Investment Watch

Norwegian wealth fund sells stake in Rio Tinto

omar123 — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:35:35 +0000

The opencast Grasberg mine in West Papua, Indonesia, has been called one of the worst eyesores in the world

David Robertson, Business Correspondent

One of Rio Tinto’s largest shareholders has sold its £500 million stake in the company over concerns about the Grasberg goldmine, which has been called one of the world’s worst eyesores.

The $375 billion (£213 billion) Norwegian sovereign wealth fund said on Tuesday that it had sold its shares after failing to persuade Rio to improve operations at the West Papua mine.

The Norwegian Finance Minister publicly shamed Rio in a statement that accused the company of “severe environmental damage”.

The Grasberg operation in West Papua, Indonesia, is the world’s largest goldmine and the third-largest copper mine, but it is notorious among human rights and environmental campaigners.

Grasberg is operated by Freeport McMoRan, a New Orleans-based miner, and Rio is a 40 per cent shareholder in the opencast pit.

Human rights advocates assert that Freeport’s security guards and the Indonesian military have been responsible for the rape, torture, murder and arbitrary detention of people living near the mine. Freeport has consistently denied these claims.

The Australian Council on Overseas Aid reported that in 1994 and 1995 the Indonesian military, assisted by mine security, was responsible for the death or disappearance of 22 civilians and 15 others described by the Indonesian Government as guerrillas.

After shareholder pressure, Free-port confirmed to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it had paid the Indonesian military $4.7 million in 2001 and $5.6 million in 2002 for security services.

The environmental credentials of the Grasberg mine are also a source of controversy. The mine dumps 230,000 tonnes of tailings, or waste rock, into the Ajikwa River every day and campaigners claim that this has produced high levels of pollution.

Mine tailings are often laced with cyanide, which is used in the gold extraction process, and toxic quantities of metals such as lead, copper and zinc. A report by Friends of the Earth said that acid mine drainage, a common side-effect of opencast mining, had caused toxic levels of selenium and arsenic in the nearby river systems. It said that up to 70 per cent of aquatic life was suffering from chronic toxicity.

A spokesman for Rio Tinto said: “We work closely with Freeport and are comfortable with the work they have done at Grasberg. The tailing management system is the right one to use and the environmental damage that has been alleged is not the case.”

However, this was not a view shared by the Norwegian Government Pension Fund, which manages wealth generated by the country’s North Sea oil.

Kristin Halvorsen, the Norwegian Finance Minister, said: “There are no indications to the effect that the company’s practices will be changed in future. The fund cannot hold ownership interests in such a company.”

Rio Tinto responded by saying that it had been aware of the fund’s concerns but was surprised and disappointed by its decision to sell.

Owen Espley, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth, said: “It is excellent to see the Norwegians trying to use their influence to change behaviour and then walking away if that engagement is not successful.”

The Grasberg mine contributed $159 million to Rio’s profits of $7.3 billion last year, but the operation is scheduled for a large expansion from this year. It is estimated that the mine, which is located in a World Heritage-listed national park, will cover 230 sq km (89 sq miles) when completed. Richard Solly, a campaigner with the London Mining Network, said: “In terms of environmental pollution, this mine is undoubtedly one of the worst in the world.”

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Rio Tinto Considered to Be Damaging Indonesian Environment
Wednesday, 10 September, 2008 | 12:16 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Oslo: Norwegian government agency, the Government Pension Fun-Global, black-listed Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto yesterday (9/9) as they considered its project in Indonesia to be damaging the Indonesian environment.

Government Pension Fun-Global is one of the largest finance companies in the world with funds amounting to 1.99 trillion Norwegian Kroner or US$368 trillion as of June 2008.

It is reported that Government Pension Fun-Global has sold off all of its shares in Rio Tinto.

By end of 2007, its shares in Rio Tinto were worth 4.8 million Norwegian Kroner.

“The finance ministry decided to remove Rio Tinto from Government Pension Fund-Global as this company has carried out serious environmental damage,” said the Norwegian finance ministry.

“We do not see any intention from the company to repair what it has done,” it continued.

The Norwegian finance ministry’s decision is based on Rio Tinto, and also US mining company Freeport–which has also banned by Government Pension Fund-Global–dumping tailing waste in rivers around their work sites in Papua, Indonesia.

Rio Tinto spokesperson in London said that they were surprised and disappointed to hear the news.

“Rio Tinto has a good record in managing the environment. It is a role model for the industry in this regard.”

The Ethics Advisory Board at Government Pension Fund-Global said that it had sent notification to Rio Tinto in December 2007 but considered Rio Tinto’s response to be unsatisfactory.

Media Release: Divestment from Freeport Urged on CFIs

omar123 — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:27:14 +0000

12 September, 2008

The Indonesia Human Rights Committee has written to five of the Crown Financial Institutes (CFIs) and to the Minister of Finance calling on each of them to follow the example of the Norway Government Pension Fund and divest from Freeport McMoran Inc and Rio Tinto Corporation. Norway has taken this step after an intense and detailed assessment of the evidence of ‘severe environmental damage’ caused by the operations of the open cast Freeport McMoran gold and copper mine in West Papua.

The Norwegian Government has just announced its decision to divest from the Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto Corporation which is a 40% joint venture partner in the operations of the controversial mine. This follows Norway’s June 2006 decision to divest from the US company Freeport McMoran Inc.

‘We applaud the Norwegian Government and its Ethical Council for their careful assessment of the destructive environmental impacts of the mine on the alpine and rainforest environment of West Papua,’ said Maire Leadbeater speaking for the Indonesia Human Rights Committee. ‘Norway is playing a leading role internationally in promoting responsible investing and it is time New Zealand, a much closer neighbour of West Papua, followed suit.’

Collectively the five CFIs have over $64 million rnziinvested in Rio Tinto and Freeport McMoran. The breakdown is as follows:

Earthquake Commission $12,547,497.93, Public Trust $691,000, Government Superannuation Fund Authority $6,955,617.55, ACC $18,373,726.01 and New Zealand Superannuation Fund $25,446,653.00 according to figures obtained under the Official Information Act and from the Equity Portfolio of the NZ Super Fund.

‘Freeport McMoran is being referred to as the ‘world’s worst eye-sore’. For the West Papuan people the mine has also brought militarisation, grave human rights abuses, and the loss of traditional land, livelihood and spiritual wellbeing. Most New Zealanders are appalled when they learn that their tax dollars go to support this iniquity.’

