West Bank · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
UN Adds 61 Companies To Settlements Database, Total Reaches 214
UN rights office adds 61 companies, bringing total to 214 linked to settlements. 61 additions involve activities in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Which side’s critique is foregrounded.
9 of 11 outlets skipped it: UN classifies involvement using “causation, contribution, direct linkage” tiers.
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Arab News
“‘This report is another reminder to companies that they have human rights responsibilities and are expected to conduct due diligence to ensure that they do not become involved in human rights violations or abuses,’ said Volker Turk, the UN’s high commissioner for human rights.”Read the original ↗
The New York Times
“Israel condemned the database of firms tied to activity in the occupied West Bank as a ‘political tool’ to advance ‘a smear campaign.’”Read the original ↗
Some outlets elevate UN human-rights duty language; others emphasise Israel’s smear-campaign characterisation.
UN adds 61 firms
The United Nations human rights office added 61 more companies to its database of businesses engaging in activities linked to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, bringing the total to 214 businesses based in 11 countries. The UN published an 18-page report on Friday that assessed a total of 126 businesses and said a company must be engaged in at least one of 10 prohibited activities to be added to the database. The UN said the standard of proof requires that there are reasonable grounds to believe the company is engaged in at least one of the prohibited activities, and it gave firms 60 days to provide additional information, clarification or update.
The UN included companies such as Spanish firm Salvat Logistica and Israeli real estate investment holding company Alony Hetz, and it said the majority of listed firms are Israeli while others are based in China, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom. The UN said it received a response from 14 companies following its most recent assessment, after it contacted affected companies once it concluded they were engaged in one or more of the prohibited activities.
Israel attacks the list
Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva condemned the database as a “distorted mechanism” and said it was created by a “deeply flawed body with an automatic majority against Israel.” Israel’s diplomatic mission also alleged that the database was establish to “persecute” the Jewish state, while the AP described the blacklist as a “political tool” used by Türk’s office “to advance a smear campaign against business enterprises that committed no wrongdoing.” Volker Türk, the U.N. human rights chief, said the report was “another reminder to companies that they have human rights responsibilities and are expected to conduct due diligence to ensure that they do not become involved in human rights violations or abuses.”
The AP said the blacklist was first published in 2020 and was born of a vote by the U.N.’s Human Rights Council, which has no ability to force companies to act. The AP said it was unclear how the inclusion on the list has affected the companies financially, even as the report came as Israeli settlements faced new scrutiny and Britain, France and Canada announced actions this month.
What comes next
The UN report said the activities that can trigger inclusion include facilitating the construction and expansion of settlements, supplying surveillance and identification equipment, providing banking services, and providing services and utilities. The UN said it generally requires that a company must cause, contribute to, or have a direct link to adverse human rights impacts in the occupied territory to be added to the database, and it said the standard of proof is consistent with UN fact-finding bodies. The UN said the database could be used to target firms for boycotts or divestment to pressure Israel over settler expansion in the territory that is home to over 3 million Palestinians.
The UN also said it assessed companies active in sectors including energy, food, hospitality, transport and agriculture, and it said another 60 or so companies were assessed but not included because they did not meet the UN criteria of involvement in activities that violate the Palestinian right to self-determination. The UN update arrived as Britain banned trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and the AP said France and Canada announced they would take similar action, while the UN said governments have obligations to ensure those affected have access to effective remedies consistent with international law.