United Methodists are responding to Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth ,a statement of faith and urgent call to action from Christians in Palestine. UMKR seeks, through nonviolent means and in partnership with Palestinian Christians, freedom, justice and equality for all Palestinians and Israelis.
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Exclude Government Debt of Countries Involved
in Prolonged Occupations
The flag of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, embedded in the mountains, can be seen from everywhere in Nicosia, the capital of the Republic of Cyprus. It is a stark reminder of the Mediterranean island’s division for the last 55 years.
Anywhere from the capital of Nicosia, day and night, Greek Cypriots can see a giant flag painted into the mountains in the north, in a separate region that calls itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. It is an area that is recognized only by Turkey and isolated internationally.
From the Greek side of the island of Cyprus, the flag is a provocative reminder that the 45-year-old conflict between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots is still a stark reality.
While hopes had been raised that new talks on unfreezing the conflict would find momentum after the United Nations General Assembly opened its annual session in September, Turkey’s invasion in northeast Syria this month and difficulties finding common ground in Cyprus are shuffling the cards.
With much of the world’s attention suddenly diverted on Syria in the latest fighting there, optimism is fading fast that the two sides in the Cyprus conflict will meet with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to resume talks, as planned. (The UN has one of its longest-lasting peacekeeping missions in Cyprus.) Read the article
The Cyprus Problem – The 1974
Turkish Invasion and Its Consequences
On 15 July 1974, the Greek military junta and its Greek Cypriot collaborators carried out a coup against the democratically elected president of Cyprus. Using this criminal act as a pretext, Turkey invaded Cyprus five days later. In a two-phase invasion in July and August, and despite calls by the UN Security Council [Resolution 353 (1974)] and the quick restoration of constitutional order on the island, Turkey occupied 36.2 percent of the sovereign territory of the Republic and forcibly expelled about 180,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes. Another 20,000 Greek Cypriots, who remained in the occupied areas, were also forced to eventually abandon their homes and seek refuge in the safety of the government controlled areas. Today, fewer than 500 enclaved Greek Cypriots remain in the occupied areas.
Turkey still deprives the displaced Greek Cypriots of their right to return to their homes and properties. This has given rise to appeals to the European Court of Human Rights, which has issued major decisions on Turkey’s violations of the European Convention. Read the article
Cyprus’ Unforgettable Tragedy
As Cypriots say, even 45 years later, July 20, 1974 was the day time stopped for Cyprus; a day of infamy when the course of the nation’s history changed. For Cypriots, the ongoing crime of the Turkish occupation of their beloved country seems as fresh at each anniversary as it was then.
It was a day that no Cypriot and no Greek will indeedever forget. The eerie sound of sirens broke the warm stillness of that July day in both countries, signaling the end of an era. But only Cyprus felt the horror of the invading Turkish troops and the mayhem they unleashed on the unsuspecting people — mostly women, children and the elderly.
....
Approximately 40,000 Turkish troops raided the island under the code name “Operation Attila,” — an apt name for the barbaric attack against innocent civilians, which clearly violated the Charter of the United Nations Security Council. Read the article,
CLICK BELOW for the 1-minute video "Never Forget"
Opponents of the movement for Palestinian rights do not want Israel to be called to account for its human rights violations, especially in its brutal military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza since 1967. To deflect that criticism and change the subject, it is often said that Israel is being "picked on," that critics of Israel are not holding other countries to the same standards - as though that would what excuse Israel has done and is doing to the Palestinian people, and we should ignore those crimes.
This resolution could be an answer to that tired objection. It is true that two other countries have been guilty of a military occupation that has lasted for decades and has been used as an opportunity to illegally colonize another people's land, to engage in ethnic cleansing, erasing a society from their homeland, destroying communities, and exploiting stolen land and resources.
But these investment actions that we call for the church to take are important most of all not to provide an answer to critics of Palestinian rights activists but to expand the example that our church can set for responsible, justice-based investing and call attention to the suffering of two peoples whom the world has largely ignored.
The two other occupying powers that the United Nations has called out with its resolutions are Turkey, with its occupation and colonization of Northern Cyprus since 1974, and Morocco, which has been occupying and colonizing Western Sahara
since 1975.
In the latter case, this is the last example of colonization on the continent of Africa, which has otherwise thrown off the shackle of that social/political plague that caused so much suffering and destruction around the world for centuries, nowhere more than Africa.
Below you will find our Q &A on this subject of governments bonds and prolonged occupations, the focus of a UMKR resolution and a petition to amend the Book of Discipline, both submitted to General Conference 2020.
On the right side of this page, see articles with details about the occupations of Northern Cyprus and Western Sahara.
To learn about the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, start with the right hand column on our page, for the GC 2020 resolution"Opposition to Israeli Settlements."
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TURKEY / NORTHERN CYPRUS
The Moment to End Turkey’s Other War, in Cyprus, Is Fading Fast
MOROCCO/ WESTERN SAHARA
The Occupation of Western Sahara
Morocco is illegally and brutally occupying the neighbouring country, Western Sahara. While the Sahrawis, the people of Western Sahara, is legitimately struggling for liberty, no state in the world has recognised the Moroccan claims to the territory. Western Sahara is treated by the UN as the last remaining colonial issue in Africa.
