UN lists 214 firms from 11 countries over activities in Israeli settlements

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has compiled a list of 214 companies from 11 countries involved in activities within Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. This database update, initiated in 2020 at the request of the Human Rights Council, now includes 61 additional companies and removes five that were previously deemed no longer engaged in the relevant activities.

The focus of the report is on companies operating in industries such as agriculture, transport, storage, waste management, energy, food, and hospitality. The UN assessment examines the potential negative impacts on Palestinians' right to self-determination, but does not evaluate the broader human rights implications due to resource limitations.

The companies are categorized into three groups based on their involvement, as defined by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: causing the impact, contributing to it, or being directly linked to it. Out of the 214 listed firms, 200 are contributing to negative impacts, while 14 are directly responsible. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, emphasized that the report serves as a reminder to companies of their human rights obligations and the need for due diligence to prevent involvement in human rights violations.

The majority of the companies are Israeli, with the remaining firms located in the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, China, South Africa, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, and Mexico.