BDS Breakthrough at King's University College in London, Ontario

LONDON, ON, March 21, 2017 /CNW/ - After a long and vigorous debate, students at King's University College in London, Ontario, voted 76 per cent in favour of boycotting and divesting from companies complicit in the Israeli occupation. The referendum question was worded as follows:"Do you as a King's student support calling upon the KUCSC to lobby King's administration to boycott and divest from any and all companies and products complicit with Israeli occupation based on principles of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption and change the responsible investment policies to reflect these lobbying efforts?"

The results came in on March 15, the same day the United Nations released its historic report on "Israeli Practices towards the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid." This report shows that beyond any reasonable doubt, Israel practices apartheid against the Palestinian people, and the report calls upon governments to support the Palestinian-led global movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).

Following the outcome of the BDS referendum question and another successful referendum vote to divest from fossil fuels, the King's University College Student Council (KUCSC) passed a Responsible Investment Sub-Committee resolution at their March 19 Annual General Meeting that brings these concerns to the King's Foundation Board and the ethical investment and finance committee. The resolution also mandates the KUCSC research and write their annual Advocacy Paper on ethical investments and divestments that will include a five year plan for ethical investing.

Following the trends of other University campuses across Canada who have endorsed BDS through their Student Councils and unions, the King's BDS Network has taken this initiative one step further to take action on a symbiotic referendum vote through the passing of the resolution at their AGM.

"This historic breakthrough at King's is the result of a long battle by those of us who chose to stand with the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom, justice and equality. Here at Western University, we have been up against forces who simply don't want students to debate issues of human rights and international law," stated student BDS campaigner Marie Rioux. "Expect to see a reinvigorated campaign at the rest of Western University and throughout London after this victory. More and more students are expressing a drive to stand on the right side of history, just as they did when Canada boycotted South Africa. This is just the beginning."

Recent EKOS polling shows that 66 per cent to 78 per cent of Canadians find it reasonable to sanction and/or boycott Israel over violations of international human rights law (http://ijvcanada.org/2017/poll-on-bds), with even higher levels of support among students and other Canadians under 30 years of age.

SOURCE KING'S UNIVERSITY COLLEGE BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS NETWORK

Media Contact: Anna Badillo at [email protected], King's BDS Network