The Moroccan occupation is in violation of the opinion of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and in violation of more than 100 UN resolutions that call for the self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.
The UN has called for independence and de-colonisation of the former Spanish colony even since the 1960s, when it was still called 'Spanish Sahara', and under Spanish rule.
Western Sahara under Moroccan occupation - an explainer
Systematic human rights abuses, police brutality, violations of international law and fundamental rights: the Sahrawi people of Africa’s last colony, Western Sahara, have endured decades of repression at the hands of Moroccan occupying forces. Since replacing Spain as coloniser, Morocco has attempted to control a territory about the size of the UK using military force to suppress free speech and pro-independence protests. Europe has largely stood by watching a tragedy unfold on its doorstep. In recent plenary and committee votes, MEPs further consolidated the EU’s shameful record on this subject. Read the article
The world’s last colony: Morocco continues occupation of Western Sahara, in defiance of United Nations
....Morocco was also asked to accept unconditionally the OAU/AU African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights which provides that: Nothing shall justify the domination of a people by another. All peoples shall have the unquestionable and inalienable right to self-determination. They shall freely determine their political status.
Thus, before readmission, Morocco should have accepted all the 33 Articles of the
Constitutive Act of the AU with Western Sahara as a founding member. Morocco should also
accept the AU Act which recognizes African colonial boundaries, thus making its continued occupation of Western Sahara illegal.
Western Sahara thus remains the continent’s last colonial outpost, occupied by another African state.
Western Sahara: What is the 40-Year Dispute All About?
The Green March of 1975, when 350,000 Moroccans entered Western Sahara and took control.
....What is Western Sahara?
Roughly the size of the U.S. state of Colorado, Western Sahara is a region on North Africa's Atlantic coast bordering Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania. It was colonized by Spain in 1884 and remained part of the Spanish kingdom for more than a hundred years. An arid region where less than one-fifth of the land is used for agriculture, Western Sahara is home to phosphate and iron ore reserves and is believed to have untouched offshore oil deposits. The native population—which numbers around 570,000—are known as Sahrawis and the majority religion is Islam.
Who is fighting over Western Sahara?
On one side, Morocco; on the other, an indigenous Sahrawi movement and Algeria by proxy. In 1975, Morocco effectively annexed Western Sahara by staging the Green March—a peaceful procession of 350,000 Moroccans who walked into the region and claimed it as their own. Spain subsequently transferred control of the region to Morocco and Mauritania.
See UN Security Council resolutions and other UN documents pertaining to Turkey's occupation of Northern Cyprus. See these
Resources Education
Frequently Asked Questions
Download this information in our Q&A
What exactly is government debt?
Governments issue bonds when they need to borrow money to support government spending. Buyers of government debt purchase bonds in that foreign country’s government, and receive interest and repayment over years.
What are the proposed resolutions/petitions?
Three foreign governments have been engaged in prolonged military occupations (over 40 years) that have been the focus of UN Security Council and/or International Court of Justice rulings because their occupations violate international law and human rights standards. UMKR has created legislation urging investment managers throughout the denomination to consider the justice of investing in bonds from those governments.
• Resolution to Exclude Government Debt of Countries Involved in Prolonged Military Occupations
• Petition to Amend the United Methodist Book of Discipline Paragraph 717, Sustainable and Socially Responsible Investments
That legislation has been submitted to General Conference 2020 - see them here.
What is the purpose of the resolution and petition?
When we purchase a foreign government’s debt by buying bonds, we are de facto supporting what that government does with the money we lend it. We believe that our conferences, boards and agencies should not lend church money to governments that are engaged in prolonged military occupations that have also been named as violators of international law and human rights standards. Bond purchasers cannot know how the money will be spent. There is no advocacy mechanism to express objections to what that government will do with the lent money. There is no shareholder advocacy as with a company or corporation. If a government is guilty of harming people, then owners of their bonds are complicit. We believe that United Methodist money, via the purchase of bonds, should not make us complicit in human rights violations or prolonged military occupations.
Where are these prolonged military occupations?
These prolonged (over 40 years) occupations include Israel’s occupation of Palestine since 1967, Turkey’s occupation of Northern Cyprus since 1974 and Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara since 1976. While temporary military occupation is not illegal provided civilians held under occupation are properly cared for by the occupier, these 3 prolonged military occupations all have multiple UN Security Council resolutions and/or International Court of Justice rulings calling for the end of these military occupations and an end to violations of international law and human rights standards that result from the military occupation. (See below) While there are other military occupations in the world, we are focusing on the ones that the UN has concentrated on. Article 42 of the Hague Convention of 1907 defines military occupation as “under the authority of a hostile army.”
How might government debt investments be financially risky?
In addition to being subject to interest rate risk, foreign government bonds may be subject to credit risk and political risk. A government may not have the resources to meet their obligations. Finances might be mismanaged. Instability may result in a regime change which could affect how well an interim or new government may pay its bills. The strength of the government’s currency can affect the yield of government bonds.
