Investor Advocates for Social Justice

Defense Companies’ Dismissive Responses to Investor Letter Highlight Challenges to Progress

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– July 23, 2026

On July 2, 2026, a group of 52 investors representing over USD $145 billion in assets under management or advisement, sent letters to Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, General Dynamics, and RTX regarding their human rights due diligence processes. The defense companies were asked to provide a response by July 20, 2026. RTX, Northrop, and Lockheed responded to the investor letter, although none of them agreed to investors’ request for a meeting with the respective Boards of Directors. You can find the companies’ full responses here. 

General Dynamics and Boeing did not respond to the investor letter. 

Investor Letter to Defense Companies on Human Rights Due Diligence

The investor letter, sent to the five large US-based defense companies, expressed concern over human rights risks associated with the companies’ weapons and associated services. During a time of increasing armed conflict, it is imperative that defense companies respect human rights, in accordance with their human rights responsibilities. In reality, the defense sector has been characterized by an overreliance on government export licensing, opaque political influence and lobbying, and a pervasive revolving door problem, all of which create perverse incentives that prioritize profit over mitigation of human rights risks. 

After highlighting the material reputational, operational, legal, and regulatory risks that defense companies and their shareholders are exposed to, the investor letter called on the defense companies to the following actions:

  1. Cease the production, development, or financing of weapons and weapons components that are fundamentally incompatible with and prohibited under international law, including but not limited to, nuclear weapons and other banned weapons systems and components.
  2. Immediately suspend weapons sales, transfers, and related contracts connected to the Israel/Gaza conflict, as well as similar conflicts, where there is a credible risk of contributing to violations of IHL, including war crimes, and human rights law.
  3. Adopt and publicly disclose policies fully aligned with the UNGPs and other relevant international standards, including a clear commitment to conduct heightened HRDD in CAHRAs.
  4. Implement independent HRDD processes that are separate from, and not solely reliant upon, US government export licensing determinations, including robust end-use monitoring, ongoing risk assessment, and transparent reporting.

Here is the full investor letter:

The investor letters were sent to the Boards of Directors of the five named defense companies, requested a meeting with each company’s respective Board, and asked each company to provide a response by July 20, 2026. RTX, Northrop, and Lockheed responded to the investor letter. Relevant excerpts of the companies’ responses are included below:

RTX: “RTX is committed to respecting human rights and working to protect and advance them…We do not generally make operational commitments to investors of the kind you have requested. However, we are happy to outline our approach to governance regarding defense product sales. Our Board of Directors, Audit Committee, Governance and Public Policy Committee, and our Special Activities Committee all play a role in overseeing elements of our product sales,   including how those sales comply with all applicable laws and our internal policies. Notable  amongst those policies is our Human Rights Policy, which, among other things, establishes a due  diligence program focused on identifying, reviewing and mitigating human rights risks associated  with potential product sales. This program is carried out both within our business units and our  corporate division and is overseen by our senior management.”

Northrop: “We appreciate your interest in our company, and the engagement we have had with you and our shareholders over many years regarding human rights…Shareholders have also had the opportunity to vote on various human rights shareholder proposals over the last several years. Since 2019, shareholders voted on five such proposals, none of which passed and the most recent of which garnered only 7% support. Shareholders have overwhelmingly rejected these proposals, and we believe that the company’s current policy, procedures, oversight and disclosure enable and demonstrate our commitment to human rights.”

Lockheed: “We respectfully direct your attention to Lockheed Martin’s recent human rights program updates available on our Human Rights website and Sustainability website under the “Perform With Integrity” section of our 2030 Sustainability Management Plan. Those materials describe our human rights governance, policies, training, and related program updates.”

History of Faith-Based Investor Engagement with Defense Companies

Faith-based investors have engaged the US defense sector on human rights risks for more than five decades, primarily led by Catholic women religious. Since the 1970s, Investor Advocates for Social Justice (IASJ), formerly called the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment, and its affiliates, alongside members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) and, more recently, European partners, Shareholders for Change, have used shareholder engagement to press companies on the human rights implications of foreign military sales, nuclear weapons production, and the end-use of defense products in conflict zones. These engagements have included dialogues and shareholder proposals at companies such as Caterpillar, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and General Dynamics, urging companies to assess and disclose how they manage risks associated with their products, government contracts, and business relationships in conflict-affected and high-risk contexts. 

Despite decades of engagement, progress across the sector has been limited. Investors continue to raise concerns about legal, reputational, and human rights risks tied to weapons used in conflict-affected areas, nuclear weapons production, and government contracts linked to potential rights violations. 

As a result of human rights concerns, many faith-based and socially responsible investors have chosen to divest from the defense sector entirely. For those investors who remain invested, engagement represents a final avenue to press companies to demonstrate credible HRDD, strengthen transparency, and show how they identify, prevent, and mitigate harms linked to their products and services.

IASJ and its affiliates remain steadfast in our commitment to push defense companies to respect human rights. We strive for a world that is marked by peace, not war, and a promotion of the common good. 

For more information about the defense companies investor letter or about IASJ’s work with the defense sector more broadly, please reach out to Aaron Acosta, Senior Director: Legal and Programmatic Initiatives, at aacosta@iasj.org.