UN experts' list of arms companies and investors linked to transfers to Israel
On 20 June 2024, more than 30 UN experts named 11 arms manufacturers supplying Israel and 21 financial institutions invested in them, and called for all arms transfers to Israel to stop immediately.
They warned that the transfer of weapons and ammunition to Israel may constitute serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and risk State complicity in international crimes, possibly including genocide.
Arms manufacturers supplying Israel
The list calls on the arms manufacturers supplying Israel to end transfers, even where those transfers are executed under existing export licenses: BAE Systems, Boeing, Caterpillar, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Oshkosh, Rheinmetall AG, Rolls-Royce Power Systems, RTX and ThyssenKrupp.
These companies, by sending weapons, parts, components, and ammunition to Israeli forces, risk being complicit in serious violations of international human rights and international humanitarian laws.
That risk is heightened by the International Court of Justice order requiring Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah, having recognized genocide as a plausible risk, and by the request filed by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for arrest warrants for Israeli leaders on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In this context, continuing arms transfers to Israel may be seen as knowingly providing assistance for operations that contravene international human rights and international humanitarian laws and may result in profit from such assistance.
Financial institutions invested in the arms companies
The list named the investors funding these arms manufacturers and urged them to act: Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung, Amundi Asset Management, Bank of America, BlackRock, Capital Group, Causeway Capital Management, Citigroup, Fidelity Management & Research, INVESCO Ltd, JP Morgan Chase, Harris Associates, Morgan Stanley, Norges Bank Investment Management, Newport Group, Raven's Wing Asset Management, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, State Street Corporation, Union Investment Privatfonds, The Vanguard Group, Wellington and Wells Fargo & Company.
Failure to prevent or mitigate these business relationships with arms manufacturers transferring arms to Israel could move these investors from being directly linked to human rights abuses to contributing to them, with repercussions for complicity in potential atrocity crimes.
Indirect transfers through intermediary countries
An end to transfers must include indirect transfers through intermediary countries that could ultimately be used by the IOF, particularly in the genocide on Gaza.
Arms embargo
Arms initiate, sustain, exacerbate, and prolong armed conflicts, as well as other forms of oppression, hence the availability of arms is an essential precondition for the commission of war crimes and violations of human rights, including by private armament companies.
The imperative for an arms embargo on Israel and for investors to take decisive action is more urgent than ever, particularly in light of states' obligations and companies' responsibilities under the Geneva Conventions, the Genocide Convention, the international human rights treaties, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Sources:
- UNITED NATIONS States and companies must end arms transfers to Israel immediately or risk responsibility for human rights violations: UN experts
- INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE Summary of the Order of 24 may 2024
- INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC: Applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine
UN experts list of arms manufacturers and investors complicit in genocide on Gaza32 companies total
Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung
Amundi Asset Management
BAE Systems
Bank of America
BlackRock
Investment Firm
Boeing Company
Company
Capital Group
Caterpillar
Company
Causeway Capital Management
Citigroup
Fidelity Management & Research
General Dynamics
Harris Associates
INVESCO Ltd
Lockheed Martin
Morgan Stanley
Newport Group
Norges Bank Investment Management
Northrop Grumman
Oshkosh Corporation
Raven's Wing Asset Management
Rheinmetall
Company
Rolls-Royce Holdings
Company
RTX
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance
State Street Corporation
ThyssenKrupp AG
Union Investment Privatfonds
Vanguard
Investment Firm
Wellington
Wells Fargo & Company