Clarification on G4S’ activities in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory
We write to request an update on G4S’ activities in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).
We acknowledge your announcement, on 2 December 2016, that G4S has reached an agreement on the sale of G4S Israel to FIMI Opportunity Funds (FIMI) and we welcome the decision to sell G4S Israel as being an act in accordance with G4S’ business and human rights responsibilities.
However, we note that G4S made no reference in its press release to the UK National Contact Point’s (UK NCP) 2015 adverse findings against the company, and nor did it clearly set out the extent to which G4S would continue to be involved in the provision of services to Israeli state agencies that were the subject of our complaint to the UK NCP in 2013...
As you are aware, in the UK NCP’s most recent comments on the complaint against G4S, in July 2016, it stated:
‘Until G4S publicly communicates the actions it is taking to address the impacts it is linked to by the contracts…the UK NCP considers that its actions are not consistent with its obligation….to address [human rights] impacts it is linked to be a business relationship.’
Despite the UK NCP’s latest comments, there is still no clarity as to the extent of G4S’ ongoing involvement in activities that have adverse human rights impacts in Israel and the oPt. Given this, please confirm:
1- whether, after the completion of the sale of G4S Israel to FIMI, G4S will continue to provide any of the services that were the subject of LPHR's 2013 business and human rights complaint to the UK NCP; and
2- whether, you alerted FIMI Opportunity Funds to the UK NCP's findings of a breach of human rights obligations in relation to G4S' activities in Israel and the oPt?