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Barcelona, 25 de mayo de 2011. Hoy se celebra el Día Mundial de Acción para acabar con las  inversiones explosivas, impulsada por la Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC). El objetivo de la jornada es hacer un llamamiento a los gobiernos para que sus legislaciones prohíban invertir en la fabricación de bombas en racimo y presionar a los bancos y a otras instituciones financieras para que dejen de invertir.

La Fundació per la Pau, Justícia i Pau, el Moviment per la Pau, la Plataforma per la Pau Lloret y Setem, miembros de la CMC, se suman a esta jornada con el lanzamiento de la página Web  www.stopinversionesexplosivas.org.

Además,  las ONG están en conversaciones con la Comisión de Defensa del Congreso para conseguir que en la nueva ley española sobre bombas en racimo quede expresamente prohibido todo tipo de financiación de estas armas, tanto por parte de las entidades financieras que operan en territorio español, como de las entidades españolas con inversiones en el extranjero.

La legislación española

El 1 de agosto de 2010 entró en vigor el Tratado de Oslo que prohíbe las bombas en racimo. El Estado español fue de los primeros en firmarlo y ratificarlo pero ahora nos encontramos en un momento clave del proceso: durante los próximos meses la legislación española incorporará las modificaciones necesarias para introducir el articulado del Tratado.

La prohibición incluye la producción, el almacenamiento y la comercialización de las bombas en racimo en el Estado español pero también debe exigir con firmeza que incluya un elemento de vital importancia para su producción: la financiación.

Entidades financieras españolas han financiado y podrían estar financiando empresas productoras de bombas en racimo en países que no han firmado el Tratado de Oslo, lo cual es inaceptable en el marco del propio Tratado.

Momento decisivo del proceso legislativo

En marzo de 2011 se presentó una proposición de ley de modificación de la ley 33/1998 sobre la prohibición total de las minas antipersonales. Con esta modificación se pretende unificar criterios y conceptos en relación a la regulación de la prohibición de las minas, las bombas en racimo y las armas de efectos similares de tal manera que una única ley cubra todos los aspectos relacionados e incluya cualquier tipo de armas que produzcan los mismos efectos, también en el futuro.

El contenido de la proposición es bastante completo. A pesar de ello, las entidades civiles queremos que el texto relativo a la prohibición de la financiación sea más contundente y claro para evitar cualquier vinculación de entidades financieras españolas o que operen en el Estado, con estas armas. La proposición de ley.

(Berlin, 19.05.2011) In mid- April this year, loyal Gaddafi government troops began firing cluster bombs in residential areas in the city of Misrata, killing and injuring many people in the process. This MAT-120 type cluster munition was produced in 2007 by the Spanish company Instalaza SA. Research by Profundo on behalf of urgewald and the NGO-alliance FACING FINANCE now reveal that Deutsche Bank was the most important financier of this company at the time of manufacture.

Deutsche Bank has recently emphasized again and again that it does not want anything to do with cluster munitions. “With its loans to Instalanza, Deutsche Bank supported the production of cluster munitions and is therefore at least morally complicit. Even in 2007, the devastating effects of cluster bombs was already widely known”, according to Barbara Happe from urgewald.

“Furthermore, Instalanza is not an isolated case”, explained Happe. “New research findings show that the Deutsche Bank Group continues to be the leader among German banks in business with manufacturers of cluster munitions. It holds shares in many leading cluster munitions manufacturers and supports them to this day through lending and issuing bonds. Deutsche Bank therefore contradicts its own lies, of wanting to put an end to such transactions.

The Deutsche Bank Group currently has business relations with at least four manufacturers of cluster munitions to the tune of approximately $750 million. It is followed by the Allianz Group with commitments amounting to $581 million. In addition, the UniCredit Group/Hypo Vereinsbank is still involved to the tune of $155.9 million through its subsidiary Pioneer Investments. Solely as a commercial bank, it has even increased its investments in cluster munition manufacturers again in the last few months. Overall, the business relations of the three financial service providers total almost 1.5 billion US dollars.

