Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) Annual Conference 2022: Day 1

 

Last week I went to the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) Annual 3 day Conference in Bournemouth. I have been one of the Joint Vice Chairs for the past 3 years and an active participant in LAPFF both as a trade union pension rep and a Councillor for many years. 

LAPFF is the leading voice for Local Authority Pension Funds in the UK and its members assets exceed £350 Billion.  

There were Councillors, Council officers, trade union reps, fund managers, advisors and guest speakers from all over the UK and even the world. Some joined virtually while most were present in person. 

On day one, the Chair of LAPFF, Cllr McMurdo, formally opened conference and the first presentation was by a representative of  French energy giant Total on its recent (welcome) withdrawal from  Myanmar. 

The conference is held under what is called "Chatham House" rules which means that you should not repeat what is said without the permission of the speaker. I have reached out to the speaker since I am genuinely interested on the reasons why Total did not decide to pull out in the past (also see picture in collage) during previous horrible military dictatorships and repression. It would be good to understand why now and what actually changed their mind?

Next was a powerful presentation on the recent visit to Brazil by LAPFF to the local communities who had suffered grave loss of life and devastation following the apparently negligent collapse of  the so called Tailings Dams. 

There was a virtual video with a community leader from Brazil (name withheld due to fears for their safety) and from a concerned Brazilian investor. The Chair of Vale (the 5th largest Mining Company in the world) actually came in person to conference and also spoke to us. 

It is more than a pity that some large mining companies have failed to engage with LAPFF on this very important matter. 

1st anniversary of the coup in Myanmar - TUC Statement

 

Picture from this BBC report on young people training to fight the vile military dictatorship in Myanmar. Below is TUC statement. It is good to see that Total are withdrawing their operations in Myanmar. Not so 14 years ago. I must find out which garment companies are still investing there. @TomPowdrill - any thoughts?

"1 February 2022 marks the one-year anniversary of the seizure of power of a military junta in Myanmar, deposing the legitimate government in a coup d’etat. The TUC expresses our admiration for all the democratic forces, including the trade union movement, which have bravely resisted the military at great cost to themselves. 

We warn against any normalisation of the illegitimate junta and reiterate our call for diplomatic recognition of the National Unity Government in its place. We also echo the calls of the international trade union movement to target the military government economically. In particular, by placing embargos on the sales of arms and aviation fuel to the Burmese military and cutting off its revenues by refusing to purchase Burmese oil and gas.  

We welcome the decision by Total and Chevon to withdraw from their operations in Myanmar - and urge all other oil and gas stakeholders to do so too.  

To private sector enterprises in the garment trade, including several British brands, who purchase stock from Burmese textile factories, we raise the issue of the human rights abuses, political violence, and union busting taking place in these factories, communicated to us by our Burmese sister centre, the CTUM.  

We believe, based on the information provided to us by the CTUM, that any realistic assessment of whether companies can actually exercise human rights due diligence in their supply chains, including by protecting the trade union organisations in the factories, will show that it is currently impossible to meet the obligations of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. That being the case, companies should cease all new orders and make arrangements to withdraw their business in a responsible manner". 

"The shooting of a young protestor"

Check out this BBC report on the shocking public shooting and resulting murder of 19 year old Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, in Myanmar, clearly by security forces belonging to the Army junta that has seized power and over thrown a democratically elected government.  

Speech on Rohingya and the Myanmar Government by Lyn Brown MP

On 17 October Lyn made the following speech in a Parliamentary debate on the persecution of the Rohingya by the Myanmar government:

"As we have heard today, the evidence about what has been happening in Myanmar is clear: there is a concerted campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya. The military have used every kind of evil to create fear and trauma—men, women, and children tortured and killed; their families and neighbours forced to watch; children and elderly people burnt alive in their homes; gang rapes by soldiers, including of girls as young as five. All of these horrors are used as weapons to threaten and intimidate more than half a million innocent people into fleeing their homes, far too terrified to return. And who can blame them?

Hasina Begum lived in the Rakhine province, where the violence has been most intense, and her testimony is harrowing. She described how, first, the soldiers killed the men they found, cutting their bodies into four parts to make future identification difficult. Then they rounded up women and girls of the village, and forced them to watch as two teenage girls were raped by 14 of the soldiers. Hasina was forced to watch; she relives this horror in her nightmares.

These obscenities have clearly impacted on my community in West Ham. Last week I was given a petition signed by more than 750 constituents, and I have had many emails about this debate. They want the Government to get to the root of this crisis, not just condemn the most obvious abuses. I was deeply moved by their compassion, and I share their anger. Enough has not been done.

Aung San Suu Kyi has failed to live up to her responsibility as the head of Myanmar’s Government. I thought she was a great woman, but great women do not allow ethnic cleansing to take place in a country in which they have power, great women do not seek to deny facts when innocents are being slaughtered, and great women do not remain silent. The actions of the military, and her own inactions, have trampled the reputation of Aung San Suu Kyi. The generals must be loving it.

