The United Nations and BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions): Modern Antisemitism

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights


Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Reports

  • June 30, 2023: OHCHR update of database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the report of the independent international factfinding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem

     "Introduction

    1. The United Nations Human Rights Council, in its resolution 31/36, on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, adopted on 24 March 2016, requested “the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in close consultation with the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, in follow-up to the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and as a necessary step for the implementation of the recommendation contained in paragraph 117 thereof, to produce a database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the afore-mentioned report, to be updated annually, and to transmit the data therein in the form of a report to the Council at its thirty-fourth session”.

    2. In response to this request, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights submitted an interim report to the Human Rights Council, setting out methodology used for the production of the database (A/HRC/37/39), and a further report containing the database of 112 business entities based on relevant activity of such entities to 1 August 2019 (A/HRC/43/71). That report further stated, in its paragraph 32, that a business enterprise may provide information indicating that it was no longer involved in the relevant listed activity, and that, where there were reasonable grounds to believe that the business enterprise was ceasing or was no longer involved in the relevant activity, the business enterprise would be removed from the database.

    3. Since the publication of that report in February 2020, a number of companies provided OHCHR with information indicating that they were ceasing or were no longer involved in the relevant activity. In addition, OHCHR became aware of information that a number of business enterprises had seen changes in their structure, ownership and/or operations with implications on their involvement in relevant listed activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

    4. In absence of regular budget resources required for annual updating of the database on an open-ended basis, the present update has been prepared within existing resources, on an exceptional basis, and without prejudice as to any future decision.
    ...
    Updated database

    13. Of the 112 business enterprises included in the 2020 database report A/HRC/43/71, OHCHR found reasonable grounds for the removal of 15 business enterprises on basis that they were ceasing or were no longer involved in one or more of the listed activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, according to the standard described above. They were, as a result, removed from the updated database set out in Section A below.
    ...
    Conclusion

    17. In OHCHR’s view, the process of preparing the present update has facilitated continuing constructive engagement with business enterprises in particular. The update, in complement with the February 2020 report, serves to promote clarity and transparency with respect to the activities in question, and in turn to assist both Member States and business enterprises in complying with respective obligations and responsibilities applicable under international law."

  • February 12, 2020: "THE BLACKLIST" Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: Database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, A/HRC/43/71

    "A. Background
    1. The present report is submitted to the Human Rights Council pursuant to resolution 31/36, on "Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan", adopted by the Council on 24 March 2016.

    2. In paragraph 17 of resolution 31/36, the Council requested production of a database of all business enterprises involved in certain specified activities related to the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, to be updated annually, and to transmit the data therein in the form of a report to the Council.
    ...
    B. Mandate
     6. Human Rights Council resolution 31/36 requesting production of a database was in follow-up to the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem (A/HRC/22/63). In its report, the fact-finding mission set out a list of activities that raised particular human rights concerns for it ("listed activities"). In resolution 31/36, the Council defined the database by reference to the listed activities compiled by the fact-finding mission in its report, which were:

    (a) The supply of equipment and materials facilitating the construction and the expansion of settlements and the wall, and associated infrastructures;
    (b) The supply of surveillance and identification equipment for settlements, the wall and checkpoints directly linked with settlements;
    (c) The supply of equipment for the demolition of housing and property, the destruction of agricultural farms, greenhouses, olive groves and crops;
    (d) The supply of security services, equipment and materials to enterprises operating in settlements;
    (e) The provision of services and utilities supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements, including transport;
    (f) Banking and financial operations helping to develop, expand or maintain settlements and their activities, including loans for housing and the development of businesses;
    (g) The use of natural resources, in particular water and land, for business purposes;
    (h) Pollution, and the dumping of waste in or its transfer to Palestinian villages;
    (i) Captivity of the Palestinian financial and economic markets, as well as practices that disadvantage Palestinian enterprises, including through restrictions on movement, administrative and legal constraints;
    (j) Use of benefits and reinvestments of enterprises owned totally or partially by settlers for developing, expanding and maintaining the settlements.

