Volvo has hit back at campaigners who are trying to engineer a boycott
of the company over the use of its bulldozers in Israel to destroy
Palestinian homes.
The boycott calls, made by various groups, including parts of the
United Methodist Church in the US and anti-poverty pressure group War
on Want, are similar to those heard in the recently revived campaign
against the US-based bulldozer manufacturer Caterpillar (EP7, issue 11).
Volvo, through a statement issued to the Business & Human Rights
Resource Centre, a non-governmental organization that monitors
corporate performance on human rights, said it has no control over the
use of its products, which include trucks, buses, industrial engines,
construction equipment and aerospace parts.
‘It is, of course, regrettable and sad if our products are used for
destructive purposes,’ it says. ‘We do not condone such actions, but we
do not have any control over the use of our products and affirm in our
business activities a code of conduct that decries unethical
behaviour.’ Volvo adds: ‘We believe that we have neither the mandate
nor the ability to evaluate complex political situations.
Like other multinational enterprises, we rely on governments and
certain international governmental organizations to make such
determinations.’
The Caterpillar campaign entered a new phase last month when a federal
appeals court panel in the US considered a request to reinstate a
lawsuit that says Caterpillar knew bulldozers it sold to the Israeli
government were used to commit human rights violations, a claim
contested by the company.
