An advisory committee, in place to monitor and recommend the investment policies of Brown University in Rhode Island voted, on Monday, to divest from companies participating in the continued subjugation of Palestinians, the Middle East Eye reported.
The successful passing of the resolution by the university’s Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies (ACCRIP) paves the way for activists to pressure the university to withdraw support for companies “facilitating the [Israeli] occupation and its human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza”.
Brown Divest, a coalition of undergraduate students at the forefront of the push to withdraw investments from companies operating in the occupied territories released a statement;
“Today, ACCRIP made Brown the first Ivy League University to officially call for divestment from companies that are facilitating the occupation and its human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza. We look forward to other universities joining the movement for dignity and human rights for Palestinians,”
According to the statement, the advisory committee – made up of faculty, students, staff and alumni of the University – voted on the following motion:
“We recommend that the Brown Corporation exclude from Brown’s direct investments, and require Brown’s separate account investment managers to exclude from their direct investments, companies identified as facilitating human rights violations in Palestine,” the resolution read.
“In addition, the Investment Office will share with all investment managers the University’s desire to adhere to this investment philosophy. We recommend that the Corporation and Brown’s separate account investment managers maintain the withdrawal of investments from said companies until they cease to engage in social harm … ”
A Divest Brown spokesperson said that given that the ACCRIP recommendation is the official channel for divestment, for the recommendation to be implemented, Brown Corporation – which is how the university’s governing body is referred to – has to approve it.
“We will continue to hold the University and the Brown Corporation accountable to the will of the students and the ACCRIP committee to divest from these holdings. In the past, ACCRIP has recommended divestment from genocide in Sudan and the tobacco industry, following which the Corporation divested from complicit companies,” the spokesperson said.
Non-Binding Resolution
Brian E. Clark, a university spokesperson, clarified that the resolution was not binding.
“The committee is an advisory body. It was a vote to submit to the Brown University president a recommendation on divestment. There has been no Brown University decision or action to divest from companies ‘facilitating human rights violations in Palestine’,” said Clarke.
A student at Brown associated with the activist group Social Justice with Palestine (SJP), said that although the development was significant, it was anticipated that it would be harder to get the resolution passed by the university’s governing body than previous resolutions targeting companies complicit in human rights abuses in Sudan.
In a tweet, Monday, the Brown University Divest group said, “We expect the Brown University Corporation to divest from these companies (including Caterpillar, Motorola, Boeing, Raytheon, and more). In March, 69% of undergraduate student voters voted for divestment, and now Brown’s corporate responsibility in investments committee has too.”
News of the vote was immediately lauded by activists and academics who have long argued for a Boycott Divestment and Sanction (BDS) campaign against Israel on US campuses.
Student activists associated with Students for Justice in Palestine at Harvard University and Columbia University in New Yorkeach stated that the move was significant because it would set the tone for similar resolutions at other universities around the country.
Palestine Legal, an organisation that provides support and advocacy for Palestinian rights activists in the US, passed on their congratulations and said they were “committed to supporting students around the country in their pursuit of justice for Palestine.”
Moreover, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the Jewish-American organisation that works for an end to the Israeli occupation, said they found the student activism inspiring.
‘Decisive Stance’
A spokesperson for Divest Brown said that ACCRIP would now work towards implementing the resolution.
“We already provided the list of companies, with additional information, that ACCRIP will review, which include Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, Oaktree Capital Management, AB Volvo, Motorola, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, United Technologies, and G4S,” the spokesperson said.
“This referendum not only represents a decisive stance on this issue, but a years-long mobilisation and unification of a diverse coalition of student groups around this campus,” Divest Brown said.
At the time, Brown joined Swarthmore, NYU, UCLA, George Washington University and others who have had similar successful campaigns.
While a number of university student bodies have passed resolutions calling for divestment, only Hampshire College has so far implemented the said resolutions.
Photo: Brown Divest Facebook
Edited for IMEMC: Ali Salam
