“The more investors we are, the more effective our voice will be!”
Marco Carlizzi, Chairman of Etica Funds, spoke at the second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW to read the Investor Statement and renovate the commitment to stop fundings for nuclear weapons
Three questions to Marco Carlizzi, Chairman of Etica Funds
The 2017 TPNW complements and reinforces the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). What makes it a more suitable tool for investors and financial institutions?
The 2017 TPNW has been developed more rigorously than the NPT. As a result, it is conceived to be an easier-to-use tool to help monitor and assess more efficiently the range of actors with whom investors engage. Indeed, by allowing a better understanding of each state’s level of compliance, it can assist the choice of the investors.
This is particularly relevant when investors are driven by the aim of identifying, preventing, mitigating and discouraging the actual and potential adverse human rights impacts due to the scale, scope and irremediability of the potential harm of the commerce of nuclear weapons. Consequently, the TPNW helps investors determine which states to include or exclude from their investments, allowing them to assess both their direct and indirect exposure to the nuclear weapons trade.
The supporters of the TPNW are under no illusion that the Treaty alone solves the problem of nuclear armament. What can it help to do and what has it already achieved?
It is crucial to change and evolve the people’s mindset. We should understand that nuclear weapons represent just the tip of the iceberg. This has also been expressed in the latest conference statement pointing the finger at the culture of deterrence. That creates instability and fear. Thinking that the fight against nuclear weapons is pointless because the weapons will never be used is the best way to develop the arms industry. And to achieve exactly the goal that the arms manufacturers want to pursue.
Undoubtedly, the most important objective that has been achieved is the treaty. It seems that the attention of both states and the media is growing, even if it is still insufficient. For this reason, we have urged not only states but also publicly owned companies of those states to take action. The urgency of this matter is heightened by the ongoing period of terrible conflicts we are witnessing in the world.
The Investors Open Statement you delivered at the Second Conference of States Parties to the TPNW last year was subscribed by 111 institutional investors representing over $1,007bn. What are the next steps of the campaign and your future targets?
By all means, the primary goal is to find even more new investors who share our values. And this crucial advocacy to raise awareness. Among the countries that have signed the 2017 TPNW, as well as among those that have remained outside the treaty. The more investors we are, the more effective our voice will be!