Beyond Legal Formalities

David Pereira, Director of Amnesty International Luxembourg, has urged Luxembourg's authorities to go beyond legal formalities and take a stronger moral stance in response to the sale of Israeli state bonds on its financial markets. Pereira, who has held his position for nearly two years, criticised the country's financial regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), for what he described as complicity through authorising the sale of these bonds, given the ongoing conflict in Gaza and related human rights violations.[1]

Pereira said the issue extends beyond Luxembourg, noting that other countries such as Ireland are also involved, and that Amnesty International's research points to massive human rights violations and war crimes in Gaza, referring to numbers that indicate that more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed and that 90% of the population has been displaced. While acknowledging that the CSSF did not extend the temporary authorisation for Israeli bonds beyond 31 August, Pereira insisted this was not enough. He argued that European financial regulators cannot absolve themselves of responsibility. Referring to the United Nations' 2001 report on international law, he explained that financial regulators, even if they are independent in the exercise of their functions, are not exempt from state obligations.[1]

Pereira also criticised delays in condemnation and action, and argued that one cannot always wait for a legal framework before acting morally. He called for solidarity and human rights to be put back in the foreground. He described the European Union's broader response to the conflict as a "catastrophe", criticising perceived double standards: while the EU has imposed justified sanctions against Russia, it has fallen short regarding Israel. He welcomed steps taken by individual countries such as Ireland and Belgium.[1]

Three days ago, this blog reported that Amnesty International urged European states including Luxembourg to reconsider Israel bond trade. Today, the director of Amnesty International Luxembourg says the same thing again, louder. He names the CSSF. He names the Genocide Convention. He says that legal authorisation is not the same as moral permission. The CSSF did not extend the temporary authorisation beyond 31 August. Pereira says that is not enough. The bonds were sold. The complicity, in his words, has already happened. The question is whether anyone will say so. Pereira is saying so. The CSSF is not. The government is not. The bonds are still on the market until 31 August. After that, they will not be. But the question is not when the authorisation ends. The question is what was done while it lasted.[1]