Resolved clauseRESOLVED: Shareholders request the Board of Directors prepare a report, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, on Lockheed Martin's human rights due diligence process to identify, assess, prevent, mitigate, and remedy actual and potential human rights impacts associated with high-risk products and services, including those in conflict-affected areas.
Whereas clauseLockheed Martin is the world's largest defense contractor and is exposed to significant actual and potential adverse human rights impacts resulting from the use of its weapons and defense technologies. Human rights risks include the rights to life, liberty and personal security, privacy, non-discrimination, and peaceful assembly and association. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), unanimously endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2011, constitute the global authoritative framework outlining the roles and responsibilities of states and companies with respect to human rights. While regulation of the international arms trade falls under the state duty to protect human rights, the UNGPs define clear expectations for defense companies to respect human rights in their operations and supply chains, and address risks linked to use of products. A 2019 Amnesty International report found that Lockheed Martin lacks human rights due diligence procedures to effectively identify, assess, prevent, mitigate, and remediate its human rights impacts.1
Prominent human rights organizations have recorded indiscriminatory use of Lockheed Martin weaponry against civilians consistently over time.2 Lockheed Martin has exported military goods to at least 12 states which are engaged in armed conflict, have a record of human rights violations, or are at risk of corruption and fragility, including Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Reports have linked Lockheed Martin weaponry to war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law in Yemen, including the widely condemned attack on a school bus in 2018 that resulted in the deaths of dozens of children.3 The company is set to play a central role in the sale of F-35 fighter jets to the UAE, as part of the country's recent normalization agreement with Israel.4
The company is connected to $40 billion in contracts related to nuclear weapons.5 The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which enters into force in 2021, may require Lockheed Martin to demonstrate that the company is not conducting prohibited activities in jurisdictions that ratified the Treaty.
Furthermore, the company faces multiple lawsuits for toxic pollutant contamination from a Florida facility that has resulted in brain lesions, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and birth defects, as well as litigation linked to a uranium facility.
In spite of its existing Codes, there is no evidence of effective implementation across business functions.6 Disclosure on governance and embedding of the commitment to respect human rights throughout the business is absent. Failure to respect human rights and increase due diligence in high risk business areas exposes the company and its investors to financial, legal, regulatory, reputational, and human capital management risks.