Aranyi, another marcher, told the news agency "the right to assembly is a basic human right, and I don't think it should be banned." She added, "Just because someone does not like the reason why you go to the street, or they do not agree with it, you still have the right to do so." People gather for the Budapest Pride march in Hungary's capital on Saturday. Photo: Bernadett Szabo/Reuters via CNN Newsource Huge crowds turned out in the city for the parade, with many holding home-made banners aloft. One sign read "Transgender people are a blessing on this earth" while another banner read "Proud. United. Equal in every corner of the EU." At least 70 members of the European Parliament were expected to join the procession, officials told CNN in May. Van Sparrentak, who is a Dutch MEP from the parliament's "Greens/European Free Alliance" political group, told CNN that she would be attending Budapest Pride to "support the LGBTIQ+ community in Hungary, to let them know that they are not alone (and) to be visible as a community." "Pride is a protest, and if Orbán can ban Budapest Pride without consequences, every pride is one election away from being banned," she continued. Temporary cameras were installed along the path of the Budapest Pride march, months after legislation was passed allowing the use of facial recognition technology to identify participants. Photo: Balint Szentgallay/NurPhoto/Getty Images via CNN Newsource In March, Hungarian lawmakers passed legislation barring Pride events and permitting the use of facial recognition technology to identify participants - measures campaigners said was illegal and part of a wider crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community. Orban welcomed the ban, which he said would outlaw gatherings that "violate child protection laws". His government has pushed a strongly Christian and conservative agenda. The ban sparked lively protests in Budapest in March, with organisers of the city's Pride vowing to continue with the annual festival despite the new law and declaring: "We will fight this new fascist ban." A petition demanding police reject the ban has gathered over 120,000 signatures from supporters in 73 countries, urging authorities to "reject this unjust law" - believed to be the first of its kind in the EU's recent history - and ensure that the march proceeded "unhindered and peacefully, free from discrimination, harassment, fear or violence." - CNN