Letter follows.

Indonesia Human Rights Committee,

Box 68-419,

Auckland

11 September, 2008.

The Managers,

Accident Compensation Corporation,

PO Box 242,

Wellington.

Earthquake Commission,

PO Box 790,

Wellington.

Public Trust,

PO Box 5067,

Wellington.

Government Superannuation Fund Authority,

PO Box 3390,

Wellington, 6015.

New Zealand Superannuation Fund,

PO Box 106-607,

Auckland.

Hon Dr M Cullen,

Minister of Finance,

Parliament Buildings,

Wellington

Dear Managers and Dr Cullen,

The Indonesia Human Rights Committee calls on the following Crown Financial Institutes: the Earthquake Commission, the Public Trust, the ACC, the Government Superannuation Fund Authority and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund to divest their shareholdings in both Freeport McMoran Inc and Rio Tinto Corporation.

Just this week the Norwegian Government Pension Fund, one of Rio Tinto’s largest shareholders, announced the sale of its US $890 million holding in Rio Tinto Corporation. The Norwegian Government made this decision because it considers that Rio Tinto cannot evade responsibility for the severe environmental damage at the Freeport McMoran mine in West Papua, since it is a joint venture partner in the enterprise. The environmental damage is held to be irreversible and to have harmful impacts on the ecology far away from the mine location.

The Freeport McMoran gold and copper mine in the Timika area of West Papua conducts a mining operation which has caused unparalleled environmental destruction to a pristine alpine rainforest environment. If operations continue at the current rate its area will eventually cover 230 square kilometres and the excavations will be twice as great as those undertaken to build the Panama Canal. Each day the mine dumps 230,000 tonnes of tailings or silty sludge into the local river system.

It should be noted that:

* Freeport has not made available any external environmental audit of its operations since 1994, when the Overseas Private Investment Corporation cancelled the company’s political risk insurance.

* The riverine system of mine waste tailings disposal is now banned in most parts of the world because the sediments containing heavy metals cause ecological devastation. The World Bank will no longer fund mining projects that use this system of disposal.

* Millions of tonnes of waste rock are piled up in the high alpine valleys and leaching unstable metal sulphides or Acid Rock Drainage.

* The mine has led to the displacement of thousands of indigenous Papuans and destroyed their traditional subsistence forest-based way of life based on fishing and hunting. In the local regency more than half the people live below the poverty line, lacking access to health care, adequate food and clothing.

* The mine has created a boom town complete with the social costs of a rapid influx of migrant labour: prostitution, alcohol abuse, violence and a soaring incidence of HIV/AIDs.

* Freeport continues to pay the Indonesian military to provide security for the mine, despite the fact that the military has been responsible for grave human rights abuses in the mine area, including torture, illegal detentions, disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

*The respected Indonesian environmental organisation WALHI (Friends of the Earth) states that the toxic tailings waste has all but destroyed freshwater aquatic life. This ecological destruction now extends out into the mangroves of the Ajkwa estuary and a plume of dissolved copper from Freeport’s tailings extends 5 to 10 km offshore. The pollution also threatens the World Heritage listed Lorenz National Park considered to be a conservation jewel.

We believe that investing in Freeport McMoran or Rio Tinto should be considered as a breach of the Crown Financial Institution (CFI) mandate to ‘avoid prejudice to New Zealand’s reputation as a responsible member of the world community’. More importantly these investments make New Zealand complicit in one of the most environmentally destructive and socially devastating enterprises in the world. This is at odds with all ethical investing principles.

We therefore urge the CFIs to follow the example of Norwegian Government Pension Fund and divest all shareholding in Rio Tinto Corporation UK, Rio Tinto Corporation Australia and Freeport McMoran Copper and Gold Inc.

Yours sincerely,

Maire Leadbeater

For the Indonesia Human Rights Committee

Report from Demo Against Superfund Investments in Freeport

omar123 — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:20:16 +0000

04 Aug 2008

On Friday August 1st, picketers gathered outside the NZ Superfund office in Downtown Auckland to protest against the fund investing taxpayer money in the US mining company Freeport McMoRan. Since 1967 Freeport has been mining copper and gold in, Indonesian Military occupied, West Papua. Every day Freeport’s Grasberg mine dumps 700,000 tonnes of mining waste into Papua’s rivers. The pollution is so bad it can be seen from NASA satellite images from space.

Since it began mining in Papua, Freeport has paid the Indonesian Military to provide security from angry locals. The Indonesian Military is estimated to have killed as many as 100,000 West Papuans since invading in 1963. West Papuans living near the mine have suffered massive human rights abuses.

Click on image for a larger version

In the late 1970s, after a group of Papuans cut Freeport’s copper pipeline the Indonesian Military launched ‘Operation Annihilation’. Troops went from village to village shooting men, women and children and villages were bombarded by the airforce with ‘daisy cutter’ bombs. 3000 civilians were killed. Killings and arrests of civilians continue today. In 2006 many Papuan students were imprisoned and tortured for protesting against Freeport.

The NZ Superfund has investments totaling $1,600,548 in Freeport McMoran. Plus an investment of $23,846,105 in the Rio Tinto Group ($9,780,671 in Rio Tinto Plc, Britain, and $14,065,434 in Rio Tinto Ltd, Australia) - Rio Tinto has a 40 per cent joint venture interest in the Freeport McMoRan mine.

From: http://indymedia.org.nz/newswire/display/75828/index.php

Action against Superfund Investment in Freeport McMoran

investmentwatch — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:39:09 +0000

Everyday ordinary West Papuans stare ecocide and genocide in the face with nothing more than their commitment to freedom. Surely we can back them up with a little commitment of our own.

Join the picket of the Superfund office on August 1 and tell the Superfund that our future and the future of the Papuan people is not in Freeport.

Where: NZ Superannuation Fund office, outside the AMP building, on the corner of Custom Street West and Albert Street, Auckland CBD.

When: Friday 1 August at 4.30pm -5.30pm

Organised by: Investment Watch Aotearoa New Zealand | investmentwatch.wordpress.com | nowarp@xtra.co.nz

Action against Superfund Investment in Freeport McMoran

After growing public and political pressure the NZ Superfund has confirmed that it will divest from corporations involved in the production of cluster munitions and is currently reviewing its investments in corporations with ties to the production and maintenance of nuclear weapons. So the campaign for ethical pension fund investment has now turned its attention to a corporation that for many is synonymous with the most ruthless, bloodthirsty form of colonialism and the most repugnant destruction of rainforest, river and ocean currently happening in the South Pacific.

