The Council on Ethics recommends that Ashtrom Group Ltd be excluded from by investment by the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) due to an unacceptable risk that the company is contributing to serious infringements of the rights of the individual in situations of war or conflict.
The Council’s recommendation is based on the fact that Ashtrom Properties lets industrial premises linked to Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The Council considers that the company’s letting of buildings constructed in violation of international law contributes to the continuation of an illegal state that their construction once initiated. This form of contribution to international law violations constitutes, in the Council’s view, grounds for exclusion from the GPFG.
The Council on Ethics issued its recommendation on 15 March 2021. Norges Bank announced its decision to exclude the companies from investment by the GPFG on 2 September 2021.