NEW MEXICO – The Graduate and Professional Student Association passed a resolution calling for the University of New Mexico  to divest from companies associated with human rights violations in Palestine.

The resolution, which passed during a GPSA meeting last Saturday, was endorsed by members of Students for Justice in Palestine, Students Organizing for Peace and other organizations.

According to the resolution, GPSA calls for UNM to divest in companies that “directly profit from the ongoing violations of international law and human rights, and have an economic stake in the continuation of these violations.” 

The document cites companies associated with the Israeli government’s involvement in Palestine as examples of institutions the University should not invest in. 

“International corporations have been complicit in these severe and ongoing human rights violations systematically committed by the Israeli government, and their involvement has been documented by human rights organizations,” the resolution states. 

The resolution also calls for financial transparency and a committee with student representation to review, evaluate and monitor socially responsible investment by UNM.

“We’re not saying that UNM is invested (in these companies),” said Elisabeth Perkal, a graduate student and member of SJP  “We’re saying that if it is, we are calling on them to divest.”

Perkal said a resolution with similar goals was passed in the 1980s to protest apartheid in South Africa. “As in the movement to end apartheid in South Africa, students have often stood at the forefront of movements for social change,” she said. “We need to embrace this powerful legacy.”