The University Court has announced plans to create an advisory “ethical review and due diligence” group to monitor the University of Edinburgh’s investment portfolio.
Proposals for the formation of the advisory group came as part of recommendations from two Short-Life Working Groups that were considered by the court at meetings on 3 and 7 October.
The University Court created the working groups following protests calling on the university to divest from Israeli-linked companies.
The court is the university’s governing body.
It is made up of key figures within the university, including the Vice-Chancellor, non-executive directors, as well as staff and student representatives.
In a statement on 10 October, the court said:
“Members of Court take their responsibilities as charity trustees extremely seriously, ensuring that at all times they act in accordance with their duties, including, amongst other things, stewardship of the University’s resources in its best interests.”
“The purpose of the [advisory] group is to further enhance the university’s existing policies and practices relating to responsible investment.”
The Responsible Investment Policy helps to dictate areas in which the university should avoid investing in.
Adopted in 2016, the existing Responsible Investment Policy centres around divestment from fossil fuels as part of the university’s efforts to limit its environmental impact.
The policy also identifies controversial weapons that should not be invested in, such as biological and chemical weapons, cluster weapons, nuclear weapons, and white phosphorus weapons.
It is this definition of controversial weapons that one of the Short-Life Working Groups explored expanding.
The review has recommended extending the definition to include the use of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS).
The court deferred a decision on the reviews at a previous meeting in June due to questions around how to define LAWS in the investment policy.
LAWS – often referred to as “killer robots” – use AI to navigate and select targets without meaningful human involvement.
After over 30 Latin American and Caribbean countries called for international controls on LAWS in February 2023, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said:
“Autonomous machines will make life and death decisions without empathy or compassion.”
“These new weapons technologies are at risk of further endangering civilians and civilian infrastructure in conflict,” Callamard added.
According to the court, delaying the decision until its 7 October meeting would allow it to consider insights from a separate consultation of staff and students on the investment policy, which closed on 31 August.
The two working groups were formed by the university in May after the Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society (EUJPS) occupied the university’s Old College Quad to demand that the university divest from Israeli-linked companies.
Over 600 staff members signed a letter to senior management supporting the group’s demands.
The university’s investments in Amazon and Alphabet – totalling approximately £4.90 million and £2.77 million respectively – have faced particular scrutiny.
EUJPS has criticised the two firm’s joint provision of cloud services for Israel’s military and public sectors as part of a $1.2 billion deal signed jointly with Google.
An investigation by Israel-based +972 Magazine has recently claimed that the cloud system allows the Israeli army to store intelligence on the Gazan population.
The Justice for Palestine Society has alleged that the final recommendation on the definition of controversial weapons left out an “entire appendix on Amazon and Alphabet.”
In response to the protest, Vice-Principal Sir Peter Mathieson announced a pause in purchasing new Amazon or Alphabet stocks in May at the same time as revealing the working group’s formation.
The court revealed in its statement that it will continue this pause “while the new group is being formed”.
The new group will likely advise on whether the university should divest from these stocks.
Money from tuition fees is not included in the university’s endowment fund.
According to the court, it will continue the review into its Responsible Investment Policy in order to “benefit from the rich input” from staff and students while the group is being formed.
The working groups’ recommendations, including whether to expand the definition of controversial weapons, and the university-wide consultation will inform an updated Responsible Investment Policy.
The Student has contacted EUJPS for comment.
Image via Sam Marks
