Dear Sir/Madam,

 

I write to you with deep concerns with the current situation in Gaza and the West Bank as you have shared the same sentiments and have called for a ceasefire.

 

Some of you have even taken remarkable steps in holding the Israeli government responsible for the genocide of the civilian people of Gaza.

 

We wish to further draw your attention to an important matter that simply cannot be ignored. A matter over which you have significant leverage.

 

It concerns the purchase of US Treasuries, which, as you know, are government debt instruments issued by the United States Department of the Treasury to finance government spending in addition to taxation.

 

Funds from your respective countries hold a total of $3.5 trillion of US Treasuries as of November 2023, and purchased $114 billion in that month, as per data published by the US Department of the Treasury (home.treasury.gov) – See Appendix 1.

 

It comes to our attention that the money raised through the sales of US Treasuries are being awarded to defence contractors directly involved in supplying weaponry to Israel. 

 

An extract of the recent awards is given below with relevant dates:

 

16/01/2024: RTX Corporation $7 billion, manufacturer of missiles and other arms, supplying to Israel.

18/12/2023: General Dynamics $ 4 billion, manufacturer of combat systems, supplying to Israel.

31/12/2023: Lockheed Martin $18.2 billion, manufacturer of the F-35s that flew over Gaza, supplying to Israel.

 

To mention just a few. You may verify the above at

 

Source: https://www.usaspending.gov

 

Investment in US Treasuries is construed as a safe investment by asset managers and banks as part of asset and treasury management and by central banks as part of monetary policy operations. 

However, when funds raised from these instruments are used for war, especially war on a civilian population, they function rather like War Bonds. It has been very common in history for governments to issue war bonds to finance military operations, even vital for the outcome of their military objectives.

As evidenced above, funds raised through the issuance of US Treasuries are financing the weapons used to occupy, besiege, assault, and displace civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, disrupting regional and world stability.

 

Therefore, US Treasuries are functioning as War Bonds.

 

Now, in terms of Counter-Terrorism Financing legislation in this specific circumstance, where do your respective countries stand?

 

If fund managers domiciled in your respective countries cannot align with your demand for peace, then should our financial regulatory frameworks not direct these fund managers, as needed, to stop funding an administration which continuously supports Israeli impunity with regards to oppression and war crimes?

 

In these dire times, when the humanitarian situation worsens by the day in Gaza and the West Bank, women and children continue to be exposed to extreme hardships, diseases spread, and humanitarian assistance falls short, we need to take bold steps to preserve planetary stability and human dignity.

 

It is no longer, just an investment decision. US Treasuries are not just safe instruments that should not undergo the same scrutiny as other investments. If we allow funds from our respective countries to fund criminal activities, we shall all be accountable for it.

 

We can also draw from history on the leverage which creditors have over their borrowers. In 1956, during the Suez Canal Crisis, President Eisenhower successfully dissuaded the U.K to continue its aggression on Egypt by threating to sell sterling bonds (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Crisis)..)

 

Why are you then not insisting that funds from your respective countries not support the war on Palestine. As a creditor to the US Federal Government, US Treasury owners should insist that their funds be used in line with their principles.

 

The genocide, oppression, and occupation must stop.

 

Time… is running out.

 

We request that you act now.

 

Yours sincerely,