Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 7. Mars 2012
/ Time Line March 7, 2012
Version 3.5
6. Mars 2012, 8. Mars 2012
03/07/2012
Abolitionists Target Funders of Nuclear Arms Industry
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 7, 2012 (IPS) - The world's nuclear weapons
industry is being funded - and kept alive - by more than 300 banks,
pension funds, insurance companies and asset managers in 30
countries, according to a new study.
And these institutions have substantial investments in nuclear arms
producers.
Released by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
(ICAN), the 180-page study says that nuclear-armed nations spend
over 100 billion dollars each year assembling new warheads,
modernising old ones, and building ballistic missiles, bombers and
submarines to launch them.
Much of this work, the report points out, is carried out by
corporations such as BAE Systems and Babcock International in the
UK, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman in the United States,
Thales and Safran in France, and Larsen & Toubro in India.
"Financial institutions invest in these companies by providing
loans and purchasing shares and bonds," says the report, described
as the first of its kind.
Titled "Don’t Bank on the Bomb: The Global Financing of
Nuclear Weapons Producers", the study provides details of financial
transactions with 20 companies heavily involved in the manufacture,
maintenance and modernisation of U.S., British, French and Indian
nuclear forces.
A coordinated global campaign for nuclear weapons divestment is
urgently needed, it says.
Such a movement could help put a halt to modernisation programmes,
strengthen the international norm against nuclear weapons, and
build momentum towards negotiations on a universal nuclear weapons
ban, it adds.
"Divestment from nuclear weapons companies is an effective way for
the corporate world to advance the goal of nuclear abolition."
The study appeals to financial institutions to stop investing in
the nuclear arms industry.
"Any use of nuclear weapons would violate international law and
have catastrophic humanitarian consequences. By investing in
nuclear weapons producers, financial institutions are in effect
facilitating the build-up of nuclear forces," it says.
In a foreword to the report, Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu
Writes, "No one should be profiting from this terrible industry of
death, which threatens us all."
The South African peace activist has urged financial institutions
to do the right thing and assist, rather than impede, efforts to
eliminate the threat of radioactive incineration, pointing out that
divestment was a vital part of the successful campaign to end
apartheid in South Africa.
The same tactic can - and must - be employed to challenge man's
most evil creation: the nuclear bomb, he added.
Tim Wright, ICAN campaign director and co-author of the report,
told IPS some of the financial institutions identified in the study
"have already indicated to us they intend to adopt policies
proscribing investments in nuclear arms makers".
Asked how confident he was of the success of the divestment
campaign, Wright said, "Our divestment campaign will probably be
most successful in places where opposition to nuclear weapons is
strongest, for example, Japan and Scandinavia."
He said more and more banks are coming to accept that some kind of
ethical criteria should be applied to investment decisions, and
manufacturing weapons capable of destroying entire cities in an
instant is clearly unethical.
Of the 322 financial institutions identified in the report, about
half are based in the United States and a third in Europe.
The study also singles out Asian, Australian and Middle Eastern
institutions.
However, the institutions most heavily involved in financing
nuclear arms makers include Bank of America, BlackRock and JP
Morgan Chase in the United States; BNP Paribas in France; Allianz
and Deutsche Bank in Germany; Mistubishi UJF Financial in Japan;
BBVA and Banco Santander in Spain; Credit Suisse and UBS in
Switzerland; and Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland
in Britain.
The report emphasises the humanitarian, legal and environmental
arguments for divestment, noting the unique destructive potential
of nuclear weapons.
Asked if it would be feasible to launch a global campaign to
boycott these financial institutions, Wright told IPS, "If banks
refuse to divest, customers should seek ethical alternatives."
There is no shortage of banks, particularly smaller banks, that
refuse to have anything to do this this industry, he noted. "If
people begin to leave en masse, this will send a powerful signal to
the bank that its support for nuclear weapons companies is
unacceptable."
For multinational banks, he said, a coordinated boycott campaign in
several countries could be effective.
The study also quotes Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of the U.S.
atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, who points out that anyone
with a bank account or pension fund has the power to choose to
invest his or her money ethically in a way that does not contribute
to this Earth- endangering enterprise.
In addition to stating the ethical case for divestment, the report
also warns of the reputational risks associated with financing
nuclear arms, and highlights the positive role that financial
institutions could play in the quest for a world free from such
weapons.
03/07/2012
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