They have been killed, raped and tortured. Life is hard for them. All we are asking for is the freedoms that you enjoy every day - the freedom to speak your mind, to live without fear and to choose your own government.” Benny Wenda, West Papuan independence leader

For the past forty-five years, the people of West Papua have been subjected to cultural genocide and gross human rights violations including rape, torture, murder and massacre inflicted by the Indonesian armed forces. Since 1963 more than 100,000 West Papuans have been killed; around 15,000 West Papuans are currently living in camps in Papua New Guinea; and others are forced to live in exile around the world because it is not safe for them to go home. The Indonesian government’s transmigration programme has resulted in around one million non-Papuan transmigrants being moved into West Papua.

Multi-national corporations in cahoots with the Indonesian authorities have exploited West Papua’s natural resources to an extraordinary degree. This has caused massive social dislocation, devastation of rainforests, and pollution of streams and rivers on which the local people depend for their survival. These rainforests contain up to 7% of all the world’s biodiversity.

Papuan people’s resistance is a last bastion of defence against the Indonesian military and the American corporation that runs the Freeport McMoran mine, the world’s largest copper and gold mine. Freeport “has an unparalleled record of human rights and environmental abuse” in relation to that mine - it has created a 230 square kilometre barren wasteland of dumped mine tailings, and the destruction of the local environment is visible from space. The impact of the mine is particularly devastating for the indigenous Amungme and Kamoro people who have lost the traditional lands and aquatic resources that they rely on for survival, as well as being forcibly displaced from their homes and villages.

West Papuans living near the mine have suffered massive human rights abuses at the hands of the Indonesian Military. In the late 1970s, after a group of Papuans cut Freeport’s copper pipeline the Indonesian Military launched ‘Operation Annihilation’. Troops went from village to village shooting men, women and children and villages were bombarded by the airforce with cluster bombs. 3000 civilians were killed. Killings and arrests of civilians continue today. In 2006 many Papuan students were imprisoned and tortured for protesting against Freeport.

In 2005, the New York Times revealed that from 1998 through to 2004, Freeport gave Indonesian “military and police generals, colonels, majors and captains, and military units, nearly $20 million (US). Individual commanders received tens of thousands of dollars, in one case up to $150,000, according to the documents.” That included payments to the Mobile Brigade which has been associated with “numerous serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, torture, rape, and arbitrary detention”.

Even after significant pressure from peace and solidarity groups in Aotearoa/New Zealand, the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, a Government-run pension set up to pay for our retirement, has investments totaling $1,600,548 in Freeport McMoran. Plus an investment of $23,846,105 in the Rio Tinto Group ($9,780,671 in Rio Tinto Plc, Britain, and $14,065,434 in Rio Tinto Ltd, Australia) - Rio Tinto has a 40 per cent joint venture interest in the Freeport McMoRan mine.

Everyday ordinary West Papuans stare ecocide and genocide in the face with nothing more than their commitment to freedom. Surely we can back them up with a little commitment of our own.

Join the picket of the Superfund office on August 1 and tell the Superfund that our future and the future of the Papuan people is not in Freeport.

Where: NZ Superannuation Fund office, outside the AMP building, on the corner of Custom Street West and Albert Street, Auckland CBD.
When: Friday 1 August at 4.30pm -5.30pm
Organised by: Investment Watch Aotearoa New Zealand | investmentwatch.wordpress.com | nowarp(nospam)xtra.co.nz

More Information

- Superfund investments

Act now! NZ Superannuation Fund investments in death and destruction,

Investing in whose future? NZ Super Fund invests in cluster munitions, nuclear weapons and human rights violations

- West Papua and Freeport

West Papua: the forgotten Pacific country - Peace Movement Aotearoa primer leaflet on West Papua (PDF)

Below a Mountain of Wealth, a River of Waste - December 2005, New York Times article on the Freeport McMoran mine

IHRC letter to the Superfund about Freeport - Auckland based West Papua solidarity group asks for divestment
Summary of Freeport and Papuas history - Solidarity South Pacific resource on the long and terrible legacy of the mine

Summary of 2006 Papuan student protests - Thousands demand closure of Freeport and the Indonesian military violently represses the movement

International Women’s Day for Disarmament 2008: Protests, petition and information

investmentwatch — Fri, 16 May 2008 07:19:32 +0000

Since 1982, International Women’s Day for Disarmament has been marked on 24 May by women around the world calling for the peaceful resolution of conflict, and an end to the horror and devastation of armed conflict; the destruction of the physical environment by peacetime military training and weapons testing; the diversion of financial, human and other resources into military institutions; and to government support for corporations that profit from death and destruction. This year in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is focusing on the NZ Superannuation Fund (Super Fund) investments in nuclear weapons and cluster munitions producing companies.

There are three sections below: 1) details of the simultaneous protests at the Super Fund offices in Auckland and Wellington on Friday, 23 May; 2) the ‘End government support for military exports’ petition which has just been re-launched for International Women’s Day for Disarmament; and 3) some links to where you can get more information about the Super Fund investments, and about women and disarmament. This message will be available online at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/iwdd08.htm later today.

1) Protest the Super Fund investments in nuclear weapons and cluster munitions production

The Super Fund has a responsible investment policy “which aims to enhance shareholder value and protect the reputation of the Fund through encouraging high standards of corporate behaviour. Despite this, the Fund invests in a range of companies involved in producing offensive weapons systems, such as nuclear weapons and cluster munitions, including many that overseas pension funds and banks refuse to invest in.

Even though the NZ Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act, 1987, states it is an offence for anyone to aid or abet “any person to manufacture, acquire, possess, or have control over any nuclear explosive device” within or beyond the NZ Nuclear Free Zone, the Fund has investments in companies involved in nuclear weapons production and deployment such as Lockheed Martin $21,850,772*, Northrop Grumman Corp. $22,490,337, Honeywell International $13,914,219, BAE Systems Plc $6,154,252, and EADS Co - $2,660,672 (*Fund investment at 30 June 2007, the most recent figures available).