But let us be clear: the greatest responsibility for what has happened belongs to the military, and especially the head of the army, Min Aung Hlaing. I want every one of those responsible for these crimes against humanity to face justice, and I want to see Min Aung Hlaing and the other senior commanders on trial for their crimes. The only way for this to happen is if our Government are resolute in calling out these crimes, supporting strong and co-ordinated sanctions. I want to see a visa ban on military figures, a complete ban on all equipment sales to the military and a ban on investment in and business with military-controlled companies. These actions need to be taken at the widest possible level across the EU and across the wider world through diplomacy at the UN.

The immediate humanitarian crisis remains appalling, and I am not convinced that the funding that the Department for International Development has committed is adequate, given the enormous scale of the crisis. We are currently providing emergency funding for shelter for approximately 26,000 people, but that covers less than 5% of the refugees who have fled since August. I understand that we have been the largest single donor in this crisis, and I certainly welcome that, but given the enormity of the circumstances it is simply unacceptable that many people are still not secure and that their basic needs are not being met. There can be little doubt that more can be done, and I want the Government to commit to doing it today."

In September, Lyn also joined 157 other Members of Parliament in writing a letter to the Foreign Secretary, urging the Government to exert more pressure on the Myanmar government. A copy of this letter can be viewed here. 

Newham Council Motion on slaughter in Myanmar

As reported here I was really pleased at this debate and the unanimous decision of full council to support.

"MOTION REGARDING THE CURRENT SITUATION IN MYANMAR

PROPOSER – CLLR SALIM PATEL

SECOND – CLLR MAS PATEL

That Newham Council,

- having regard to the Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar, 29 June 2016

• - having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

• - having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966,

• - having regard to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966,

- having regard to the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto,

Having taken note of,

- The serious human rights abuse and violence against Rohingya communities and refugees by the Burmese military.

- The fact that the Rohingya continue to suffer from persecution, arbitrary detention, torture, forced displacement, abuse, and severe legal, economic, social and religious discrimination in Burma/Myanmar

- The arbitrary deprivation of their citizenship

- The impunity that continues to prevail in the cases of crimes and atrocities against them

- That over 150,000 Rohingyas remain in more than 80 internal displacement camps in Rakhine State, with limited access to humanitarian aid, while more than 100,000 others have fled by sea or land, often at the hands of human traffickers, to other countries over the past years; whereas many Rohingya refugees lost their lives in sinking boats or by being pushed back into the sea; whereas several thousands of Rohingyas are reportedly trapped in crowded wooden boats in inhuman conditions and urgent need of assistance in the region;

- That over one million Rohingyas live as refugees or migrants outside Burma/Myanmar; whereas Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Thailand are the countries to which the largest numbers of Rohingyas have fled; whereas many of them are not recognised and protected as refugees, live and work illegally with no documentation, and are victims of violence, exploitation, exclusion, marginalisation, and extreme poverty;

Calls upon the British government to,

1. Condemn in the strongest possible terms the recent attacks on the Rohingya by the Burmese military and the killing and forced displacement of thousands.

2. Reiterate its deepest concern about the plight of the Rohingya and call for regional and international mobilisation to provide them urgent assistance;

3. To expresses its deep concern about the continued anti-Muslim rhetoric and violence in Rakhine State and in other parts of Burma/Myanmar;

4. Call upon the government of Burma/Myanmar to put an immediate end to all forms of violence, persecution, arbitrary detention, torture, forced displacement, abuse and discrimination against the Rohingya;

Newham Council Motion on Antisemitism (passed tonight)

I was really pleased that this (amended) motion was passed at the Newham Council meeting on Monday. I spoke in favour as did (pictures) Cllr Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, Cllr Neil Wilson, Cllr Anamul Islam, Cllr Clive Furness & the Mayor Robin Wales.

There also was an excellent motion on the slaughter in  Rohingya & other minorities in Myanmar which I will post. Also passed unanimously.

"This Council expresses alarm at the rise in antisemitism in recent years across the UK. This includes incidents when criticism of Israel has been expressed using anti-Semitic tropes. Criticism of Israel can be legitimate, but not if it employs the tropes and imagery of antisemitism.

This Council therefore welcomes the UK Government’s announcement on December 11th 2016 that it will adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, making Britain one of the first countries in the world to adopt it. This definition has also been adopted by the Labour Party and featured in the Labour Party’s Race and Faith Manifesto (page 12) published during the 2017 General Election. The IHRA definition defines antisemitism as thus:

This Council notes that:

Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.

Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel. However, criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.

Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for “why things go wrong.” It is expressed in speech, writing, visual forms and action, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative character traits.

Antisemitic acts are criminal when they are so defined by law (for example, denial of the Holocaust or distribution of antisemitic materials in some countries). Criminal acts are antisemitic when the targets of attacks, whether they are people or property – such as buildings, schools, places of worship and cemeteries – are selected because they are, or are perceived to be, Jewish or linked to Jews.

Antisemitic discrimination is the denial to Jews of opportunities or services available to others and is illegal in many countries.

This Council welcomes support within the Council for combating antisemitism in all its manifestations.

This Council hereby resolves to adopt the above definition of antisemitism as set out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and pledges to combat this pernicious form of racism through awareness raising and education; and through engagement with the range of Jewish opinion on how best to address antisemitism in addition with all communities that live in Newham.

This Council also condemns all forms of racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia and sexism and we commit to fighting against them".