UCL confirmed it had divested from the American military equipment company Ametek after months of student-staff mobilisation.
The UCL Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) campaign and other pro-Palestine groups at UCL applauded the decision, telling The Cheese Grater this was achieved after “months” of “persistent pressure from staff and students”.
The University held over £850,000 in shares to Ametek, an American weapon parts maker described by a BDS report as complicit in the Palestinian genocide and other human rights abuses across the globe.
A UCL spokesperson said: “CCLA, one of the investment managers working on behalf of UCL, made the decision to sell Ametek from UCL’s portfolio in October 2024 and it is no longer part of UCL’s investment portfolio.
“UCL’s Investments Committee continues to monitor the investment portfolio to ensure it remains in line with our Policy for Socially Responsible Investment.”
However, UCL Provost Michael Spence insisted the University’s shares in Ametek did not breach its Socially Responsible Investment policy at any point, he told activists in an email seen by The Cheese Grater.
UCL BDS said: “While the Provost has framed this divestment as a decision made between the fund manager and Ametek, the decision highlights an urgent need to review UCL’s Socially Responsible Investment policy which is not fit for purpose.”
The policy notably seeks to “minimise and ideally eliminate irresponsible corporate behaviour”, such as investment in firms linked to “human rights violations”.
In December, BDS campaigners released a report that highlighted Ametek’s role as a parts manufacturer for military equipment including tanks, F-35 fighter jets, and drones produced by the likes of Elbit Systems, the arms company that reportedly supplies up to 85% of Israel’s arsenal.
Ametek parts were also used in American and Saudi operations in Afghanistan, Yemen, and other places where war crimes were alleged.
The report also revealed that the University held £15 million of investments – 7% of the UCL’s portfolio – in companies noted for their involvement in “Israeli policies and practices which facilitate war crimes and uphold an illegal occupation and apartheid”.
The announcement that UCL had divested from Ametek comes three months after the University agreed to review its investments following relentless student-staff campaigning, The Cheese Grater reported.
