USC Divestment Motion: How It Came About, What It Means, and What Students Can Expect

At the USC General Council meeting on December 4, 2024, a motion was passed to advocate for Western University to incorporate human rights considerations into their investment policy.

USC Voice sat down with the three Councillors leading the implementation of the motion—Muhammad Hussain Jan, a USC science councillor, Jenna Ijam, a USC science councillor, and Naidine Nossibeh, a USC law councillor—to discuss the motion, its origins, and what students can expect next from the USC.

Understanding the Motion

To better understand the impact of their actions, the Councillors outlined the key objectives behind the motion.

“This motion is about ensuring that Western students have a voice in how their university invests its money,” said Jan. “Right now, Western’s investment policy considers environmental and financial factors but does not formally assess human rights concerns.”

Ijam expanded on this concern, pointing out that some of Western’s current investment portfolios conflict with ethical investment principles.

“There are some portfolios that Western is invested in right now that go against the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights for responsible investing,” she said.

To fully understand the motion, Nossibeh explained the financial mechanisms behind university investments.

“Western operates like a company, and their goal is to make money. How they make money is through investing in stocks, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs),” she explained.

She further highlighted how investment profits benefit students.

“Western takes the profit that they make and then gives it back to the students in many forms, such as scholarships, campus improvements, or renovations,” she said. “What we have gathered from the students is that they don’t want these enhancements at the expense of investing in unethical companies.” 

The motion now allows the USC to advocate for human rights considerations in Western’s investment policies. However, before taking further action, the Councillors emphasized the importance of student input.

“ Before we take further action, we want to hear directly from students through a survey,” said Jan.

Jan emphasized the significance of the survey in ensuring the USC represents the student body accurately.

“The survey will help guide the USC’s advocacy efforts, ensuring that our stance is informed by the broadest possible student perspective,” he noted.

The results will shape the USC’s next steps in representing student interests to university administration.

How did the motion come to be?

The motion was a response to widespread student interest in Western’s investment decisions.

“In the beginning stages of putting this initiative together, we did over 200 consultations with students across different faculties about how they felt about the matter,” said Ijam.

Jan explained that these consultations revealed a strong student demand for ethical investment practices.

“This motion was driven by growing student interest in how Western University manages its investments and whether they align with human rights principles,” he said.

While Western has a Responsible Investing policy, Jan pointed out that it does not explicitly consider human rights concerns.

“Given that some other Canadian universities have already taken steps in this direction, it was important for Western students to have their voices heard on this issue,” he explained.

What should students understand about this motion?

The three Councillors clarified that they do not have direct control over Western’s investments.

“As a Councillor, we are not able to put forward something that would make Western divest right away. Instead, we put this forward to advocate to the administration that this is something that students want,” explained Ijam.

Despite this limitation, the Councillors felt compelled to act based on the student response.

“When we’re seeing so many students asking for something, we asked ourselves, ‘How can we, as student leaders who were elected to these positions, do something?’ The answer was to provide a way for students to have their voices directly heard on the matter,” said Ijam.

Jan emphasized that they want to hear from a wide range of voices.

“This survey is designed to be inclusive, ensuring that all students—regardless of their background or stance—have the chance to express their opinion on responsible investing,” he said.

Students may wonder about the financial impact of divesting, but Nossibeh assured them that the research supports their approach.

“The potential impact on financial stability is minimal, given that only a small portion of Western’s portfolios is likely invested in companies implicated in activities related to human rights abuses,” she said.

She also highlighted how divestment aligns with Western’s existing policies.

“Western’s own Responsible Investing (RI) policy states that ‘divestment will be considered where engagement has failed or is not feasible.’ This means divestment is a last resort, only used when other efforts to influence company behavior have been unsuccessful,” she said.

Nossibeh emphasized that taking a principled stand against investments linked to war profiteering or human rights abuses is part of a broader responsible investment strategy.

“The goal is not to destabilize finances but to ensure that Western’s investments align with the values of its students and community while still meeting financial needs over time,” she said.

She further pointed out that other organizations, including the USC, have successfully divested from unethical companies without negative financial consequences.

“The USC, for example, is an organization that also has investments, and their Board made the decision to divest completely from fossil fuels in 2022,” she said.

Ijam emphasized why this issue resonates with so many students.

“We want to stress that it’s the principle of stopping investments into those few companies and focusing on making money in an ethical way that students will appreciate and support,” she said.

How will Western students stay informed about this initiative?

Ijam reassured students that updates on the initiative will be widely available.

“Students can expect to see updates on the USC’s Instagram about the survey. It will provide students with all the information that they need to know to make an informed decision and make the decision that best aligns with their values,” she said.

Ijam further explained there will also be in-person opportunities to learn about the initiative. 

“We want to have booths across campus for a week to provide students with more information about exactly what the survey will be asking before it’s actually available for students to take,” she explained. “It’s an opportunity to ask questions and make a well-informed decision.”

Jan concluded by sharing the goal of the campaign.  

“At the end of the day, this initiative is about transparency, student representation, and ethical responsibility. We look forward to seeing the results of the survey and using that data to advocate for policies that reflect student values,” he said.

Western’s Financial Services provided the following statement on the topic, “At Western, responsible investing is integrated into our investment processes that we have disclosed for many years. Our investment website houses resources such as reports, holdings, and investment performance along with information and policies on how we balance our complex investment responsibilities.  It’s a lot of information – but we know that continuing to inform our community is important.”

Students can expect to see more updates about the divestment motion on the USC’s Instagram in the upcoming weeks.