Agenda item

In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, Councillor Cai Larsen will propose as follows:-

 

As we now approach a year since the war in Gaza began, Cyngor Gwynedd states that:

 

More than 40,000 Gaza residents have been killed by Israel security forces - the vast majority civilians.

Approximately 10,000 people - mostly civilians - remain undiscovered but are almost certainly dead.

Over 90,000 have been injured - again with the majority of them civilians.

Close to 200,000 have died due to the indirect effects of Israel's army campaign.

The vast majority of the 2.2m people living there have lost their homes, or have had to move out of their homes.

That people whose families live in Gaza are among the residents of Gwynedd.

 

Considering this, and numerous other atrocities happening at present such as Ukraine, Yemen and Maymar, the Full Council calls, as part of the process of annually reviewing the Investment Strategy, for consideration to be given to adding a provision which addresses the principles of safeguarding human rights and respects international law.

 

As we now approach a year since the war in Gaza began, Cyngor Gwynedd states that:

 

More than 40,000 Gaza residents have been killed by Israel security forces – the vast majority civilians. Approximately 10,000 people – mostly civilians – remain undiscovered but are almost certainly dead. Over 90,000 have been injured – again with the majority of them civilians.

Close to 200,000 have died due to the indirect effects of Israel's military campaign. The vast majority of the 2.2m people living there have lost their homes, or have had to move out of their homes. There are people whose families live in Gaza among the residents of Gwynedd.

 

In view of this, and in view of a number of other current horrific situations such as Ukraine, Yemen and Myanmar, the Full Council, as part of the process of the annual review of the Investment Strategy, calls for consideration to be given to adding a provision that meets the principles of protecting human liberties and respecting international law.

 

 

The following notice of motion was submitted by Councillor Cai Larsen under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, and it was seconded: -

 

As we now approach a year since the war in Gaza began, Cyngor Gwynedd states that:

 

More than 40,000 Gaza residents have been killed by Israel security forces - the vast majority civilians.

Approximately 10,000 people - mostly civilians - remain undiscovered but are almost certainly dead.

Over 90,000 have been injured - again with the majority of them civilians.

Close to 200,000 have died due to the indirect effects of Israel's military campaign.

The vast majority of the 2.2m people living there have lost their homes, or have had to move out of their homes.

There are people whose families live in Gaza among the residents of Gwynedd.

 

In view of this, and in view of a number of other current horrific situations such as Ukraine, Yemen and Myanmar, the Full Council, as part of the process of the annual review of the Investment Strategy, calls for consideration to be given to adding a provision that meets the principles of protecting human liberties and respecting international law.

 

The member set out the context to his motion, and noted:-

 

·         That things had moved on since he drafted the proposal in terms of the number of deaths and the extent of destruction, and also in terms of the geographical location of the destruction, but that he didn't want to refer to those atrocities specifically because the proposal spoke for itself.

·         That the people of Gwynedd had responded to what was happening in the Middle East by holding regular vigils in Caernarfon and demonstrations in various places in the county, including a long-lasting and brave demonstration by students in Bangor.

·         He wished to explain why he believed the Council should review its investment policies and strategies to prioritise ethical investments in the Israeli context, and in the context of a long record by that country's leaders of ignoring international law and human rights and doing so deliberately over a long period of time when there was no war ongoing.

·         That this long-term behaviour included: -

 

Ø   Constant and long-lasting abuse of Palestinians.

Ø   Overuse of force.

Ø   Unjustified murders.

Ø   Depriving people of the right to assemble and move freely.

Ø   The practice of extending the Israeli presence on the West bank of the Jordan, which was contrary to the 4th Geneva Convention, a convention that prohibited an occupying power from moving its own population to lands they had occupied.

Ø   Mass punishment - even before the current raid the blockade of Gaza deprived Gaza residents of easy access to food, medicine and economic opportunities, which in itself created a humanitarian crisis before this raid had begun.

Ø   Discrimination against people of Arab background within Israel's borders, discrimination in terms of democratic representation, economic opportunities and access to services.

Ø   The use of military courts to prosecute civilians and the use of a parallel military prosecution system that reduced transparency, reduced fundamental rights and led to long periods of nonjudicial incarceration.

Ø   Restricting rights to self-expression and restricting the rights of internal organisations to criticise Israeli policies toward Palestinians was a long-standing issue.

 

·         That what was happening in the Middle East right now and had happened there since founding the state of Israel, reflected a totally repugnant perception that the lives of people from some religious and ethnic backgrounds had far more value than others. 

·         That he realised that the issues referred to were not limited to Israel, and passing the motion would ensure that this Council looked at its policies in order to prioritise ethical investments in general, not just in Israel.

·         However, he referred specifically to Israel for two reasons, namely:-

 

Ø   That the current atrocious circumstances had been going on for nearly a whole year and was spreading further and further from day to day.

Ø   That the West's relationship was much closer to Israel's than it was to other countries, with a very poor record regarding respecting international law and human rights. As the Israeli economy integrated into the Western capitalist system there was a higher risk that investments from this Council were making their way to Israel.

 

·         That the Council was asked to support the motion in order to state our opposition to what was happening in the Middle East today, and what had been happening there over the decades and also in to underline the belief that was core to our Welsh values, that every human soul had equal value and that value was independent of religious, ethnic or state background.

