Facilitate Global supports the StopG4S campain.
G4S Israel: Intentional Complicity in Acts of Injustice for Profit?
Rachael M. Rudolph
Is it willful disregard for human rights and disrespect for humanity or the intentional complicity in acts of injustice for profit? Many within the global activist community would argue that it is the latter which explains G4S continuing provision of services, equipment and personnel to Israel.
Group4Securicor (G4S) is a publicly traded British-Danish private security company, which operates in more than 120 companies worldwide. It is the largest security services provider in the world. The company and its country-based subsidiaries provide a wide range of services to public and private sectors, including secure facilities management, security consultancy, event security, secure transport services, and security systems. G4S provides services, equipment and personnel to Israel.
G4S Israel provides security equipment to certain incarceration facilities inside Israeli territory, which holds and detains Palestinian men, women and children. Many of those held are political prisoners. Israeli prisons have computerized control and monitoring systems, control rooms and touch screens, internal and external CCTV monitoring and recording systems, and fiber optic communication lines. G4S even installed the central command room for Ofer prison.
Many within the global activist community will recall the infamous Ofer prison from the Palestinian hunger striking campaigns over the last few years. It is one where the international community has recognized Israeli practices of systematic torture, human rights abuses, and ill-treatment of Palestinian prisoners, as well as the detention of children.
G4S Israel also provides security systems to settlements, maintains security equipment at checkpoints, and employs security personnel. In the settlements, the services and equipment are provided to businesses. The global activist community is aware of the illegal process employed, which encompasses the building, construction and indirect (and eventual direct) recognition of illegal Israeli settlements. At checkpoints, G4S has provided the body and luggage scanners used and equipment maintenance. Security services are provided for Israeli police headquarters and security personnel for the construction of the Apartheid Wall.
There are a number of other tasks that were once provided by the Israeli army, which are now being provided by private security companies like G4S. Operation in Israel has brought international attention to the global company, especially given Israeli treatment of Palestinians, the continuing violations of international law, and disregard for human rights. The company’s provision of services to the Israeli security sector makes it complicit in the upholding and maintenance of injustice.
Human rights groups, global activists and concerned humanitarians have endorsed the StopG4S Campaign and call on G4S to respect humanity by ending its support for entities that willfully violate international law and engage in human rights abuses. Failure to act is intentional complicity in the acts of injustice for profit and a disregard for the lives of Palestinian men, women and children tortured and wrongfully held in Israeli prisons.
Rachael M. Rudolph is Head of International Relations for Facilitate Global. Rachael can be contacted at rachael.rudolph@facilitateglobal.org,
[ … More on todays’ AGM: “G4S executives looked disturbed and frustrated at the fact that they were unable to avoid the company’s track record of human rights abuses.”, report available at http://stopg4s.net/g4s-agm-2013-protest … ]