New research by Oxfam IBIS revealed that Denmark’s 16 pension funds have together invested almost 3 billion Danish kroner ($500 million) in foreign arms manufacturers supplying weapons to countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Those weapons were most likely used in the war in Yemen, as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are heavily involved in the conflict there, said the report. It has accused the pension funds of “profiteering.”
One of the 21 companies that received Danish pension fund money is US missile manufacturer Raytheon. The fund that gave the money said it didn’t invest in companies that produce so-called unconventional weapons, such as landmines and cluster munitions. Nevertheless, it assured that it “follows the situation in Yemen very closely.”
“I think many pension customers will be shocked when they discover that their pension savings right now are helping to keep the world’s worst war alive. That is completely unacceptable,” said Kristian Weise, Secretary General of Oxfam IBIS.
He pointed out that the war and the accompanying humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen will only be kept alive as long as the flow of weapons to the warring parties continues. “In Oxfam IBIS’ opinion, these arms deliveries should be stopped immediately. To that extent, the Danish pension funds have an ethical and moral responsibility that they should take on,” Weise added.