While the Fund has announced it intends to divest from companies involved in cluster munitions production, there are concerns about how and when this will be done - these companies include Lockheed Martin as above, Raytheon Co. $2,294,974, Poongsan Corp. $1,582,636, Thales S.A. $657,428, and Hanwha Corp. $139,445. International Women’s Day for Disarmament this year falls right in the middle of the Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions, where the text of the international convention banning cluster munitions will be negotiated and most likely adopted - the Conference will be held from 19 to 30 May in Dublin, Ireland.

- Join the protest in Auckland about these investments: Friday, 23 May, from 4.30pm to 5.30pm, outside the AMP building, on the corner of Custom Street West and Albert Street; for more information, contact email joanmac@pl.net

- Join the protest in Wellington about these investments: Friday, 23 May, 4.30pm to 5.30pm, at the traffic lights at the intersection of Queen’s Wharf, Jervois Quay and Grey Street; for more information contact email wilpf@xtra.co.nz

2) No WARP! petition: End government support for military exports

Following a more favourable than expected response from the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee last year, the No WARP! petition has just been re-launched in time for International Women’s Day for Disarmament. The text begins: “To the House of Representatives: Every day, on average, global military expenditure is more than (US) $3.2 billion, while close to 29,000 children under the age of five die from mainly preventable causes; including lack of access to clean water, food and basic health care. To provide clean water for 2.6 billion people and save an estimated 4,000 lives each day would cost just (US) $7 billion - less than two and a half days of global military expenditure. We, the undersigned, are appalled that the New Zealand government contributes to this deplorable situation by funding and promoting companies involved in military and weapons related production and export.” - the full text, and printable petition form, is available at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nowarpet.pdf If you have any difficulty opening or printing the petition form, please contact email nowarp@xtra.co.nz and we will post copies to you.

3) Where you can get more information

* About the Super Fund investments

‘Act now! NZ Superannuation Fund investments in death and destruction’, No WARP! (Network Opposed to Weapons and Related Production), April 2008 - http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nwapr08.pdf

‘Investing in whose future? NZ Super Fund invests in cluster munitions, nuclear weapons and human rights violations’, No WARP! leaflet, April 2008 - http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/superfund.pdf - if you would like printed copies of this leaflet, please email nowarp@xtra.co.nz and let us know your postal address and how many copies you would like

Aotearoa New Zealand Cluster Munition Coalition - http://www.stopclusterbombs.org.nz

Photos from the Super Fund protests on 18 April 2008: Auckland, organised (and photos) by Investment Watch Aotearoa New Zealand -
http://investmentwatch.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/photosreport-friday-action-at-auckland-super-fund Wellington: organised by WILPF and Peace Movement Aotearoa, photos by Mary Wareham, Oxfam NZ - http://www.flickr.com/photos/anzclusters/sets/72157604598845332

* Resources from International WILPF

‘Women and cluster munitions’ - http://www.wilpf.int.ch/PDF/DisarmamentPDF/ClusterMunitions/WILPF-Women-and-Cluster-Munitions.pdf

‘Ensuring Women and Gender are reflected in the Cluster Munitions Treaty’ - http://www.wilpf.int.ch/statements/090508cluster_munitions.html

‘You get what you pay for! Disarming for gender equality’ - http://www.wilpf.int.ch/PDF/EconomicJustice/YouGetWhatYouPayFor.pdf

Women and disarmament index page - http://www.wilpf.int.ch/disarmament/index.html

PeaceWomen - http://www.peacewomen.org/wpsindex.html

Reaching Critical Will - http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org

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Peace Movement Aotearoa (PMA)
the national networking peace organisation
PO Box 9314, Wellington 6141, Aotearoa New Zealand
Tel +64 4 382 8129, fax 382 8173 email pma@xtra.co.nz
PMA website -

http://www.converge.org.nz/pma
Not in Our Name - http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nionnz.htm
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>> war on terrorism? war is terrorism <<
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Media Release: Aucklanders part of global action against Cluster Bombs: Friday

investmentwatch — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:34:15 +0000

Investment Watch Aotearoa New Zealand (IWANZ)
Box 68-419,
Auckland

17 April 2008

Media Release: Aucklanders part of global action against Cluster Bombs: Friday

Aucklanders concerned over the investment of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund in cluster bombs will take to the street outside the Fund’s Auckland offices, AMP Building, Customs Street West at 5pm on Friday, April 18. The action is on the eve of the April 19 “Global Day of Action to Ban Cluster Bombs” which takes place 1 month before the international Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions begins.

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund, set up by the Government to fund retirement pensions currently has investments in at least five corporations involved in the manufacture of cluster munitions.
Although the Super Fund has pledged to divest once an international treaty banning cluster bombs is signed, this indefinite time frame is unacceptable. These investments undermine the good work that New Zealand has been doing to support the international campaign to ban cluster bombs. Divestment should be immediate so as to restore New Zealand’s credibility.

There will be a protest outside the Super Fund offices in Wellington at the same time.

The protest action has been coordinated by Investment Watch Aotearoa New Zealand (IWANZ), a coalition of non-governmental organisations, including Peace Movement Aotearoa, Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace, Indonesia Human Rights Committee, Pax Christi, the Peace Foundation and Students for Justice in Palestine.

“At the time of the global action against cluster munitions we welcome the news that the Superfund will divest from cluster bomb companies, but we are calling on them to divest immediately and not support them a single day longer ”, said IWANZ spokesperson Maire Leadbeater.

“It is abhorrent that public money invested in a Government fund continues to be invested in corporations manufacturing a weapon that kills innocent civilians and children indiscriminately. Inhumane governments use cluster munitions for morally repugnant goals and do not seem to care about the deadly legacy that they leave for future generations.” she concluded.

For further information: Maire Leadbeater 0274-436-957

[1]. Cluster munitions are weapons that work by dispersing several smaller submunitions, often referred to as bomblets or grenades, over a wide area to destroy dispersed, moving and unseen targets. A cluster munition consists of a canister and several submunitions. After being dropped or fired, the canister opens in mid-air and ejects its cargo of submunitions. These submunitions then scatter over the target area and are designed to explode on impact. Cluster munitions can be delivered from aircraft, via rockets, missiles or bombs. Cluster munitions can also be launched from land-based systems such as
artillery, from rockets, artillery shells or missiles.

2 . The corporations manufacturing Cluster Munitions that the Superannuation Fund is invested in include:
Lockheed Martin - $21,850,772*
Raytheon Co. - $2,294,974
Poongsan Corp. - $1,582,636
Thales S.A. - $657,428
Hanwha Corp. - $139,445

Photos/Report: Friday action at Auckland Super Fund

investmentwatch — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:27:37 +0000

More than 25 people braved crisp Auckland autumnal weather to picket the Superannuation Fund office on Friday as part of a co-ordinated day of action against investments in cluster bombs.

