Friends rally for ethical investment
‘We are very concerned about the efforts by the government to silence the ethical investment movement.'
Quakers have said that the government is trying to silence the ethical investment movement with a controversial ‘anti-boycott bill’.
Friends joined other faith groups in the UK in opposing the government’s plans which they argue would dramatically affect their ability to campaign for social and climate justice.
Under the proposed legislation, public bodies could be forced to follow UK foreign policy in their purchasing, procurement and investment decisions.
Now faith groups, including the Methodist Church and the Muslim Association of Britain, have joined other civil society groups in calling for the plans to be dropped.
Signatories to the statement, which include Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, say that the new law would stop the use of the tactics that helped liberate South Africa from apartheid, stifling campaigns from fossil fuel divestment to arms embargoes. They argue that the proposed law ‘presents a threat to freedom of expression, and the ability of public bodies and democratic institutions to spend, invest and trade ethically in line with international law and human rights’.
Paul Parker, recording clerk for Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), said: ‘We are very concerned about the efforts by the government to silence the ethical investment movement… Faith is not just about words; it’s about how we use our beliefs to change the world. That means being able to put our money where our mouth is.
‘The planned legislation would mean that public bodies, including local councils, could be forced into investing in companies complicit in human rights abuses, rather than investing with integrity.’
According to BYM, the bill is ‘the latest in a string of repressive legislation, including the Policing Bill and the Nationality and Borders Bill, and represents a threat to fundamental rights to hold government and institutions to account’.
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