Change.org, a US based online petition platform with over 85 million users in 196 countries, launched a disinvestment e-petition last month. The petition targets US bank JP Morgan Chase to stop investing in producers of cluster munitions. To date, more than 30.000 people signed on to the call.
The petition was launched by Lynn Bradach. Lynn has been campaigning against cluster munitions following the death of her eldest son Travis, a United States Marine. He was killed by a cluster submunition while clearing unexploded ordnance in Iraq.
Cluster munitions indiscriminately kill civilians, both during use and years, even decades, after. Driven by a commitment to end the humanitarian harm caused by cluster munitions, 116 states have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) to date. The countries that are part of the global ban have committed themselves never to use, produce, stockpile or transfer cluster munitions. However, these weapons continue to be produced by companies in countries that have not yet joined the treaty.
While the United States has not (yet) joined the Convention, JP Morgan Chase has the opportunity to make a strong statement by refusing to provide financial assistance to companies that still make cluster munitions.
According to PAX’s report ‘Worldwide Investments in Cluster Munitions; a shared responsibility’, JP Morgan Chase is the largest loan provider to companies that are involved in the production of (key components of) cluster munitions. The US financial institution provided US $672,8 million dollars in loans to cluster munitions producers. One of these is US company Textron, which produces the Sensor Fuze Weapon (SFW). This cluster munition was recently used by Saudi Arabia during airstrikes on Yemen.
The petition calls on JP Morgan Chase to stop financing companies that manufacture cluster munitions. Want to join the call? Click here and tell JP Morgan Chase to stop explosive investments.
See also our project pages Cluster munitions and Stop explosive investments