 

Several members expressed their keen support to the motion.  During the discussion, the following matters were raised:-

 

It was noted that the courageous stance of Bangor University students was partly responsible for inspiring this motion.  It was emphasised that it was a matter of pride that the Bangor campus was the only one throughout these countries that had stood unbroken since May, and the students were thanked for their remarkable stance and endurance, which had drawn together a wide range of Gwynedd residents and beyond to support and stand with them.  It was also noted that everyone was welcome to attend the extra vigil organised on Monday, 7 October to mark one year since the bloodshed had begun.

 

The opinion of the Monitoring Officer was sought on matters relating to the appropriateness of the wording of the proposal, namely: -

 

·         That the proposal listed figures, but was it possible to do so without a report attesting to the accuracy of those figures?

·         That the last paragraph of the motion stated that we call for the addition of a provision that addresses the principles of protecting human rights and respecting international law. Therefore, was there a suggestion that the existing provision was not in accordance with law?

·         That this was not a report on the burden on resources of acting in this way or the appropriateness of doing so given that we were dealing with public funds.

·         Was the Council able to invest in accordance with morality, apart from that which was in accordance with legal order?

·         There was no link between the last paragraph of the proposal and the preamble, and did the proposal refer to any state with an army, or any company that produces the smallest pieces for military weapons, etc?

·         Were the fundamental considerations in this case what was in accordance with the law as it stood and what brought the best investment for public money?

·         There was no reference here to the risk implications for the organisation, whether legal through challenge or financial through less profitable investments.

 

In response, it was noted:-

 

·         That the notices of motion went through a process of sorting and filtering to get appropriate proposals.

·         That the figures in the proposal had been put forward by the proposer and were probably based on information that was public anyway.  Also, the Council was asked 'to note' the figures, rather than to 'adopt' them.⁠ ⁠⁠⁠

·         That the wording of the proposal had been framed very carefully as a request to '⁠consider' these matters, evaluating the risks, propriety and legality of adding the provision sought when reviewing the Investment Strategy. ⁠The proposal did not presume the outcome of that review. ⁠

·         That the aim of the wording was to undertake a review in terms of ethical investment wherever that occurred and was not limited to Israel or any other country.

·         That it could not be said that a proposal requiring such research could be said inappropriate, especially given also that the full Council would adopt the Investment Strategy at their meeting in March. The report to the Council would give advice on the appropriateness, legality, and also risks of these matters.

 

On a point of clarity, and in response to a question, it was confirmed that the proposal was about the Council's Money Investment Strategy, not the Pension Fund money.

 

It was asked how there was investment in Israel if the Council was committed to the Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions organisation in 2012. In response, it was explained that the motion required specific wording to be included to highlight the Council's aspiration for ethical investment, but that 95% of the Council's funding was in cash investments in any event.

 

In his closing comments, the proposer noted:-

 

·         That the proposal was a compromise, and therefore some of the clarity had been lost.   However, it was a compromise that he had been happy to make. 

·         The Investment Strategy already contained priorities regarding, for example, net zero and responsible investment.

·         The effort to undermine the motion was a surprise to him.

 

A registered vote was called for on the motion.

 

In accordance with Procedural Rules, the following vote on the motion was recorded:-

 

In favour	48	Councillors:  Craig ab Iago, Menna Baines, Beca Brown, Stephen Churchman, Dafydd Owen Davies, Elwyn Edwards, Elfed Wyn ap Elwyn, Alan Jones Evans, Dylan Fernley, Delyth Lloyd Griffiths, R. Medwyn Hughes, Iwan Huws, Elin Hywel, Nia Wyn Jeffreys, Berwyn Parry Jones, Dawn Lynne Jones, Dewi Jones, Elin Walker Jones, Elwyn Jones, Gwilym Jones, Gareth Tudor Jones, Huw Wyn Jones, Linda Ann Jones, June Jones, Cai Larsen, Dilwyn Morgan, Linda Morgan, Edgar Wyn Owen, Gwynfor Owen, Gareth Coj Parry, Nigel Pickavance, John Pughe, Rheinallt Puw, Arwyn Herald Roberts, Beca Roberts, Elfed P Roberts, Meryl Roberts, Huw Llwyd Rowlands, Paul Rowlinson, Ioan Thomas, Peter Thomas, Menna Trenholme, Rhys Tudur, Einir Wyn Williams, Elfed Williams, Gruffydd Williams, Sasha Williams and Sian Williams. ⁠
Against	1	Councillor Richard Glyn Roberts.
Abstention	5	Councillors Jina Gwyrfai, Beth Lawton, Dewi Owen, John Pughe Roberts and Rob Triggs.

 

The Chair noted that the motion had been carried.

 

RESOLVED to adopt the motion, namely:-

 

As we now approach a year since the war in Gaza began, Cyngor Gwynedd states that:

 

More than 40,000 Gaza residents have been killed by Israel security forces - the vast majority civilians.

Approximately 10,000 people - mostly civilians - remain undiscovered but are almost certainly dead.

Over 90,000 have been injured - again with the majority of them civilians.

Close to 200,000 have died due to the indirect effects of Israel's military campaign.

The vast majority of the 2.2m people living there have lost their homes, or have had to move out of their homes.

There are people whose families live in Gaza among the residents of Gwynedd.

 

In view of this, and in view of a number of other current horrific situations such as Ukraine, Yemen and Myanmar, the Full Council, as part of the process of the annual review of the Investment Strategy, calls for consideration to be given to adding a provision that meets the principles of protecting human liberties and respecting international law.