VICTORY: Human Rights Campaign Confirms It Has Dropped Weapons Industry Sponsors Amid Accusations of Complicity in Genocide
A Joint Statement from Adalah Justice Project & Gender Liberation Movement
In a statement shared with Adalah Justice Project and Gender Liberation Movement, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) confirmed it has dropped its financial corporate partnerships with weapons manufacturers Northrop Grumman and RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon Technologies). The decision follows more than two years of pressure from LGBTQ+ communities resisting militarism and genocide, particularly HRC’s complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.
For the past two years, LGBTQ+ people have raised concerns regarding HRC’s partnership with Northrop Grumman, the world’s sixth-largest weapons company, which until last year was listed as a “Platinum Partner” on HRC’s website.
According to watchdog site Investigate, Northrop Grumman supplies the Israeli military with missile systems, fighter jets, and other weapons used to obliterate homes, schools, hospitals, and entire families in Gaza. These are tools of state-sanctioned destruction and death, not of human rights or equality, and they do not distinguish between queer and straight lives.
Queer and trans folks in the U.S. and across the world have been at the forefront of the movement to end the Israeli genocide and occupation. We have made it clear that there is no pride in genocide and that LGBTQ people will not be used as cover for violence. The fight for queer and trans liberation is the same fight against the war machine that is killing our communities here at home, in Palestine, and across the world.
This latest update from HRC is a culmination of the unrelenting organizing happening within LGBTQ+ communities, and is a step in the right direction to keep genocide and militarism out of our communities and institutions. But it is just the beginning of the work.
While HRC is not currently being sponsored by Northrop Grumman or RTX, the statement provided does not commit to divesting permanently from these or other weapons companies. The statement also fails to call for an arms embargo on Israel, despite these being the explicit demands from queer and trans organizers.
With Israel’s resumption of its strikes in Gaza, war crimes still taking place, accountability of war criminals still goes unchecked, and divestments still must be made. Our work is not finished, and we remain committed to the struggle.
Organizations like HRC can no longer prioritize proximity to power over the well-being of our people, nor center inclusion in the very systems that are killing us. Freedom, equality, and justice for our queer and trans siblings here can only be achieved when we collectively confront the systems that are harming communities everywhere.
From Stonewall to protesting the genocide in Gaza, queer and trans people have a rich history into the present day of fighting against fascism and state violence of all forms. We call on HRC and all LGBTQ+ organizations to honor the legacy of our queer and trans elders who tirelessly fought for liberation to take the following actions:
1. Cut ties with all weapons manufacturers and institutions profiting off genocide and militarism in Palestine, the U.S., and across the world
2. Commit to not enter into any future partnerships with weapons manufacturers and institutions profiting off genocide and militarism
3. Publicly call for an immediate arms embargo on Israel to block the bombs
It is our responsibility to continue to push the organizations and institutions that claim to serve and represent our communities to divest from weapons manufacturers and institutions complicit in genocide, settler colonialism, and apartheid. And it is these organizations’ responsibility, as the leading LGBTQ+ human rights organization, to heed our demands.
The time to take bold action and stand on the right side of history is now.
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