Hundreds of leaflets were distributed to passing commuters, and Super Fund employees, and there was a bit of chanting to keep up the energy, “While your shopping, bombs are dropping!”, “Blood, blood, blood on their hands”, “Helen, Helen whats the score? Investing in bombs to kill the poor!”, “Afghanistan needs Food not Bombs!”

Watch this space for future actions to build the campaign for ethical state investment. (More Photos Below)

Click on image for a larger version

Act now: NZ Superannuation Fund investments in death and destruction

investmentwatch — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 03:18:43 +0000

Act now: NZ Superannuation Fund investments in death and destruction

This update follows the NZ Superannuation Fund’s announcement earlier this month that it intends to divest from companies involved in the production of cluster munitions. It revises and expands the information provided in ‘Investing in whose future? NZ Super Fund investments in cluster munitions and nuclear weapons production’ [1] , the February 2008 No WARP! (Network Opposed to Weapons and Related Production) action alert and leaflet.

There are six sections in this update, providing information about:

1) The Superannuation Fund;
2) Investments in companies involved in cluster munitions production, and some comment on the recent announcement;
3) Investments in companies involved in nuclear weapons production;
4) Investments in companies involved in human rights violations;
5) What you can do about this - including details of the protests in Auckland and Wellington on Friday, 18 April; and points you could include in letters to the relevant politicians and Super Fund officials, as well as contact details for them; and
6) Where you can get more information.

This publication is available online at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nwapr08.pdf (formatted, printable version)

         1.     About the Superannuation Fund

The Superannuation Fund (Super Fund, or Fund) is an investment fund that accumulates and invests Crown contributions. It was created to partially provide for the future cost of funding superannuation payments, and formally established under the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act, 2001.

The Fund began investing in September 2003 with $2.4 billion, and by 29 February 2008, its assets totaled $13.5 billion. The Fund is expected to grow to around $109 billion by 2025, making it one of the largest funds in Australasia [2] .

The Fund is governed by a Crown entity called the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation (the Guardians); and the Minister of Finance, currently Michael Cullen, is the government minister responsible for it.

The Fund’s mandate is to invest the money in a way that maximises returns, without undue risk, and to avoid prejudice to New Zealand’s reputation as a responsible member of the world community. It has a responsible investment policy “which aims to enhance shareholder value and protect the reputation of the Fund through encouraging high standards of corporate behaviour”. Despite this, the Super Fund invests in a range of companies involved in producing offensive weapons systems, including cluster munitions and nuclear weapons, and others that are linked to gross human rights violations - including many that overseas pension funds and banks refuse to invest in.

While the Guardians apparently have a strong preference to ‘engage’ with such companies in the hope that their behaviour will improve, the Fund has divested in companies involved in whaling (2006), anti-personnel landmines (2006) and the tobacco sector (2007/08). Their divestment from companies involved in the tobacco sector is particularly curious given there is no international convention banning tobacco products, and thus potentially no prejudice to NZ’s “reputation as a responsible member of the world community”; nor is there any domestic legislation prohibiting tobacco products or involvement with tobacco production.

There is, however, both an international convention and domestic legislation banning land mines and their production, yet the Super Fund apparently invested in companies involved in such production for three years (see Section 2 below); as well as domestic legislation prohibiting participation in nuclear weapons production and deployment - and the Super Fund continues to invest in companies involved in both, as outlined in Section 3. In addition, there are rather a lot of international conventions, as well as domestic legislation, specifying minimum acceptable human rights standards, but the Fund continues to invest in companies involved in human rights abuses, some examples of which are provided in Section 4.

On 4 April 2008, the Guardians announced their intention to exclude companies involved in the manufacture of cluster munitions [3] from the Fund [4]; this decision is based on the NZ and other governments support for an international treaty prohibiting the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions [5] . While the Guardians move towards divestment is welcome, there are some issues with how and when they will implement their decision.

         2.     Investments in cluster munitions production

As of 30 June 2007, the Super Fund had investments in companies involved in cluster munitions production of around $26 million [6], which they list as Lockheed Martin, investment of $21,850,772 [7] , Raytheon Co. $2,294,974, and Poongsan Corp. $1,582,636. Not included in the Fund’s list are Thales S.A. $657,428, and Hanwha Corp. $139,445 - both of which the Norwegian government Pension Fund has divested from because of their involvement in cluster munitions production. There may additionally be investments in other companies that have been involved in such production in the past, but whose current involvement is uncertain.

According to the Fund’s Backgrounder of 4 April, the Guardians:

“will develop an engagement, divestment, and exclusion plan related to companies involved in the manufacture of cluster munitions. The plan should include: developing a list of companies that have a substantial involvement in cluster munitions; identifying and engaging with those companies the Guardians think will respond to the Guardians seeking their agreement to cease cluster munitions production; and divesting from, or excluding, the remainder of these companies (from portfolios managed exclusively for the New Zealand Superannuation Fund).” [8]

There is no indication as yet as to what the timeline for this process will be, how transparent it will be, nor how companies involved in cluster munitions production will be excluded from portfolios that are not managed exclusively for the Fund.

Furthermore, there seems to be a question about when all this will take place. The Guardians have said they will “implement their exclusion plan upon New Zealand signing the new treaty” [9]. Yet in his media release welcoming the announcement, Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control Phil Goff said it would be “once a Treaty on the weapons comes into force” [10]. There is a substantial difference between these two statements. The text of the international treaty (or convention) banning cluster munitions will be negotiated and most likely adopted at the next Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions, to be held in Dublin, Ireland, from 19-30 May. The convention will then be opened for signature early in December 2008, with the NZ government expected to sign it at that time. However, as with all international treaties, it may be some time before the convention enters into force - the entry into force provision of the draft Cluster Munitions Convention states that will be “on the first day of the sixth month after the month in which the 20th instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession has been deposited” [11] .

Furthermore, there is likely to be a further delay in the NZ government ratifying the Convention, as after signing it they will likely enact domestic legislation before doing so - and if NZ ratifies it after the 20th state party has deposited its ratification, it will enter into force here “on the first day of the sixth month after the date on which [NZ] has deposited its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession” [12] .

