Not one more purchase of military material from Israel. This is what the Minister of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduy (Sumar), asks the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, in a letter sent this Tuesday. Bustinduy asks in his letter addressed to Robles to cancel the purchase contracts in progress with companies linked to the Israeli arms industry and, therefore, to also stop inviting bids from these companies.
The letter from Bustinduy – representing the rest of the members of Sumar in the Council of Ministers, Yolanda Díaz, Mónica García, Ernest Urtasun and Sira Rego – is a formal request to Defense that arrives a week after the Minister of Social Rights indicated to companies that import products from territories occupied by Israel, whether in Palestine or Lebanon, their obligation “to indicate this origin clearly on the labeling to comply with the consumer’s right to receive truthful information.”
“This cancellation [de contratos de compra]”, says Minister Bustinduy in his letter to Robles, “it would add to the policy of not authorizing new licenses that has already been in force in Spain since the beginning of the conflict. “This is a fundamental piece to achieve a total arms embargo, in line with international law.”
In this way, the Sumar minister assumes that the non-signing of sales contracts to Israel is taking place since October 7, 2023 in line with what was stated by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez: “With the same object, tenders with certain suppliers, mentioned below, must be ceased, even when there is a substantive dependence of a technical nature. Since the outbreak of the current conflict, Spain has maintained defense trade agreements with several Israeli companies in the arms sector, which supply advanced technology and material for our Armed Forces. However, these same companies also provide military equipment that is being used in operations in Gaza and Lebanon. This situation is, in our opinion, contrary to compliance with current regulations and our obligations under international law.”
In his letter, Bustinduy mentions the Israeli companies in the arms sector that his department has tracked and with which Spain has purchase contracts.
For example, from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the minister argues that “the termination of contracts is justified by its control by the Government of Israel, its direct connection with the country’s military policy and strategy, and the fact that its technology has been used in serious human rights violations and war crimes, such as attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers. Finally, and also in accordance with our obligations under international law, it is important to remember that Rafael’s facilities are located in the north of Haifa and, therefore, in territory occupied by Israel.”
In relation to Elbit Systems, the Sumar minister affirms that the company “operates in contexts that contradict the position of the European Union and Spain in terms of international politics, since it continues to sell weapons to Burma after the military coup of 2021 […]. The company actively participates as a supplier in the framework of apartheid towards the Palestinian population denounced before the International Court of Justice. This has caused even financial organizations such as the Norwegian Pension Fund and Danske Bank to withdraw their investments in said company.”
Guardian Homeland Security is another of the companies that Bustinduy mentions in his letter to Robles. Because? “This company is a regular supplier to State security forces, in addition to some units of the armed forces. It acts as a main supplier of Israeli-made security and defense products, establishing consortia with companies, some of which are involved in the repression of the Palestinian population in the occupied territories. “The fact that our security forces receive training and tactical material from this company does not appear consistent with our obligations under international law.”
Additionally, Sumar’s letter reminds Robles of “the role of certain brokerage or mediation companies that act as official distributors of Israeli technology.” In this sense, it refers to Excem Group 1971, “which uses technologies from the companies Verint and Cognyte linked to human and civil rights violations in South Sudan (an area in active conflict), Azerbaijan, Indonesia and Bahrain.
“Hire”; says Bustinduy, “even indirectly, to companies that contribute to the violation of human rights in Palestine and other regions of the world, contravenes the foreign policy of the EU and our country. Therefore, as long as Excem and other brokerage companies use suppliers involved in these activities, it would be advisable to do without their services.”
To conclude, the Minister of Sumar tells Robles: “Given the current situation, and in accordance with the legal obligations emanating from international law, as well as the ethical and legal principles that govern our foreign and defense policy, we request the suspension of any contract or agreement in progress with Israeli defense and/or security companies that are linked both to the escalation of the conflict in Gaza and Lebanon and to operations in all of the settlements illegally occupied by Israel in Palestine. This measure, aligned with the latest statements by the President of the Government in this regard, would allow Spain to comply with our obligations under international law, also consistent with the position adopted by this Government.”
Bustinduy and the Israeli genocide in Gaza
Recently the Minister of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 has required companies to produce products from territories occupied by Israel that must indicate this on the label. In this way, products imported from territories occupied by Israel “must be labeled as coming from an ‘Israeli settlement’ and not as ‘products of Israel’,” states Consumo, which also gives the option of using expressions such as “product of the Heights.” from the Golan (Israeli settlement)” or “product of the West Bank (Israeli settlement)”.
Likewise, Bustinduy recalled that “Palestine products that do not come from Israeli settlements must also present clear indications of their origin as ‘product of the West Bank (Palestinian product)’, ‘product of Gaza’ or ‘product of Palestine’. The objective, Bustinduy explained, is for citizens to have these indications when they go to buy “to guarantee their right to have accurate information about the origin of the products, especially given the critical situation in the Middle East.”
In this case, furthermore, people who prefer to consume Palestinian products or want to stop consuming Israeli products will have the ability to make decisions in this regard.
Furthermore, a couple of weeks ago, the Minister of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 left the meeting of the Consumer Policy Committee (CCP) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) during two interventions by members of the Government Israeli protesting the ongoing genocide in Gaza, one of them the Minister of Economy.
A few weeks ago, during the United Nations General Assembly, several delegations left the plenary session while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke. The Spanish delegation, however, decided to remain in their seats listening to whoever had just given the order to invade southern Lebanon after having caused more than 43,000 deaths in their offensive on Gaza.
Minister Bustinduy has taken further action regarding the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Last May, he sent letters to Spanish companies with prominent economic activity in Israel to urge them to adopt the necessary measures, in accordance with International Law and the 2030 Agenda itself. “This is an initiative that seeks to find solutions to put an end to the genocide in Palestine and is framed as one more action in the political line of the Government of Spain that seeks to recognize the State of Palestine and promote its entry as a full member of the UN,” they explained in Social Rights.
The intention of the Minister of Social Rights, his department explained, was to avoid the risk that the economic activities of Spanish companies in the area could contribute to the human rights violations that the State of Israel is committing in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip, against the Palestinian population.
Previously, Minister Bustinduy had met in his ministry with the ambassador of Palestine in Spain, Husni Abdel Wahed, to convey to him the offer for Palestine to be the official guest during Spain’s participation in the High Level Political Forum, which was held at UN headquarters in New York in July.
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