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CITY OF SOMERVILLE
SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT RESOLUTION
Article II
Whereas, the Arab states in the Middle East have continued overt and covert
military aggression against Israel, either directly or through Palestinian and
Lebanese proxies, in clear violation of United Nations Security Council
Resolution 242 which specifically calls for "Termination of all claims or states
of belligerency..." and the right of all states in the area to "live in peace with
secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force."
Whereas, during the last four years, the Arab states and the Palestinian
national movement, working separately or in concert, have violated and continue to
violate the Fourth Geneva Convention on Rules of War of 1949, as well as numerous
other human rights treaties, provisions and signed agreements; by
- Engaging in deliberate, planned attacks specifically targeted at civilian
populations
- Providing military equipment, training and financing of militant groups
engaged in routine war crimes and crimes against humanity
- Subjecting children to hate-indoctrination and recruitment for suicide attacks,
in contravention to UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Using Palestinian homes as military stations for smuggling and storage of
weapons, hiding of militants, and missile attacks against civilian populations,
in contravention to all known treaties and rules of war
- Engaging in and coordinating global propaganda and boycott campaigns,
in contravention to signed agreements (including the Oslo Accords), as well as
in contradiction to US anti-boycott law
- Stealing billions of dollars in aid donated by the US, the UN, European,
Asian and Arab countries, depriving the local Palestinian population of
resources needed for survival
- Systematically violating the rights of women, including genital mutilation
and death by stoning, in violation of UN resolutions on the rights of women
- Deliberately engaging in the systematic persecution of homosexuals
- Continuing to engage in the practice of chattel slavery of black Africans,
notably in the Sudan
Whereas, the City of Somerville abhors and unequivocally opposes all attacks,
by either Israelis or Palestinians, where civilian casualties are likely, whether
the attacks are aggressive or retaliatory; and
Whereas, the Board of Alderman of the City of Somerville, in order to remain
consistent with its commitment to human rights, is against contributing to and
profiting from the above violations of human rights by investment in companies that
sell equipment used directly in these violations;
Therefore be it resolved that:
- The Board of Aldermen of the City of Somerville urges all investors in the
city to divest from companies involved with human rights violations in
the Arab world.
- The Board of Alderman of the City of Somerville specifically recommends the
divestment of funds currently invested in the following:
- Stocks and funds that include companies that represent the major oil
producers in the Middle East, including Texaco, Shell, Chevron, Exxon and
Mobil, funds with help provide Middle East countries with the resources
needed to continue repressive, aggressive and racist activities, including
aggression against neighbors and violations of the human rights of their
own citizens (including women)
- All military corporations that do business in the Middle East whose sales
to Arab countries (that include sales of planes, helicopters, tanks,
military vehicles and weaponry) are routinely used to prop up dictatorships
- All companies selling security equipment used by the secret services of
Middle East dictatorships that routinely practice torture and ethnic cleansing
The Board of Alderman also recommend a review of US funding of the United Nations
in order to determine how much US taxpayer dollars (including taxpayer dollars from
Somerville residents) is used to finance graft (as in the case of the Iraq
Oil-for-Food program), corruption (as in the Palestinian Authority), or military
activity in contradiction to UN rules and international law.
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