Particularly noteworthy is the extensive business relationship between Deutsche Bank and the US cluster bomb manufacturer TEXTRON. In March, for example, they were granted a loan of 142.9 million US dollars. “Textron had just accepted a contract to supply 512 CBU-105 (Sensor Fuzed Weapon) cluster bombs worth 275 million US dollars to India, which is known to be in continuous conflict with Pakistan over the Kashmir region”, emphasized Thomas Küchenmeister from FACING FINANCE.

“The research findings show that commitments from the financial industry in this area are not sufficient in stopping investment in such weapons which violate international law. In fact, numerous financial service providers and banks in Germany (such as Allianz GI Europe, DEKA, DWS Investment GmbH) have started to distance themselves from this illicit business. Unfortunately, however, it is by no means widespread across the financial industry”, stressed Küchenmeister.

In the interest of potential victims, FACING FINANCE and urgewald therefore demand that any investment in such weapons is immediately and explicitly prohibited by law. Countries such as Belgium and Luxembourg already have appropriate legislation to ban these deadly investments. “In Germany, the federal government should also adapt § 18a of the War Weapons Control Act (Kriegswaffenkontrollgesetz) accordingly”, says Küchenmeister.

FACING FINANCE and urgewald will confront Deutsche Bank with the current research findings at the general shareholder meeting next week. They will be accompanied by CMC spokesperson Mr Branislav Kapetanovic, who, as a mine clearance officer in Serbia, became a victim of these damaging weapons and has since then committed himself in the campaign for an absolute ban on cluster bombs.

Facing Finance is a coalition of: Solidaritätsdienst International (SODI) e.V., urgewald e.V., EarthLink e.V., Netwerk Vlaanderen, CentrumCSR.PL und JA! Justicia Ambiental aus Mosambik.

Facing Finance is a member organisation of the Cluster Munition Coalition.

The research findings can be downloaded from the websites www.facing-finance.org and www.urgewald.de.

For enquiries and interview requests (also with Mr Kapetanovic next week), please contact us at:

Thomas Küchenmeister, Co-ordinator FACING FINANCE, 0175-4964082

Dr. Barbara Happe, urgewald e.V., 0172-6814474.

SETEM revela también que 14 bancos españoles, entre los que destacan BBVA, Santander y Bankia, están implicados financiera y económicamente en 19 de las principales empresas fabricantes de armas controvertidas que causan miles de muertes de civiles en todo el mundo. Entre las armas destacan las PROHIBIDAS armas químicas, biológicas, las bombas de racimo y las minas antipersonas.

(Madrid, 4/5/2011) SETEM ha confirmado esta mañana en la presentación de su nueva campaña “Banca Limpia”, que las bombas de racimo MAT-120 fabricadas por la empresa española Instalaza en 2007 y usadas por Gadafi para bombardear Misrata en Libia, fueron financiadas por al menos 8 bancos españoles: Cajalón (grupo Caja Rural), Caja España, Caja Mediterráneo, Bankinter, Ibercaja, Banco Popular, Bando Sabadell y La Caixa.

La confirmación de esta noticia ha sido el punto de partida para la presentación por primera vez en España del informe “Negocios Sucios. Bancos españoles que financian armas controvertidas” que
confirma que desde 2006 hasta la actualidad, 14 bancos españoles están implicados financiera y económicamente en 19 de las principales empresas fabricantes de armas controvertidas y
prohibidas que causan cientos de miles de muertes de civiles en todo el mundo. Entre esas armas hay armamento nuclear, de uranio empobrecido y armas prohibidas como las armas químicas, biológicas, las bombas de racimo y las minas antipersonas. Del informe se destaca que:

