Bad Honeywell: Call To Boycott And Divest

Honeywell International Inc., through its manufacturing of the engine and certain navigational, guidance and targeting equipment for the MQ-9 Reaper drone, is deeply complicit in, and profits from, United States drone surveillance and drone attacks that have resulted in the deaths of a total of more than 4,000 children, women and men in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somali and the Philippines.

These killings are war crimes because they violate provisions of international law that require commitment to due process, the protection of life and rights to privacy, freedom of assembly and freedom of association, among other obligations.

They also violate the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. War Crimes Act in a variety of ways, including violating prohibitions again assassination.  They also violate the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), to which the United States is a signatory.

Drone killing often looks like this, as reported in a New York Times article published on February 6, 2013:

“After the drone strike (in Yemen), villagers were left to identify two dead relatives from identity cards, scraps of clothing and the license plate of Mr. Jamal’s Toyota; the seven bodies were shredded beyond recognition, as cellphone photos taken at the scene attest. ‘We found eyes, but there were no faces left,’ said Abdullah Faqih, a student who knew both of the dead cousins.”

Continuous drone surveillance by the United States, on which drone attacks are based, also violates international law and the UDHR.

For example, the highly regarded study Living Under Drones reports:

“Drones hover twenty-four hours a day over communities in northwest Pakistan, striking homes, vehicles, and public spaces without warning. Their presence terrorizes men, women and children, giving rise to anxiety and psychological trauma…”

All the above information is notorious and well- known to the Honeywell management.

In addition, Honeywell manufactures, and profits from the T-Hawk surveillance drone intended for use by the United States military and law enforcement agencies, a weapon that threatens life, privacy, freedom of assembly and free speech.

Finally, Honeywell’s support of drone killing and spying contribute significantly to United States military actions that are intended to support a global system of corporate exploitation that is highly dependent on the plundering of global nonrenewable resources, especially fossil fuels.  This plundering is bringing environmental destruction and massively contributing to climate change.

For example, the United States is conducting intensive drone attacks in Afghanistan where corporations such as ExxonMobil are exploring oil reserves and covet minerals including iron, copper, cobalt, gold and lithium.  Indeed, former United States Army General David Petraeus spoke on Meet the Press in 2010 about “trillions, with an ‘s’ on the end, trillions of dollars worth of minerals” in Afghanistan that can be exploited only if there is “security” in place.

In wars for fossil fuels, Honeywell seeks to profit not only from its military hardware business but its technical support of the oil and gas industry.  For instance, a 2011 Honeywell press release says the company provides “best-in-class technology as well as training the Iraqi oil and gas industry and workforce.”

Consequently, I pledge that until Honeywell disengages from all its business related to weaponized drones and drone surveillance:

1.  I will not purchase any product of Honeywell, or that of its subsidiaries, and I will encourage others to join me.

2. I will divest myself of any Honeywell stock that I may own, and I will urge all institutions in which I participate to sell any and all Honeywell stock that they may own.