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6 Jun, 2013

Security Contractor G4S faces storm of protest at AGM over links to Israel

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London, (Palestine Solidarity Campaign Press Release) – On Thursday 6 June 2013 executives and shareholders attending the G4S’ AGM will face a storm of protest against G4S’ profiting from Israel’s illegal detention and torture of Palestinians.

Human rights campaigners will gather outside the G4S Annual General Meeting to alert shareholders to the company’s complicity in the systematic abuse of human rights and international law.

G4S provides:

  • security systems and other services for Israeli prisons which hold Palestinian political prisoners transferred from occupied Palestine. This is in contravention of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which prohibits the transfer of prisoners from occupied territory into the territory of the occupier.
  • G4S also provides equipment for Israeli prisons and detention facilities, at which human rights organisations have documented systematic torture and ill treatment of Palestinian prisoners, including children.
  • G4S provides equipment and services to Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank that form part of the route of Israel’s illegal Wall and to the terminals isolating the occupied and besieged territory of Gaza.
  • G4S has also signed contracts for equipment and services for the West Bank Israeli Police headquarters and to private businesses based in illegal Israeli settlements.

Sarah Colborne, Director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign said: “G4S cannot expect to do business as usual whilst it equips Israeli prisons which hold Palestinians in breach of the Geneva Convention. G4S attempts to portray itself as an ethical company³ but the reality is the company assists Israel in its illegal imprisonment of Palestinians.

Companies are discovering that there is a price to pay for doing business with Israel’s occupation – and are losing contracts worth millions as a result. Just as Veolia has paid a significant price for its complicity, we are putting G4S on notice: stop facilitating Israel’s violations of international law and human rights, and pull out of its Israeli contracts – otherwise your business will suffer as a key target of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.”

Palestinian civil society has called for people of conscience across the world to support Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against companies such as G4S, who are complicit in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.

  • The protest will take place on Thursday 6 June, between 1-4pm, outside Salter’s Hall, 4 Fore Street, London EC2Y 5DE