· BBVA es el banco español con mayor actividad en financiación de compañías productoras de armas controvertidas. Los fondos de inversión gestionados por BBVA poseen acciones de 12 compañías y bonos de 2 compañías. BBVA ha concedido préstamos a 8 compañías desde principios de 2006 y ha ayudado a 3 compañías en la emisión de bonos y a otra en la emisión de acciones.
· Santander ocupa el segundo lugar en la financiación a productores de armas controvertidas, con fondos de inversión que poseen acciones de 13 compañías, ha concedido préstamos a 7 compañías
y ha ayudado a 3 empresas en la emisión de bonos.
· BANKIA (Banco Financiero y de Ahorros, entidad Central del SIP formado por Caja Madrid, Bancaja, Caja Segovia, Caja Ávila, Caja Rioja, Caixa Laietana y Caja Insular de Canarias) tiene fondos de inversión que poseen acciones de 8 productores de armas controvertidas y ha concedido un préstamo a un productor de armas controvertidas

Los otros bancos españoles implicados en la fabricación de armas controvertidas son: Banco Sabadell, Bankinter, BBK1, Ibercaja, MAPFRE, Banco Madrid, Banco Popular, CatalunyaCaixa, Banco Pastor, Finanduero y Banca March.

El informe ha sido elaborado en exclusiva para SETEM por Profundo y se puede descargar íntegro desde www.bancalimpia.com, sitio web desde el que cualquier persona puede informarse de las
inversiones controvertidas que hace su banco, enviar una carta solicitando que retire este apoyo, difundir la información en redes sociales y apoyar económicamente la campaña.

Informe “Negocios Sucios. Bancos españoles que financian armas controvertidas” (pdf)

In November 2010, Credit Suisse introduced a new policy on investment in companies that will exclude producers of landmines and cluster munitions from its credit, investment banking and asset management activities.

“Credit Suisse should be commended for this strong new policy that puts civilian lives ahead of profits at all costs,” said Paul Vermeulen, director of Handicap International Switzerland, a CMC member organisation that has campaigned very actively on disinvestment in recent years. “Funding companies that produce landmines and cluster munitions is not just ‘business as usual,’ and other banks should follow suit and disinvest from these companies.”

In a 15 November 2010 letter to Handicap International Switzerland, Credit Suisse announced it is “in the process of terminating any existing business relationship with any producers of such weapons.” Under the new policy, Credit Suisse will “cease to hold securities of producers of antipersonnel landmines or cluster munitions in its proprietary trading book or to include them in its actively managed retail and institutional funds and in discretionary mandates” and “refrain from issuing research recommendations on such companies.” Only one exception is made: the bank does not exclude producers of cluster munitions from the index funds it offers.

The Credit Suisse policy is much stronger than a similar policy issued in May 2010 by another large Swiss bank, UBS (http://www.stopexplosiveinvestments.org/news/9/59/UBS-stops-funding-cluster-bomb-producers). The UBS policy only encompasses asset management and does not cover the bank’s credit and investment banking activities, which campaigners say is a major loophole.

The Swiss government has started the consultation process for the ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Two motions have been voted in both Chambers of parliament in 2009 and 2010 in favour of a total ban on the financing of production of cluster munitions. The draft law circulated proposes to ban only direct funding, which is less than what the motions ask for.

The new Credit Suisse policy is available here:https://www.credit-suisse.com/citizenship/en/banking/sector_policies.jsp

Governments showed a strong level of support for banning investments in cluster munition producers during the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster munitions, held on 9-12 November 2010 in Vientiane, Lao PDR. A number of high-level delegations, including ministers from Luxembourg, New Zealand and Norway made encouraging statements at the conference, which was attended by 121 governments as well as hundreds of representatives of civil society, the United Nations and international organisations.

“Luxembourg is one of the few countries to have gone further in their national legislation than the text of the Convention in also prohibiting the financing of cluster munitions,” said Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a particularly strong statement. “I call upon all states who have signed the Convention to join us in that endeavour.

The Holy See, Ireland, Madagascar and the United Kingdom also mentioned the financing of cluster munitions production in their statements. CMC campaigners, who launched the “Stop Explosive Investments” campaign a year before the First Meeting of States Parties welcomed this high number of statements on the disinvestment issue.

“It’s encouraging that so many governments want to act to stop the flow of funds to cluster bomb producers,” said Kimberly Brown, CMC campaign officer. “We hope more will follow in their footsteps and pass stringent national legislation to ban investments in cluster bomb producers and put an end to these weapons that have been outlawed in countries around the world.”