This process is best illustrated with reference to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty [13] prohibiting anti-personnel landmines, as a similar process will happen with the Cluster Munitions Convention. The Mine Ban Convention text was negotiated and adopted at the diplomatic conference in Oslo, Norway, on 18 September 1997. It opened for signature on 3 December 1997, and following ratification by the required number of states (40, for this Convention) on 16 September 1998, it entered into force on 1 March 1999. The NZ government signed the Convention on 3 December 1997, but did not ratify it until 17 January 1999, after the domestic legislation, the Anti-Personnel Mines Prohibition Act 1998, was passed.

Curiously, although this implementation legislation makes it an offence to assist or encourage anyone to “develop, produce, or otherwise acquire an anti-personnel mine; or possess, retain, or stockpile an anti-personnel mine; or transfer to anyone, directly or indirectly, an antipersonnel mine” [14] , the Super Fund (which began investing in 2003) did not divest from companies involved in landmines production until 2006 - eight years after the Act was passed.

Rather than the Fund similarly dithering around for years before divesting from companies involved in cluster munitions production, there is no good reason why they cannot move towards divesting in those companies right now. After all, the Norwegian Pension Fund, which seems to have a more robust approach to ‘responsible’ investment, began divesting from cluster munitions producing companies in 2005, well before the Norwegian government launched the Oslo Process to ban cluster munitions, and a time when a cluster munitions Convention was a distant hope rather than an imminent reality. Furthermore, the Super Fund’s own divestment from companies involved in tobacco products shows clearly that such action is not dependent on the existence of international treaties, nor domestic legislation, prohibiting such activity.

         3.     Investments in nuclear weapons production

As of 30 June 2007, the Super Fund had investments in companies involved in nuclear weapons production or deployment munitions production including (but by no means limited to): Northrop Grumman Corp. $22,490,337, Lockheed Martin $21,850,772, Honeywell International $13,914,219, BAE Systems Plc. $6,154,252, EADS Co., $2,660,672, and Thales S.A. $657,428 - thus, at an absolute minimum, investments of more than $67.7 million.

While there is no international convention prohibiting nuclear weapons production and deployment, the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act, 1987, makes it an offence for anyone who is a citizen, or ordinarily resident here to aid or abet “any person to manufacture, acquire, possess, or have control over any nuclear explosive device” within or beyond the NZ Nuclear Free Zone [15] . Why the Guardians of the Fund think they are beyond the law by investing in nuclear weapons producing and deploying companies is as mysterious as it is unethical.

By way of contrast, the ACC Minister, Maryan Street, announced just last week (albeit belatedly, given the length of time since the legislation was passed) that the ACC is currently in the process of excluding investments in companies involved with the design, testing, assembly and/or refurbishment of nuclear explosive devices [16]. The ACC seems to have a rather stronger ‘responsible’ investment policy than the Super Fund, for example, it will: “not invest in activities which it believes are repugnant to the laws of New Zealand or regarded as unethical by a vast majority of the New Zealand public” [17] .

         4.     Investments in companies involved in human rights violations

Yet another area where the Guardians of the Fund display a profound lack of commitment to their ‘responsible’ investment policy is in the area of human rights. The Fund has investments in many overseas corporations that have well-documented records in human rights and other abuses, especially of indigenous peoples [18] . Such companies include:

- Exxon Mobil Corp: number 1 on the list of the Fund’s top 10 International Equities in February 2008, investment of $48,100,000 million [19]. Issues with its operations include destruction of land and livelihoods in Chad [20], and complicity in human rights violations at its liquid natural gas plant in Aceh [21] .

- BHP Billiton: BHP Billiton Ltd (Australia), investment of $25,755,899 [22], and BHP Billiton Plc (Britain), investment of $4,478,725. Issues with its mining operations include it being implicated in human rights abuses, forced relocation, and environmental degradation around Cerrejon Zona Norte in Colombia [23], and environmental degradation on Navajo land [24] .

- Freeport McMoRan and the Rio Tinto Group: investment of $1,600,548, plus an investment of $23,846,105 in the Rio Tinto Group ($9,780,671 in Rio Tinto Plc, Britain, and $14,065,434 in Rio Tinto Ltd, Australia) - Rio Tinto has a 40 per cent joint venture interest [25] in the Freeport McMoRan Grasberg mine in West Papua. Freeport “has an unparalleled record of human rights and environmental abuse” [26] in relation to that mine - it has created a 230 square kilometre barren wasteland of dumped mine tailings [27], and the destruction of the local environment is visible from space [28]. The impact of the mine is particularly devastating for the indigenous Amungme and Kamoro people who have lost the traditional lands and aquatic resources that they rely on for survival, as well as being forcibly displaced from their homes and villages [29] .

In 2005, the New York Times revealed that from 1998 through 2004, Freeport gave Indonesian “military and police generals, colonels, majors and captains, and military units, nearly $20 million (US). Individual commanders received tens of thousands of dollars, in one case up to $150,000, according to the documents.” [30] That included payments to the Mobile Brigade which has been associated with “numerous serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, torture, rape, and arbitrary detention”. [31]

And that’s just Freeport, then of course there is Rio Tinto’s appalling record [32] … the corporation described in 2001 as “a poster child for corporate malfeasance” [33] .

- Total S.A.: investment of $19,765,245. Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s pro-democracy leader, has described Total as “the main supporter of the Burmese military regime” [34], a view shared by others [35]. In September last year, French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged his country’s businesses, including Total, to freeze their investments in Burma because of the gross human rights violations being perpetrated there [36] .

There is no shortage of international human rights covenants and conventions that NZ has both signed and ratified [37] - some of which have been partially incorporated into domestic legislation via the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, 1990 and the Human Rights Act. There is thus clearly no lack of legally binding human rights obligations setting minimum standards of behaviour in this regard, but these appear to be completely ignored by the Guardians of the Fund.

         5.     What you can do

If you are of the view that our future pension funds should not be based on investments in companies involved in destroying the future for people in other parts of the world, then here are some suggestions of things you can do.

* Join the protests in Auckland and Wellington on Friday, 18 April

On the day before the Global Day of Action to Ban Cluster Munitions (19 April), there will be protests at the Super Fund offices in Auckland and Wellington to call on the Fund to divest immediately from companies involved in cluster bomb production.

