Dear Mr. Fink,
BlackRock must divest from defense contractors that profit from child detention and weapons manufacturers, which produce the tools and weapons for war and violence in Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, and countless other areas where the U.S. is active in conflict. The result is the loss of innocent lives and turmoil around the world.
The sale of U.S. weapons to oppressive regimes like Saudi Arabia is a shining example of how the products made by these companies are not responsible or beneficial to the global community. As you surely know, the country of Yemen is on the edge of famine brought on by the brutal assault from the Saudi regime, a country who recently purchased billions in arms from U.S. weapon manufacturers.
We also see these weapons at home. You have recognized the danger of civilian firearms by creating funds that exclude those manufacturers, yet BlackRock remains silent on the weapons used in global conflict. Those same weapons are given to police forces in our communities and turned against Americans. The violence BlackRock profits from is in our streets, and the streets of the world.
You recently made a statement that BlackRock will hold companies accountable to be good global citizens. Obviously, a statement is not enough, when BlackRock continues to invest in companies engaging in war and conflict, which results in the deaths of innocent civilians and destruction of sovereign nations. There should be no profit from war. There should be no profit from child detention. The stakes are too high to be driven by profit margins.
BlackRock must divest from, and stop investing in, companies that sell weapons used in war and violence around the world and at home. BlackRock must divest from defense contractors that profit from child detention.
Finally, BlackRock must stop funding the Enbridge Line 3, which is destroying Indigenous land.
Yours Sincerely,