A Handicap International Luxembourg and IKV-Pax Christi press release on Jean Asselborn’s statement is available here: http://www.ikvpaxchristi.nl/news/?v=14&cid=1&id=1155&lid=1.

Information on legislation, ministerial statements, parliamentary initiatives and statements are available on the Stop Explosive Investments webpage here: www.stopexplosiveinvestments.org/legislation

Disinvestment campaigners in Australia are celebrating a policy shift by one of Australia’s largest banks. In recent months, ANZ Bank revised and expanded its Military Equipment Policy, following many years of continued engagement between campaigners and bank officials.

In October 2010, ANZ stated that, from now on, it “will not be involved with direct financing or contract bonding related to the sale or manufacturing of controversial weapons (specifically cluster munitions and antipersonnel landmines)” and “does not wish to engage more broadly with customers that are involved in the production of components designed for specific use in these weapons.”

“This is a real win for all those supporters who sent postcards to the ANZ to express concern about the bank providing finance to companies involved in the manufacture of these weapons that have caused so much suffering to civilians in every conflict they have been used in,” said Dr Mark Zirnsak, social justice spokesperson for the Uniting Church in Australia, a CMC member organisation. “The ANZ should be commended for listening to the concerns a significant number of Australians.”

ANZ Bank’s new position reflects a significant change compared to the old policy, where ANZ only excluded financing specifically designated for the production of cluster munitions – a category that research has shown is virtually non-existent. The policy now excludes broader financial services to producers of cluster munitions.

As a result of these positive steps, campaigners in Australia have now ended a long-time postcard campaign targeting ANZ Bank.

Campaign to end investment in cluster bombs launched 1 year ago

(Amsterdam, 8 October 2010) – Twenty campaigners active on disinvestment from around the world met in Amsterdam on 4-5 October to gain technical knowledge, share campaign successes and challenges, and carry out strategic planning for 2011. The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) and CMC members IKV Pax Christi and Netwerk Vlaanderen hosted the workshop nearly a year after launching the “Stop Explosive Investments” campaign to end investments in companies that produce cluster munitions.

Campaigners from eight countries shared the major successes and challenges faced by their national disinvestment campaigns, and short updates were given on progress in additional countries not represented at the workshop. Representatives from the international network Banktrack also shared information. Campaigners said they faced challenges in areas such as campaigning for the development of a producers blacklist and urging banks to increase transparency with their policies.

Successes included increased media attention on the issue in the past year, influencing banks to stop investing in producers of cluster munitions and lobbying governments to condemn investments in cluster munitions producers– including laws, ministerial statements and parliamentary initiatives in France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands, among others.

Jan Willem van Gelder of the economic research consultancy Profundo and Diederik Timmer of Sustainalytics, a global environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and analysis provider to financial institutions, kicked off the workshop with presentations on a variety of technical topics including:

• direct and indirect investments in cluster munitions producers;
• responsibility of financial institutions;
• technical topics identified by campaigners in advance of the meeting such as index trackers, foreign subsidiaries and institutional investors;
• problems that financial institutions face when dealing with disinvestment; and
• what legal issues are important when looking at legislation and their policies, as well as what expert advice is available on this.

Campaigners used the workshop to develop national and international campaign plans for 2011. A wide range of topics were covered, including: working on a blacklist; improving communications and information-sharing between campaigns; sharing research information and resources and planning for future workshops and events, including the launch of the next update of the report, “Worldwide investments in cluster munitions: A shared responsibility” in April 2011.

In the year since the “Stop Explosive Investments” campaign was launched, the Convention on Cluster Munitions has entered into force as binding international law and the treaty’s First Meeting of States Parties will take place this November in Lao PDR, the world’s most cluster-bombed country. As the number of countries on board the treaty grows – to date 108 have signed and 42 have ratified – disinvestment campaigners will continue to lobby their governments and financial institutions to stop the flow of funds to companies that produce cluster munitions that are increasingly banned in countries around the world.

To view photos of the event visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/clustermunitioncoalition/sets/72157624994488265/