The Ministry of Finance has excluded a further eight
companies from the Petroleum Fund pursuant to the Fund’s ethical
guidelines. “According to the Petroleum Fund’s Advisory Council on
Ethics, t
hese companies manufacture key components for cluster
bombs,” says Minister of Finance Per-Kristian Foss.
Under the
ethical
guidelines, established on 19 November 2004, companies
manufacturing key components for particularly inhumane weapons must
be excluded from the Fund. In the Revised National Budget for 2004
it was made clear that cluster bombs can belong to this category of
weapons.
A
recommendation of 16 June
2005 from the Petroleum Fund’s Advisory Council on Ethics
advised the exclusion of the following companies: Alliant
Techsystems Inc., EADS Co (European Aeronautic Defence and Space
Company), General Dynamics Corporation, L3 Communications Holdings
Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp., Raytheon Co. and Thales SA. The
Ministry of Finance has also excluded bonds issued by the company
EADS Finance BV since this company can be identified with its
parent company, EADS Co.
The Petroleum Fund’s Advisory Council on Ethics
recommended excluding companies that manufacture key components for
cluster bombs. Key components will typically be the bomb container
itself and the bomblets comprising the ammunition, as well as other
components essential for the functioning of the weapon. The Council
emphasises that the list of manufacturers of cluster bombs
contained in the recommendation is not exhaustive and that new
exclusions may be called for at a later stage.
See the Council’s recommendation for a detailed
account of the reasoning behind the exclusion of each of the
companies in question.
The Petroleum Fund’s Advisory
Council on Ethics has asked the companies to clarify whether or not
they manufacture weapons which can be characterised as cluster
bombs. Four of the companies confirmed that they do so. The other
companies did not respond to the approach. The Council has based
its recommendation on information from Janes’ Information Group or
information available on the companies’ web pages, as well as
information obtained from the Mine Action Unit of Norwegian
People’s Aid, the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch, the
International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), the Norwegian
Defence and Research Establishment (FFI) and the UK Ethical
Investment Research Service (EIRIS).
The Ministry of Finance instructed
Norges Bank on 30 June to exclude the eight companies in question
from the Petroleum Fund, setting the deadline for disinvestment at
31 August. Disposal of stocks and bonds in the companies is now
complete. According to Norges Bank, Petroleum Fund investments in
the companies prior to disinvestment totalled almost NOK 2.2
billion. Publication of the decision to exclude the companies was
deferred until today to ensure an appropriate disinvestment
process.
The exclusions are the outcome of a systematic
review by the Petroleum Fund’s Advisory Council on Ethics. The
Council will continue its effort to identify any other companies
whose operations are contrary to the Petroleum Fund's ethical
guidelines.
Read more about the Petroleum
Fund’s Advisory Council on Ethics at
http://www.etikkradet.no