Carmarthenshire Follows Cardiff in Demanding Pension Divestment

On Wednesday, September 10th, Carmarthenshire County Council passed a motion calling on Dyfed Pension Fund Committee to divest from companies complicit in the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Respect to Councillors Rob James and Emyr Rees (Unaffiliated Independents) for submitting the motion and to Councillors Alun Lenny and Carys Jones (Plaid Cymru) for strengthening it.

Huge praise for the Councillors who passed it without a single vote against.

And a big round of applause for all of those marchers, leafleters, placard wavers, councillor lobbyers, and more who have persisted in campaigning for this important breakthrough.

The motion below is very similar to one already passed by Cardiff Council and might well be a good model for other Council’s to follow:

“The ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has resulted in significant loss of life, is horrifying. Despite a temporary ceasefire in January 2025, hostilities have resumed and conditions on the ground continue to deteriorate.

This council believes that:

• The Dyfed Pension Fund and the Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) should not partake in investments which fund war, human rights violations, or the potential breaking of international law regardless of how profitable they are.

• Although the Dyfed Pension Fund Committee makes decisions independently of the political structures of Carmarthenshire and other constituent Councils, Full Council is within its rights to express a view on the matter.

This council resolves to:

• Express in the strongest terms its view that it does not wish to be associated with companies complicit in the conflict in Gaza and potential war crimes.

• Write to the WPP to make these views clear and urge them to consider divesting from such companies on the basis of the WPP’s fiduciary responsibilities; Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risk; and their Responsible Investment Strategy.

• Ask the Dyfed Pension Committee and WPP to regularly review and report on the divestment process.

Now we have to ensure that the Dyfed Pension committee get the message and start to divest and support this approach in the Wales Pension Partnership.

This is a small, but significant step towards Wales becoming one of the leading nations in the global struggle to end the nightmare imposed on the Palestinian people by the Israeli government.