- Auckland: from 5pm to 6pm, outside the AMP Centre, corner Customs Street West and Albert Street, down by the Viaduct. Organised by Investment Watch, for more information contact email omarhamed123@gmail.com

- Wellington: from 5pm to 6pm, at the traffic lights at the intersection of Queen’s Wharf, Jervois Quay and Grey Street. Organised by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and Peace Movement Aotearoa, for more information contact email wilpf@xtra.co.nz

* Help get the word out about the dodgy Super Fund investments

Put a link to this update from your web site, distribute the ‘Investing in whose future?’ leaflets on stalls, at meetings, in your newletters, in public places, or anywhere else you can think of - please email nowarp@xtra.co.nz and let us know how many copies you’d like and your postal address to send them to.

* Contact Michael Cullen, the Super Fund and your MP

Tell them what you think about the Fund investing in companies engaged in offensive weapons production and human rights abuses.

As well as your own points, others you could include are:

General points: the Fund has divested in companies involved in whaling, anti-personnel mines and the tobacco sector. If they can divest from those companies, surely they can divest from others. Remind them of the Fund’s mandate “to avoid prejudice to NZ’s reputation as a responsible member of the world community”, and point out that NZ is clearly not a responsible member of the world community when it continues to allow the Fund to invest in companies that other government pension funds have divested from (eg, the Norwegian Pension Fund has divested from companies involved in cluster munitions and nuclear weapons production, and human rights violations).

Much stronger ethical investment policies and practices must be developed for the Fund’s investments as a matter of urgency; the current guidelines are clearly inadequate. Some MPs have already told people from their electorates that “the government, in framing the legislation which governs the operation of the Super Fund, expressly decided that responsibility for determining the investment strategy of the Fund should rest with independent investment experts (the Board of Guardians), and outside the sphere of politics” - you could point out that this is a lame excuse for inaction in the face of injustice, if the legislation was framed that way, it can readily be changed so that the government takes some responsibility to ensure the investments are ethical and that they do not breach NZ legislation, nor internationally binding legal obligations.

Specifically on cluster munitions: tell them that the move to divest is positive, but there is no good reason for the Fund not to begin divesting from companies involved in cluster munitions immediately. At the absolute minimum there needs to be a clear timeline, to be made publicly available with updates, on when the Fund will divest from those companies.

Specifically on nuclear weapons: remind them of the provisions of the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act, and tell them to begin divestment from companies involved with nuclear weapons production and deployment immediately.

Specifically on human rights abuses: remind them of the international human rights covenants and conventions that the government has signed and ratified, as well as the domestic human rights legislation, and tell them that you expect the Fund to act in accordance with those legal obligations. It is simply unacceptable for any government funds to be invested in any company engaged in human rights violations that would not be permitted here.

Contact details: Michael Cullen, Minister of Finance, Freepost Parliament, PO Box 18-888, Wellington, email mcullen@ministers.govt.nz or fax (04) 495 8442. Super Fund: Adrian Orr, Chief Executive Officer of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, David May, Chairman of the Board, and Sir Douglas Graham, Deputy Chairman - post to NZ Superannuation Fund, Private Bag 106607, Auckland, email c/o scoker@nzsuperfund.co.nz or fax (09) 300 6981, and Anne-Maree O’Connor, Head of Responsible Investment, email aoconnor@nzsuperfund.co.nz - if any of the Super Fund email addresses bounce back, then resend your message to email enquiries@nzsuperfund.co.nz with a note saying who it is for.

It is very helpful for our work if you can send us copies of your letters and of any replies you receive - by post No WARP! c/o Peace Movement Aotearoa, PO Box 9314, Wellington 6141; by fax to (04) 382 8173, or bcc to email nowarp@xtra.co.nz - thank you.

         6.     Where you can get more information

In addition to the specific references below, the following sites have related information:

- Investment Watch Aotearoa New Zealand at http://investmentwatch.wordpress.com

- No WARP! (Network Opposed to Weapons and Related Production) at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nowarp.htm

- Council for Socially Responsible Investment at http://www.csri.org.nz

- and for everything you might ever want to know about cluster munitions, including a ‘take action’ page, Aotearoa New Zealand Cluster Munition Coalition at http://www.stopclusterbombs.org.nz

References

[1] ‘Investing in whose future? NZ Super Fund investments in cluster munitions and nuclear weapons production’, No WARP! (Network Opposed to Weapons and Related Production) , February 2008 - http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/nwfeb08.htm
[2] More information about the Fund is available on their site at http://www.superfund.co.nz
[3] Cluster bombs or munitions are weapons that release dozens or hundreds of smaller bomblets or sub-munitions. Dropped from the air or launched from the ground, they maim and kill combatants and civilians alike. Many bomblets fail to explode on impact as designed and instead can remain active (like landmines) for decades - endangering lives, hampering post-conflict reconstruction, and hindering development
[4] ‘GNZS Announce Decision on Cluster Munitions’, Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation , 4 April 2008 - http://www.nzsuperfund.com/news.asp?pageID=2145831983&RefID=2141736138
[5] For more information about the negotiations for a convention banning cluster munitions, see the government site at http://www.mfat.govt.nz/clustermunitionswellington and the Aotearoa New Zealand Cluster Munition Coalition site at http://www.stopclusterbombs.org.nz
[6] ‘Background Information on Cluster Munitions and Investments’, NZ Superannuation Fund, 4 April 2008 - http://www.nzsuperfund.com/files/Guardians%20Background%20Paper%20on%20Cluster%20Munitions%20_4%20April%202008_.pdf
[7] All figures for Super Fund investments in this update are based on those in the Fund’s equity portfolio of 30 June 2007, unless stated otherwise.
[8] ‘Background Information on Cluster Munitions and Investments’, as at note 6, p1
[9] ‘GNZS Announce Decision on Cluster Munitions’, and ‘Background Information on Cluster Munitions and Investments’, p1

