Agenda item

For Members to consider any petitions with more than 200 signatures on which a debate has been requested, in accordance with the Council’s petition rules and Standing Order 68.

Members are asked to note that the following petition is due to be presented at the meeting:

Divest for Palestine  (Brent & Harrow Palestine Solidarity Campaign Lead petitioner – Sheila Guhadasan)

The Mayor advised that he had accepted a request for a petition to be presented at the meeting.  The petition, containing a total of 1210 signatures, had been submitted by the Brent & Harrow Palestine Solidarity Campaign (with Sheila Guhadasan as lead petitioner) and was related to a Divest for Palestine campaign.

Unless otherwise indicated by members, the Mayor advised he intended to allow up to five minutes for presentation of the petition before then providing Councillor Mili Patel (as Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Finance & Resources) up to two minutes to respond.

As no objections were raised on the approach outlined, the Mayor welcomed Sheila Guhadasan to the meeting and prior to inviting her to present the petition took the opportunity to remind everyone present at the meeting that one of the things he was most proud about as Mayor was the diverse nature of the borough and peaceful relationships that existed between its many different communities enabling them to live side by side in peace and harmony.  Whilst advising that his heart went out to all those affected by the conflict in Israel and Gaza and recognising the different ways in which people expressed their solidarity with those affected, the Mayor was keen to ensure the efforts to foster community cohesion within the borough were maintained during consideration of the item for which he thanked everyone for their support.

The Mayor then invited Sheila Guhadasan to present the petition, who began by thanking the Mayor and advising she was being supported in her presentation by two Brent residents one of Palestinian and the other of Jewish heritage.  Highlighting the current number of signatures received (totalling over 2000 including 773 via an e-petition) it was pointed out these included residents from all faith and backgrounds and the petition calling on the Council to recognise what were felt to be its legal and moral responsibilities and join the growing number of Councils, public bodies and institutions divesting for Palestine

Referring to the thousands of Palestinian lives lost during the current Israeli assault on the Gaza strip, almost half of whom had been children, Sheila Guhadasan felt it important to recognise the impact in terms of 90% of Gaza’s population having also been displaced, many on multiple occasions, and nowhere being safe to shelter with families also facing famine due to the ongoing blockade and targeting of key infrastructure.  This was on top of what the petitioners felt to be the illegal settlement of the West Bank and ongoing occupation and oppression of Palestinians in Gaza, which it was felt required a stand to be taken and everything possible to be done in an attempt to bring the suffering to an end.

Referring to an interim ruling in January 2024 by the International Court of Justice, Sheila Guhadasan felt the UK as a state party to the Genocide Convention had a binding obligation to employ all means reasonably available to prevent and deter what those in support of the petition regarded as further genocidal acts with UN experts having issued a statement demanding that states and companies stop arms transfers to Israel, and that financial institutions (including banks and pension funds) should cease investing in arms companies supplying Israel in order to avoid what the petitioners advised had been described as repercussions for complicity.  Highlighting that the International Court of Justice in July 2024 had also confirmed that Israel’s treatment and occupation of Palestinian land was illegal and was felt to amount to systematic discrimination on racial and ethnic grounds, the maintenance of which should not be supported, it was also pointed out the UN General Assembly had now overwhelmingly passed a resolution demanding that Israel end without delay what was described as its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory and should do so within 12 months.  As a result, the petitioners outlined what they felt to be the clear legal basis and responsibility on the Council to take immediate action in seeking to avoid complicity.

In terms of the specific action being sought, Sheila Guhadasan advised the petition was therefore calling on the Council:

·            To divest all funds administered by the Council, including local government pension scheme funds from companies complicit in Israel’s stance against the Palestinians.  This included arms companies supplying Israel with weapons, military technology, companies providing infrastructure for Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian land as well as companies conducting business activity in Israel’s settlement on Palestinian land.

·            To use its influence as part of the London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV) to publicly lobby for divestment from companies complicit in supporting what were felt to be abuses being undertaken by Israel; and

·            To commit to ending procurement contracts with companies complicit in the same action.

In terms of wider action, it was pointed out that the London Borough of Waltham Forest had already made a commitment to divest with similar petitions also being presented to a number of other London Council’s and the same campaign happening in many other parts of the country.  In summing up, Sheila Guhadasan felt it important to recognise Brent’s pride in being one of the most diverse boroughs in London and the opportunity now available in seeking to support the divestment campaign to demonstrate the importance in the way its values relating to equality, diversity and justice were being upheld.  In advising that the Brent and Harrow Palestine Solidarity Campaign would also welcome the opportunity to meet with the Brent Pension Fund Sub Committee in order to continue the discussions and secure what it was hoped would be a commitment towards divestment as soon as possible Sheila Guhadasan ended by quoting the words of poet Bex Thomas; “Years from now when your child asks what did you do? Will you tell them I looked away…or will you tell them I wrote, I marched, I listened, I heard, I helped, I bore witness, used my power, used my privilege”.

Having thanked Sheila Guhadasan for presenting the petition, the Mayor then invited Councillor Milli Patel, as Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, to respond.

In responding, Councillor Milli Patel began by echoing the sentiments expressed by the Mayor in advance of the petition being presented and reaffirmed that Brent remained a proudly diverse and welcoming community with the Council’s thoughts remaining with all those affected by the conflict in the Middle East.

In terms of the actions being sought within the petition, the opportunity was taken to outline the way in which the Council was already seeking to deliver an ethically responsible Pension Fund investment strategy.  Whilst working hard to deliver this approach it was pointed out this also needed to be balanced against a fiduciary duty to ensure the fund performed well, providing long term stable returns for the scheme members who relied on it with an assurance provided, however, that the Council did not actively invest directly in UN considered occupied territories or actively in arms companies.  Turning to the specific requests made by the petitioners, Councillor Mili Patel advised that she had already asked the Council’s Chief Finance Officer to conduct a full audit of the Council’s and Pension Fund allocations in line with the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment.

In terms of the action being sought in relation to procurement, the petitioners were advised that this approach would need to reflect the requirements within Section 17 of the Local Government Act 1988, which placed restrictions on the considerations local authorities could take into account when procuring goods or services.  This included the Council being unable to exclude potential contractors due to trading connections they may have with particular countries or territories.  As was the case with all London Boroughs, Brent’s Pension Fund was required to have a well-diversified investment strategy and continued to follow best practice by investing in a diverse range of funds.  It was noted that the Brent Pension Fund also invested through the London Collective Investment Vehicle with whom Councillor Milli Patel advised she had also been in recent discussions regarding how best to update the Ethical Investment Policy on which lobbying efforts would continue, working alongside counterparts across London, in order to consider the lessons learnt from other Councils on the same issues.

In concluding, Councillor Mili Patel hoped the response provided demonstrated the steps already being taken to review the Council’s investments and commitment to the ongoing work that it was recognised was required.

The Mayor thanked Councillor Mili Patel for her response and advised as this concluded consideration of the petition he would move on to the next item.