Caerphilly Plaid Cymru group leader Charlotte Bishop has tabled a motion calling on pension fund managers to ensure all public funds are invested ethically in the wake of the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The Aber Valley councillor said the council had a duty to ensure public funds were not used to “perpetuate war crimes or human suffering”.
The notice of motion, which will be discussed at a full meeting of Caerphilly Council next Tuesday (Nov 13), is supported by Plaid Cymru, Labour and Independent councillors.
It says the Greater Gwent (Torfaen) Pension Fund – of which Caerphilly council is a member – “has the ability and responsibility to apply ethical investment criteria to ensure that pension contributions are not linked to human rights abuses or violations of international law”.
If the motion is passed, the council would ask the pension fund to review their investment portfolio and consider whether any holdings should be removed from companies benefitting from the Israel- Gaza conflict.
Councillor Charlotte Bishop, who has four children, said: “When you’re a mother, politics becomes personal. You start to see every conflict through the eyes of a parent — not a politician.
“Every bomb dropped on Gaza is a child’s future destroyed. I can’t separate my political work from my responsibility as a parent. We have a humanitarian obligation to ensure that our public funds are not used to perpetuate war crimes or human suffering.
“We have a duty to ensure that our public funds are not used to perpetuate war crimes or human suffering. Our public money and pensions should not fund the bombing of civilians. It should fund peace, reconstruction, and justice. Personally I believe if we say we stand for peace and human rights, we must act like it.”
NOTICE OF MOTION
The notice of motion asks Council to note the ongoing, deeply concerning and harrowing conflict in Gaza which has resulted in significant loss of innocent life and has been described by the UN Special Committee that Israel’s warfare methods in Gaza are consistent with genocide, including use of starvation as weapon of war.
That Council note the signatories support for an immediate bi-lateral ceasefire.
That we understand that local authorities such as Waltham Forest, Oxford City, and North Somerset Council have passed policies opposing investment in arms companies complicit in the conflict.
That we share the widespread calls from within our communities for peace and justice.
That in doing so, we also totally condemn the acts of terrorism, by Hamas, which triggered the present terrible situation.
That we ask that this Council further notes that the Greater Gwent (Torfaen) Pension Fund, in which Caerphilly County Borough Council participates, has the ability and responsibility to apply ethical investment criteria to ensure that pension contributions are not linked to human rights abuses or violations of international law.