We, the undersigned, are members of the Loyola University community who are deeply concerned that our University--which has a long-standing history of socially responsible investment (SRI) and which updated its policy in 2006/07 to officially reflect this commitment--remains invested in companies that profit from violence and human rights abuses.
We hope that our university can screen out companies like Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, Group 4 Securicor, SodaStream, Elbit Systems, Veolia, and many others that help facilitate the abuse of human rights here and abroad.
G4S, for example, is a British-Danish private security company that operates in over 120 countries, the largest in the world. G4S is heavily involved in the Israeli occupation industry, providing security apparati, surveillance systems, and maintenance services to Israeli incarceration facilities where Palestinian political prisoners are held in violation of international law and child rights treaties. G4S also facilitates security for illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. In the U.S., G4S works alongside the Department of Homeland Security to detain and deport people across the U.S./Mexico border. Worldwide, their operation of private prisons and deportation centers makes them a controversial company, especially in light of the numerous documented inhumane practices in these facilities as well as the multiple accounts of labor abuses against G4S employees. [source: Global Exchange via
http://bit.ly/1hBTtY0]
We believe that any investments that the University may have in similar companies are in conflict with the Jesuit tradition and Loyola's mission 'to be in service of humanity through learning, justice and faith'.
Investments in these types of companies makes Loyola third party to the perpetuation of egregious human rights abuses. Therefore, we call on Loyola University to be fully accountable to the SRI policy that it aims to follow.
Sincerely,
Members of the Loyola Student Body
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To learn more about the Palestine-Israel conflict, go to
sjployola.com for a plethora of resources.
