OHCHR / ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS BUSINESSES DATABASE

“The UN Human Rights Office issued an update to our database of businesses involved in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank,” said the Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Friday (26 Sep).

“The database lists a total of 158 business enterprises from 11 countries. The report was mandated by the UN Human Rights Council, and today’s release updates the database that was first issued in 2020, then updated in 2023,” Shamdasani explained.

The report identifies businesses involved in specific activities, including supplying equipment and materials that facilitate the construction and maintenance of illegal settlements, demolition of houses and property of Palestinians, surveillance activities, the use of natural resources for business purposes, and the pollution and dumping of waste in Palestinian villages.

A total of 68 new companies were added to the list published in 2023, while seven of those listed in 2023 were removed as they were no longer involved in any of the activities concerned, taking the total number to 158 businesses in the current update.

The companies covered by this latest update focus primarily on business activities related to construction, real estate, mining and quarrying.

“Businesses working in contexts of conflict have a due diligence responsibility to ensure their activities do not contribute to human rights abuses,” Shamdasani said. “We call on businesses to take appropriate action to address the adverse human rights impacts of their activities.”

“Where business enterprises identify that they have caused or contributed to adverse human rights impacts, they should provide for or cooperate in remediation through appropriate processes,” the spokesperson added.

All screened businesses were informed that the UN Human Rights Office had received allegations about their potential involvement, and all of them were invited to provide relevant information.

“States also have a responsibility to act with diligence to ensure that business enterprises operating in conflict-affected areas are not involved in or otherwise materially contributing to serious human rights violations or abuses,” Shamdasani said.

“They must take judicial, administrative, legislative or other steps to ensure that when business-related human rights abuses occur within their territory or subject to their jurisdiction, that those affected have access to effective remedies, consistent with international law,” she stated.

The Office applied an established, globally applicable methodology based on the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to assess the responses and information received.

“The methodology we used to produce this report is also an important tool to assess adverse impacts of business activities on human rights in other parts of the world,” Shamdasani said.