G4S – the world’s largest private security and military company, which provides services and equipment to Israeli occupation prisons – has been nominated as “Worst Company of the Year” in the 2013 Public Eye People’s Choice Awards. Vote now for G4S, which provides services and security equipment for Israeli prisons, settlements, checkpoints, and police, as “Worst Company of the Year” by clicking here. (Vote quickly! The voting period closes on January 23.)
Tweet Now and encourage others to vote: VOTE NOW for G4S as Worst Company of Year in @PEAwards: http://www.publiceye.ch/en/vote/g4s/ More on Israeli prison security corp G4S: http://samidoun.ca/?p=1863
The awards are organized by the Berne Declaration and Greenpeace, have been held since 2000 and are given to stand as a “critical counterpoint” to the World Economic Forum, held each year in Davos, Switzerland; they challenge corporate malfeasance, greed and exploitation.
VOTE HERE: http://www.publiceye.ch/en/vote/g4s/
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The nomination highlights G4S’ – the world’s largest private security company – role in sustaining and supporting the Israeli occupation. As noted on Public Eye’s website:
“G4S is complicit in Israel’s occupation of Palestine through the supply of security equipment and services for use at checkpoints, illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, and it helps to maintain and profit from Israel’s prison system. Palestinian political prisoners face systematic torture and ill-treatment during their arrest and detention at the hands of the Israeli military and are frequently and unjustifiably denied family and lawyer visits.
In 2007, The Israeli subsidiary of G4S signed a contract with the Israeli Prison Authority to provide security systems for major Israeli prisons. G4S provides systems for the Ketziot and Megiddo prisons, which hold Palestinian political prisoners from occupied Palestinian territory inside Israel. The company also provides equipment for Ofer prison, located in the occupied West Bank, and for Kishon and Moskobiyyeh detention facilities, at which human rights organisations have documented systematic torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian prisoners, including child prisoners. G4S provides security services to several “security” prisons at which Palestinian prisoners are regularly subjected to torture and ill-treatment. At Al Jalame prison, Palestinian children are locked in solitary confinement for days or even weeks.
Israel is forbidden to transfer Palestinian prisoners from occupied territories to prisons inside Israel by Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Despite this, thousands of Palestinian prisoners are unlawfully held in prisons inside Israel. By providing equipment to these prisons, G4S is actively participating in these violations of international law.
G4S is involved in other aspects of the Israeli apartheid and occupation regime: it has provided equipment and services to Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank that form part of the route of Israel’s illegal Wall and to the terminals isolating the occupied territory of Gaza. G4S has also signed contracts for equipment and services for the West Bank Israeli Police headquarters and to private businesses.”
In addition to G4S’ role in oppressing Palestinians, G4S is also profiting from human insecurity and human rights violations around the world. G4S holds contracts to manage security for the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, and plays a major role in running immigrant detention centres and deportations as an outsourced service, profiting from the abuse of migrants. In fact, in October 2010 Jimmy Mubenga died during his forcible deportation by G4S from the UK to Angola.
VOTE HERE: http://www.publiceye.ch/en/vote/g4s/
As noted by the Palestinian Boycott National Committee, “Solidarity activists have already started to take effective action against G4S: A student-led campaign at the University of Oslo pressured the university to announce that it will terminate its contract with G4S in July 2013. Pressure by campaign groups and members of the European Parliament was followed by adecision by the European Union not to renew its contract with G4S for security services at some of its Brussels premises. In the UK, mainstream newspapers prominently covered a demonstration that took place outside the G4S annual meeting and have pressured a major energy company to end ties with the company. In Denmark, a major bank and several large NGOs have cut their ties to the company because of its ties to Israeli apartheid.”
Addameer, the Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, issued the following statement on G4S’ nomination: “Addameer condemns the practices of G4S, which should uphold its legal and ethical responsibilities and ensure that it is not complicit in human rights violations. Addameer welcomes the nomination of G4S and views this as an important opportunity to expose it’s complicity in Israel’s illegal occupation.”
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network joins in urging all who oppose torture, apartheid, mass imprisonment, racism, administrative detention, and those who support Palestinian prisoners’ struggle for justice, to join in the voting in the Public Eye Awards to name G4S as the “Worst Company of the Year.” G4S is a prime example of corporate responsibility for Israel’s human rights violations. As the world’s largest security corporation, G4S’ role also highlights the connections between Israeli occupation, apartheid and settler colonialism and the global security and military industry and the privatization of human rights abuses.
VOTE HERE: http://www.publiceye.ch/en/vote/g4s/
Tweet Now and encourage others to vote: VOTE NOW for G4S as Worst Company of Year in @PEAwards: http://www.publiceye.ch/en/vote/g4s/ More on Israeli prison security corp G4S: http://samidoun.ca/?p=1863
More Resources on G4S:
- Palestinian BNC Stop G4S Campaign: http://www.bdsmovement.net/activecamps/g4s
- Stop G4S Coalition: http://www.stopg4s.net/
- Boycott Israel Network – Stop G4S: http://www.boycottisraelnetwork.net/?page_id=135
- Private Military and Security Contractors: Culture of Impunity: http://www.waronwant.org/component/content/article/17468