[10] ‘NZ Super Fund decision on Cluster Munitions’, Minister of Disarmament and Arms Control, 4 April 2008 - http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/nz+super+fund+decision+cluster+munitions
[11] Draft Cluster Munitions Convention, 21 January 2008, Article 17 - http://www.mfat.govt.nz/clustermunitionswellington/conference-documents/draft-cluster-munitions-convention.doc
[12] Reference at note 11
[13] Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, 1997
[14] Anti-Personnel Mines Prohibition Act, 1998, Part 2:7
[15] New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act, 1987, Sections 5:1 and 5:2
[16] ‘The Challenge of Socially Responsible Investment’, Maryan Street, 9 April 2008 - http://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/challenge+socially+responsible+investment
[17] Reference at note 16
[18] For more information on the companies listed below, and others, see for example ‘NGO Parallel Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination’, Peace Movement Aotearoa, 21 May 2007 (Section J: Impact of NZ companies and government investments on indigenous communities in other parts of the world), at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/CERD71-PMA.pdf and ‘On the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People’, Peace Movement Aotearoa, 9 August 2007 (Section C: government investments in companies involved in violation of indigenous peoples’ human rights), at http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/idwip07.pdf - please note, the investment figures in those two documents are from the Super Fund June 2006 equity portfolio
[19] Performance and portfolio update at 29 February 2008, NZ Superannuation Fund
[20] See, for example, http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14430
[21] See, for example, http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11442
[22] This, and subsequent figures are from the Super Fund’s June 2007 equity portfolio
[23] See, for example, http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Company/bhp04.htm
[24] See, for example, http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14435
[25] http://www.riotinto.com/ourapproach/5204_our_non_managed_operations.asp
[26] Letter to the NZ Super Fund re Freeport, Indonesia Human Rights Committee, 1 December 2006 - http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/wp011206a.htm
[27] Reference at note 26
[28] http://www.tewahanui.info/news/190806_wpFreeport.shtml
[29] Reference at note 28
[30] ‘Below a Mountain of Wealth, a River of Waste’, Jane Perlez and Raymond Bonner, 27 December 2005 - http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12985
[31] Reference at note 30
[32] See, for example, http://www.greenleft.org.au/2000/419/22857
[33] ‘Rio Tinto: Global Compact Violator - PT Kelian: A Case Study of Global Operations’, Danny Kennedy, 13 July 2001 - http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Company/kelian1.htm
[34] See, for example, http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/total_briefing.html
[35] See, for example, http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14745
[36] ‘Global firms provide lifeline to Myanmar’s junta’, Agence France-Presse, 30 September 2007
[37] The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and the Convention on the Rights of the Child to name but some.
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>

No WARP! Network Opposed to Weapons and Related Production
c/o Peace Movement Aotearoa, PO Box 9314, Wellington 6141
Aotearoa New Zealand. Tel +64 4 382 8129, fax 382 8173,
email nowarp@xtra.co.nz www.converge.org.nz/pma/nowarp.htm

Oxfam/IHRC Letter to Cullen on Superfund Investments

investmentwatch — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:46:23 +0000

Hon. Michael Cullen

Minister of Finance

Parliament

Wellington 26^th February 2008

Dear Minister

We are writing to express our concern over the investment holdings of the Superannuation Fund, specifically its investment in manufacturers of cluster munitions. Our concerns are shared by members of the public.

On 21 February 2008, Oxfam New Zealand hosted a breakfast event at Auckland Museum that featured presentations by Ms. Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Laureate and Ms. Eileen Kolma, Oxfam PNG Country representative. Ms, Williams explained how cluster munitions leave a devastating post-conflict legacy. We heard how the New Zealand government is playing a leading role in building support for an international ban on cluster bombs with active non-governmental support provided by Oxfam New Zealand and other members of the Aotearoa New Zealand Cluster Munition Coalition. We warmly welcome the government’s role in seeking an international ban on cluster munitions and offer our congratulations on a highly successful Wellington conference.

In the discussion that followed the breakfast presentations, the audience was surprised to hear that the New Zealand Superannuation Fund invests in at least five companies which produce cluster munitions, even though a number of other pension funds have divested from shares in such companies. A member of the audience asked for a show of hands to indicate those that want New Zealand to divest from cluster bomb production. There was support from most, if not all amongst the 230-strong audience.

We understand that the Super Fund is undertaking a review of their investments in companies involved in cluster munitions production. We have written to them to encourage them to divest immediately. More broadly, we recognise that the Superannuation Fund has taken steps towards protecting New Zealand’s reputation, such as through engaging with international initiatives and recently divesting in companies that produce antipersonnel landmines. However, the real test of whether the Super Fund is living up to its mandate is the degree to which their investment portfolio is widely perceived to prejudice New Zealand’s reputation. The inclusion of companies that produce cluster munitions in the Super Fund’s current investment portfolio shows that this mandate is not being fully implemented.

We believe that the Guardians need to be fully accountable for ensuring that ethical standards are upheld. We call you to ensure that there is a transparent process for appointing Guardians, there are sufficient Board members with the skills and experience to be able to ensure the Fund’s mandate is upheld, and there is a process for transparently reporting on decisions that affect New Zealand’s reputation. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you wish to discuss the issue further.

Sincerely

Barry Coates Maire Leadbeater

Executive Director Director

Oxfam New Zealand Indonesia Human Rights Committee

Copy: Hon. Phil Goff, Minister of Disarmament and Arms Control

Superfund Cluster Munitions Investments under Fire

investmentwatch — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:43:01 +0000

In recent months, the New Zealand Superannuation Fund has come under scrutiny for their investments in Cluster Munitions at the same time as the New Zealand government is leading negotiations on a draft international treaty banning the use of the weapons in Wellington.

No WARP! (Network Opposed to Weapons and Related Production) released a leaflet during the Cluster Munitions conference, Investing in whose future? NZ Super Fund investments in cluster munitions and nuclear weapons production . And after the Disarmament and Arms Control Minister Phil Goff said that he thought the Superfund had divested from Cluster Munitions, the Green Party issued the following media release, Minister gets it wrong on cluster bomb investments.

Links:

The Aotearoa/New Zealand Cluster Munition Coalition is a group of New Zealand non-governmental organizations that supports the international call to stop cluster munitions from harming civilians.

Handicap International helps disabled people make a positive difference to their lives. We work in many countries affected by landmines and cluster munitions. Every day our teams meet cluster bomb survivors; the ‘lucky’ ones who have not been killed outright.

The only permanent solution to the effects of cluster bombs is a global ban on the use, production and stockpiling of cluster munitions. To achieve this, Handicap International informs the general public on the effects of cluster bombs through events such as the Pyramid of Shoes. Our organisation also campaigns with governments that still allow the use or production of cluster bombs.

Netwerk Vlaanderen promotes an environmentally and socially responsible approach to money. Netwerk gives advice on sustainable saving and investment products. And Netwerk has been running the campaign “My Money. Clear Conscience?” to show banks where their responsibilities are around human rights abuses.