Caterkiller Not Caterpillar*

author: Compiled by w
source: Moqawama.org, 5-8-2004
summary: Since the beginning of Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank in 1967, Israel has destroyed over 7,000 buildings, leaving 50,000 men, women and children homeless. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), since the start of the current Intifada no fewer than 14666 people have been made homeless in a single Palestinian town - Rafah. As well as 1476 homes crushed to rubble, the army has destroyed sewer and water networks, creating a serious health risk for the local community.
The Israeli Army's weapon of choice in its home demolition campaign is the specially designed Caterpillar D-9 bulldozer. But Caterpillar bulldozers are used for more than house demolitions. Since the Intifada began, Israeli troops and settlers using Caterpillar equipment have uprooted an estimated 385,000 olive trees - as well as orchards of dates, prunes, lemons and oranges. The economic hardship this has imposed on thousands of Palestinians comes on top of already dire levels of unemployment and poverty in the occupied territories.‏
Caterpillar bulldozers are sold to Israel as weapons, through the US Foreign Military Sales Program (See www.catdestroyshomes.org/media/media04-14/factsheet.html)‏
On 28th May 2004 the Special Rapporteur on the right to food for the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights - Jean Ziegler - wrote to Jim Owens, CEO of Caterpillar Inc., to express deep concern "about the actions of the Israeli occupying forces in Rafah and in other locations in Gaza and the West Bank, using armoured bulldozers supplied by your company." .pdf scan of the UN letter - application/pdf 69K‏
The UN-appointed expert said that he has warned Caterpillar Inc. that "Israel`s" use of bulldozers to destroy West Bank orchards could make the company an accomplice in the violation of basic human rights of the Palestinians.‏
Ziegler said his letter was the first under a new resolution passed this year by the 53-nation UN Human Rights Commission extending responsibility for protecting rights beyond governments to "non-state actors."‏
He wrote Owen under the letterhead of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the overall UN watchdog, and sent his letter on his own as he is entitled to do, a spokesman said.‏
The "Israelis" are "using armored bulldozers supplied by your company to destroy agricultural farms, greenhouses, ancient olive groves and agricultural fields planted with crops," the May 28th letter said.‏
Ziegler, a Swiss university professor who has previously criticized "Israeli" treatment of the Palestinians, told The Associated Press that he had yet to receive a response from the company.‏
"Allowing the delivery of your D-9 and D-10 Caterpillar bulldozers to the "Israeli" army through the government of the United States in the certain knowledge that they are being used for such actions might involve complicity or acceptance on the part of your company to actual and potential violations of human rights, including the right to food," Ziegler said in the letter.‏
The "Israelis" have also used the bulldozers to destroy "numerous Palestinian homes and sometimes human lives, including that of the American peace activist Rachel Corrie," he said.‏
The 23-year-old college student from Olympia, Washington, was in Gaza as a volunteer with the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement in March 2003. The group says that the "Israeli" bulldozer driver saw Corrie and drove over her as she and a small group of ISM activists tried to stop him from razing a home.‏
The letter (Ref: RRDB/RH) goes on to outline Caterpillar`s responsibilities under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other international human rights instruments:‏
"While only States are parties to the Covenant and are thus ultimately accountable for compliance with it, all members of society - individuals, families, local communities, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, as well as the private business sector - have responsibilities in the realization of the right to adequate food. In this context, there is also a concern that allowing the delivery of your D-9 and D-10 Caterpillar bulldozers to the Israeli army through the Government of the United States in the certain knowledge that they are being used for such actions, might involve complicity or acceptance on the part of your company to actual and potential violation of human rights including the right to food." (2)‏
However, the Caterpillar`s worldwide code of business conduct states:‏
"We look for suppliers and business allies who demonstrate strong values and ethical principles ... We avoid those who violate the law."‏
"Caterpillar accepts the responsibilities of global citizenship. Wherever we conduct business or invest our resources around the world, we know that our commitment to financial success must also take into account social, economic, political, and environmental priorities."‏
Caterpillar has repeatedly failed to respond to letters about the nature of their trade with Israel and its compatibility with their published code of conduct. For more information see www.catdestroyshomes.org, www.stopcat.org,‏
Meanwhile, when confronted by campaigners, Caterpillar claim that they "have neither the legal right nor the means to police individual use of that equipment." As the Special Rapporteur points out, where sales to Israel are concerned it is simply not credible for Caterpillar to claim that the end use of their products is not foreseeable, and the company have a duty to prevent such foreseeable misuse. By ignoring this fundamental duty of all citizens, be they corporate or individual, the company is implicating itself in the human rights violations and war crimes being committed in the occupied territories.‏
This strongly worded letter from the UN follows a recent report by Amnesty International (Ref: MDE 15/040/2004) advising Caterpillar to "take measures - within the company sphere of influence - to guarantee that its bulldozers are not used to commit human rights violations, including the destruction of homes, land and other properties", and echoes the tens of thousands of letters sent to the company by activists in the US, UK and elsewhere. The lack of any credible response from the company has led activists to tackle Caterpillar more directly, visiting company offices, factories, dealerships and trade exhibitions, engaging employees, customers and shareholders in dialogue.‏
Accordingly:‏
- Since D-9 and D-10 Caterpillar bulldozers are sold to Israel as weapons via the US Foreign Military Sales Program,‏
- Since this kind of bulldozers is used to destroy homes, properties and various kinds of orchards in West Bank and Gaza Strip thus violating the basic human rights,‏
- Since this happen in a certain knowledge of Caterpillar Inc. that they are being used for such inhuman actions,‏
The Caterpillar Inc. should take the necessary steps to guarantee that its bulldozers are not used in a way that may breach the human rights, including the destruction of homes, lands and other properties.‏
If it could not do that, then, it should immediately stop delivering this kind of bulldozers to Israel. Otherwise, the company will be seen as implicating itself in the human rights violations and war crimes being committed in the occupied territories.‏