Is the DSU contributing to human rights abuses?

On March 25, a motion asking for an examination of the Dalhousie Student Union’s investments is being introduced to DSU council. The motion specifically asks for an answer to the question of whether or not the companies that the Student Union invests in profit from human rights abuses made in Palestine by the Israeli government. Similar calls have happened all over Canada. In Ontario, the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, and York University have all addressed that very question. Concern about whether a student body is complicit in injustices that are happening at different places around the world has been rising.

Here at Dalhousie, Divest Dal began a campaign a year and a half ago for environmental justice. Why? Because students recognized that to invest in companies that contribute to climate change negatively is in itself unethical. Interest in questions of complicity with human rights abuses in Palestine follows the same tone. Whether or not students decide to take action, they deserve to know whether or not their money contributes to the prosperity of unethical companies, and unethical practices. It’s our student union’s responsibility to maintain transparency in all aspects.

In 2005, Palestinians called for an international campaign to exert economic pressure on corporations contributing to their suffering. This motion vocalizes that call, because, by requesting an answer for a yes/no question (are we complicit?), students will begin to discuss what should be done with that information and what steps should be taken. This motion sets precedence, invokes dialogue, and gets the conversation started about whether or not divestment is to be taken.

It is known from already disclosed information that the DSU invests a sum of its money in Caterpillar Inc., which supplies Israeli forces with machinery to carry out illegal demolitions of indigenous Palestinian homes. It is estimated that more than 25,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished by Israel in the Palestinian Territories, including Gaza, since 1967. This illegal behaviour had left more than 160,000 internally displaced within Palestine, and the number is growing. Such is an example of an unethical investment that the DSU needs to tell students about in order to end any complicity in human rights abuses in Palestine.

In order to obtain a responsible investment portfolio, the DSU and Dalhousie itself need to divest from companies whose operations are in direct violation of international law and human rights. As a union (and as an academic institution) that is supposed to stand for the highest ethical and moral standards, having ties with unethical companies can be interpreted as condoning the injustices and abuses carried out against the people of Palestine. To continue such investments, if any more are found once this information is disclosed, would constitute approval and may be seen as an attempt to sustain what many international human rights groups have criticized for decades.

Students have the right to know and the time is now.