Monday, October 7, 2024

CPPIB investment in war crimes and potentially genocide increases to over $16 B in 2024

 

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board genocide complicity war crimes divestment Israel justice Gaza

For five years, the Canada Pension Plan has been told by tens of thousands of its contributors and recipients that investing in war crimes is not acceptable.

However, eight months into the current genocide, the Canada Pension Plan has increased its investment in war crimes, and potentially genocide, to over $16 billion...

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) investments include over a quarter-million dollars invested in companies deemed by the UN to be in violation of international law, specifically, Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi Le-Israel, Booking Holdings, Israel Discount Bank, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, Motorola Solutions, and Shufersal Ltd.

It also includes companies potentially involved in the Israeli genocide being committed on on the Palestinian people of Gaza through weapons and arms companies such as General Dynamics, L3Harris Technologies, Lockheed Martin Corp, Rheinmetall, Northrop Grumman Corp and others.  

Surveillance companies such as Palantir Technologies, companies involved in house demolitions such as Mitsubishi Corp, companies stealing resources from occupied Palestine such as Chevron Corp and Heidelberg Materials AG, along with many other companies complicit in war crimes are part of the CPPIB portfolio.

WSP continues to dominate the Canadian public equity fund of the Canada Pension Plan with a value of $3.4 Billion. This amount has increased from $1.68 Billion in 2020. In the fall of 2022, that a submission was made to the UN to add WSP to the UN database. This was submitted by Al-Haq and Just Peace Advocates, and endorsed by 105 organizations, and we would expect the UN would seriously consider adding WSP to the update now underway.

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians – Canada (“ICJP – Canada”) has provided the Government of Canada with notice of intent to seek the prosecution of Canadian officials who are allegedly complicit in Israel’s war crimes. ICJP Canada is also considering expanding the scope of its initiative to pursue accountability of Canadian companies who are allegedly complicit in Israel’s war crimes. Like Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court applies to both state actors and private individuals. The latter makes it an offence to “aid, abet or otherwise assist” in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity”.

The CPPIB (Canada Pension Plan Investment Board) is entrusted with fiduciary responsibility of the Canadian’s public pension plan and thus is expected to undertake enhanced due diligence to ensure that its investments are in line with Canada’s responsibility under international and domestic law.  (more...)

CPPIB investment in war crimes and potentially genocide increases to over $16 B in 2024


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