The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced its intent to take the U.K. government to court to challenge restrictions on pension scheme divestment from companies involved in Israel’s human rights violations.
PSC announced in a press statement that it is seeking judicial review of the changes to the rules governing Local Government Pensions Schemes (LGPS) that will prevent ethical decision making with regard to human rights abuses and the arms trade.
PSC is concerned that these new measures: threaten the civic right to boycott and divest from companies involved in human rights abuses and the arms trade; limit fundamental rights of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience; amount to Westminster overreach into local government affairs; and undermine public sector employees and pension holders’ freedom to make collective decisions to invest and divest funds as they wish provided there is no financial detriment.
In October 2015 the British Government announced it would amend LGPS rules to make clear that it considered using pensions and procurement to pursue boycotts divestments and sanctions against foreign nations and the UK defense industry are inappropriate.
According to PSC this was announced specifically with the aim of curtailing divestment campaigns against UK defense and international or Israeli firms implicated in Israel’s violations of international law.
PSC believes that public sector employees and pension holders should have the right to make decisions about their finances and invest and divest funds as they wish in accordance with the LGPS legal ethical and fiduciary obligations..
PSC believes that this is governmental attempt to undermine the peaceful boycott divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian freedom justice and equality which is modeled after the South African anti-apartheid boycott movement.
PSC is part of this global movement of people who have answered the 2005 Palestinian civil society call for a campaign of boycott divestment and sanctions measures until Israel adheres to international law.
Boycott and divestment campaigns are a traditional and effective form of non-violent protest used throughout history by human and civil rights defenders.
With this legal action the PSC aims to uphold the civic right to boycott and the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and conscience.
To mark UN Human Rights Day on 10 December over 200 legal scholars from the UK and other European countries signed an open letter declaring that it was a lawful exercise of freedom of expression to advocate for Palestinian human rights (as set out in international law) through BDS measures against Israel’s regime of occupation and oppression.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign is the largest UK civil society organization dedicated to securing Palestinian human rights and denouncing Israel’s flouting of international law and its continued military occupation of Palestine.
