Trinity College, Cambridge, War Crimes Complicity
Commencing February 28th, 2024, The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has notified Trinity College, Cambridge, of their officers’ potential criminal liability for complicity in war crimes and genocide. This action has arisen from information published demonstrating that Trinity holds major investments in companies which, the ICJP says, are involved in potential war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the State of Israel.
A Freedom of Information request released on the 21st February 2024 showed that Trinity College holds millions of pounds of investments in American, British, Japanese, and Israeli companies which are directly involved, and actively supplying, Israel’s military offensive against Gaza. This includes £61,735 invested in Israel’s largest arms company, Elbit Systems, responsible for 85% of the Israeli military’s drones and land-based equipment, along with investments in Caterpillar, General Electric, L3Harris and more. These are firms deeply embedded in the Israeli military and its occupation of Palestinian land, and by investing in them Trinity risks complicity in the outcomes of these firms’ involvement in Israeli military operations.
In response to this development, ICJP wrote a letter placing Trinity College Cambridge on notice of their officers’ potential criminal liability for complicity in war crimes and genocide. This will possibly continue into further legal action, should Trinity fail to address this complicity and to suspend their investments in complicit industries.
ICJP have informed Trinity of the legal ramifications of these investments, including the potential for complicity in grave breaches of the provisions of international law under the Rome Statute, the Genocide Convention and the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures on plausible genocide in Gaza.
Media Coverage:
Cambridge University college issued legal notice over potential ‘complicity’ in war crimes, Middle East Eye, 28th February 2024
Cambridge’s Trinity College receives legal warning for investment in arms companies, The Tab, 1st March 2024
Trinity issued legal notice over potential ‘complicity’ in Israeli ‘war crimes’, Varsity, 2nd March 2024
Trinity College issued with legal notice from Palestinian group over ‘investments in Israeli arms company’, Cambridge Independent, 6th March 2024
Activist defaces Balfour portrait in Cambridge college investing in Israeli arms company, Middle East Eye, 9th March 2024
ICJP Statements:
ICJP puts Trinity College Cambridge on notice for investing in companies potentially complicit in war crimes and genocide, 28th February 2024