Dutch pension funds investing in companies that supply weapons to Israel
Three of the Netherlands’ five largest pension funds - ABP, PFZW, and Bpfbouw - invest in companies that supply weapons and equipment to Israel. These companies are on a United Nations list for “risking complicity in human rights violations” in Gaza by continuing to supply the Israeli army, the Volkskrant reports.
The companies on the list, published by the United Nations Human Rights Council in June last year, are Rheinmetall, Caterpillar, ThyssenKrupp, Oshkosh, BAE Systems, Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Rolls-Royce, and RTX.
According to the Volkskrant, three of the five largest Dutch pension funds own shares in these companies. ABP has a total of 674 million euros in various companies on the list, PFZW has 149 million euros, and Bpfbouw has 42 million euros. PME and PMT do not have any shares in the companies on the UN list.
ABP, the fund for civil servants, teachers, and healthcare workers at the academic hospitals, told the Volkskrant that the humanitarian disaster caused by Israel’s war in Gaza is “very much” on participants’ minds. The fund received over 2,000 divestment requests in the past 18 months via personal emails and a public campaign.
APB said that it expected the companies it invests in to “act in line with relevant international and national treaties.” The fund said it monitors compliance with that policy and will divest if necessary.
