Divest Borders Oxford

Universities in the UK directly profit from the border industry and the cruelty it inflicts on migrating people through investments in the companies that enthusiastically make border injustices possible.

Companies such as G4S, Accenture, Serco, Mitie, TUI Fly and many others have profited from the growing business of running detention centres and prisons, facilitating deportations, and surveilling racialised communities under the UK’s hostile environment policies.

Universities’ complicity in the border industry is twofold. First, many universities hold significant investments in these companies, spending tuition fees – a significant chunk of which are paid by migrant students – to help the border industry profit from the suffering of others. Second, university investments give border industry companies a ‘social license to operate’ – a sense of respectability that comes from association with universities.

Divest Borders Oxford is a student campaign fighting alongside People & Planet to get the University of Oxford to divest from companies that profit from the border industry and from the human rights abuses inflicted on migrating people.

Divest Borders is calling upon the University of Oxford to: 

  1. Adopt a publicly available ethical investment policy which excludes border industry companies
  2. Exclude border industry companies from their investments
  3. Fully divest from current investments in border companies within 3 years

What Divest Borders does:

  • Puts pressure on the University to adopt a publicly available ethical investment policy
  • Organises events, workshops, and informal discussions to educate the impact of the Border Industry and the Hostile Environment both in all aspects of society
  • Supports and works alongside local campaigns to fight the hostile environment in Oxfordshire

For students:

  • Attend the open meetings on Friday at 5PM in Lecture Room 2 at Christ Church College.
  • Pass a motion urging for divestment in your college’s JCR or MCR, with our resources and support.

For everyone:

  • Follow Divest Borders Oxford on social media: @divestbordersoxford to stay up to date.
  • Sign up to the newsletter