How are these investments morally risky?
When the church purchases a foreign government’s debt by buying that government’s bonds, we cannot know how that money will be spent. There is no advocacy mechanism to express objections to what that government does with church money as there is when purchasing stocks. If that government is guilty of harming people, then we, as owners of their bonds, are complicit.
What is Wespath’s policy on government debt?
While our United Methodist pension fund, Wespath Benefits and Investments, has a policy not to buy the government bonds of any country demonstrating a prolonged and systematic pattern of human rights abuses (based on Freedom House’s Freedom in the World report), Wespath does not currently exclude investment in the bonds of these three governments that are responsible for long-term military occupations that violate international law and human rights standards.
Background on the occupations of Palestine,
Northern Cyprus and Western Sahara
Israel’s occupation of Palestine
• Israel has occupied the Palestinian West Bank and the city of East Jerusalem since The Six-Day War in 1967. In their Zionist goal to control all of the Holy Land in spite of the centuries of presence of the Palestinian people, Israel restricts the movement of Palestinians using walls, fences, and checkpoints that impede trade, travel, education and medical care; enforces inhumane policies including the separation of Palestinian families; seizes Palestinian land for illegal Israeli settlements and Israeli-only roads; divides indigenous Palestinian villages from each other; controls underground water sources in the Palestinian territories and then sells the water back to Palestinians on a limited basis; extracts resources from Palestinian land; arrests Palestinian children and adults in nighttime raids meant to intimidate; imprisons and tortures Palestinians without charge; forcibly evicts Palestinian civilians; demolishes Palestinian homes, gardens, and orchards; protects illegal Israeli settlers who commit hate crimes and acts of vandalism such as the pollution of groundwater with sewage and industrial waste and dumping their garbage on Palestinian land.
• Israel’s involvement in Gaza, which it controls by land, sky and sea, is now considered a blockade or siege which continues to strip Gazans of their freedom and dignity. The blockade has turned that tiny territory with 2.2 million people into an open-air prison. Gaza is expected to be uninhabitable by 2020 after years of Israeli bombings that have killed thousands and destroyed water and power infrastructure, schools, hospitals, businesses, and homes. During the Great March of Return in 2018-2019 the United Nations reported that 189 Palestinians, including an unarmed female paramedic, were killed by Israeli sniper fire in Gaza.
• In repeated UN Security Council resolutions, and in endless UN reports, Israel has been condemned for human rights violations and for violating international law such as the 4th Geneva Convention and the Hague Convention of 1907. The Separation Wall was declared illegal in 2004 by the International Court of Justice.
Turkey’s occupation of Northern Cyprus
• Northern Cyprus, part of a culturally Greek island in the Mediterranean, has been occupied since the Turkish invasion in 1974. Most of the northern region’s Greek population was evicted, and many who remained are still listed as missing following mass executions. Ethnic and religious cleansing of Christians and Jews resulted in destruction of religious antiquities. Turkish settlers were brought in to occupy former Greek villages. The island was partitioned and the capital, Nicosia, was divided. The
international community does not recognize the legitimacy of the Turkish Cypriot state. The Turkish Army maintains a strong presence as the occupying force. This occupation has been denounced in multiple UN Security Council resolutions.
• In January 2011, The Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the question of Human Rights in Cyprus noted that the ongoing division of Cyprus continues to affect human rights throughout the island "... including freedom of movement, human rights pertaining to the question of missing persons, discrimination, the right to life, freedom of religion, and economic, social and cultural rights."
Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara
• Western Sahara, on the west coast of Africa, continues its struggle for self-determination after being a Spanish colony until 1975 and then was turned over to Morocco. Now partially occupied by neighboring Morocco, Western Sahara is the last remaining colonial outpost in Africa. The Sahrawi people suffer economically due to Morocco’s theft of natural resources such as phosphates and fish. Human-rights abuses against the Sahrawi people include collective punishment, forced disappearances and displacement of civilians. Aerial bombardments with napalm and white phosphorus of the Sahrawi refugee camps have been documented. An activist for economic justice was tortured to death while in Moroccan detention in April 2016.
• In 1975 the International Court of Justice issued an Advisory Opinion denying the claims of Morocco and Mauritania and affirming the right of the Sahrawis to self-determination under international law. Morocco refuses to comply with the demands of the United Nations, which has issued Security Council resolutions calling for self-determination for Western Sahara. The UN has also said Morocco’s theft of phosphate and fish stock are violations of international law.
UN Security Council resolutions
Israel/Palestine:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Nations_resolutions_concerning_Israel
Turkey/Northern Cyprus:
https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/cyprus/
Morocco/Western Sahara:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Nations_resolutions_concerning_Western_Sahara
International Court of Justice rulings
Israel/Palestine:
https://news.un.org/en/story/2004/07/108912-international-court-justice-finds-israeli-barrier-palestinian-territory-illegal
https://www.icj-cij.org/en/case/131
Turkey/Northern Cyprus:
https://www.icj-cij.org/en/quick-search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=northern+cyprus
Morocco/Western Sahara:
https://www.icj-cij.org/en/quick-search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=western+sahara
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