    7. Paragraph 5 of the previous report outlined parameters of the database, which encompasses business enterprises, whether domiciled in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory or abroad, carrying out listed activities in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
    ...
    F. Database of business enterprises

    31. OHCHR identified that 112 of the 188 business enterprises considered for inclusion in the database met the required standard of reasonable grounds to believe involvement in one or more of the listed activities. These are set out immediately following.
    ...
    H. Recommendation

    33. Resolution 31/36 contemplated that the database be updated annually. OHCHR would recommend that the Human Rights Council establish a group of independent experts, with a time-bound mandate, to report directly to the Council for such a purpose."
  • March 13, 2019: Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: Ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, A/HRC/40/43

    "51. Given the obligations of third States not to recognize as lawful a situation violating international law and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining that situation, States should not recognize the unlawful situation resulting from Israeli settlements or aid or assist in maintaining it. In this regard, Security Council resolution 2334 of 23 December 2016, having reaffirmed that that the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, had no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation under international law, called upon all States 'to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.'"

  • March 19, 2018: Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: Ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, A/HRC/37/41

    "IV. Third State responsibility
    40. Human Rights Council resolution 34/28 calls upon all States to promote compliance with international law, and all High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to respect, and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in accordance with common article 1 of the Geneva Conventions.
    ...
    42. Human Rights Council resolution 34/28 also calls upon all duty bearers to pursue the implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the occupied Palestinian territory. In its recommendations, the report of the fact-finding mission also refers to third States' responsibility concerning situations where a State is breaching peremptory norms of international law. States should not recognize as lawful a situation violating international law, nor render aid or assistance in maintaining that situation. Accordingly, third States should not recognize the unlawful situation resulting from Israeli settlements, nor to aid or assist Israel in this regard. In addition, third States shall also cooperate to bring to an end, through lawful means, any serious breach arising under a peremptory norm of general international law. Such cooperation is also implied by the Charter of the United Nations to promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and freedoms, as expressly recalled by most of the international human rights treaties.

    43. Recognizing that "business enterprises have, directly and indirectly, enabled, facilitated and profited from the construction and growth of the settlements", the fact finding mission also called upon all Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or under their jurisdiction, including those owned or controlled by them, that conduct activities in or related to the settlements respect human rights throughout their operations.

    44. As provided for in various international law instruments, third States should take measures when States are violating international law. This should be emphasized as regard the context of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In the comprehensive review on the status of recommendations addressed to all parties since 2009 as pertains to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the High Commissioner identified 141 recommendations pertaining to international engagement. Of those recommendations, only slightly over 10 per cent have been fully implemented, while over half of them appear not to have been implemented at all.
    ...
    V. Conclusion and recommendations
    ...
    48. Recalling the follow-up measures described in A/HRC/35/19, which remain valid, the High Commissioner further recommends the following:
    ...
    (e) Reiterates the calls to all States and to relevant United Nations bodies to take all necessary measures to ensure full respect and compliance with the relevant resolutions of the Human Rights Council, the General Assembly and the Security Council, including resolution 2334..."

  • January 26, 2018: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the UN Human Rights Council: Database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, A/HRC/37/39

    "1. The present report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is submitted to the Human Rights Council pursuant to resolution 31/36, on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, adopted by the Council on 24 March 2016. In paragraph 17 of resolution 31/36, the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to produce a database of all business enterprises engaged in certain specified activities related to the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in consultation with the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, and to transmit the data therein in the form of a report to the Council at its thirty-fourth session. The Council also requested that the database be updated annually.
    ...
    3. Human Rights Council resolution 31/36 establishing the database follows up the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem (A/HRC/22/63).
    In its report, the fact-finding mission found that business enterprises had directly and indirectly enabled, facilitated and profited from the construction and growth of the settlements; in paragraph 96 of the report, it provided a list of activities that raised particular human rights violations concerns ("listed activities"). In resolution 31/36, the Council defined the parameters of activities to be reflected in the database by reference to the list compiled by the mission in its report, which comprised:
    (a) The supply of equipment and materials facilitating the construction and the expansion of settlements and the wall, and associated infrastructures;
    (b) The supply of surveillance and identification equipment for settlements, the wall and checkpoints directly linked with settlements;
    (c) The supply of equipment for the demolition of housing and property, the destruction of agricultural farms, greenhouses, olive groves and crops;
    (d) The supply of security services, equipment and materials to enterprises operating in settlements;
    (e) The provision of services and utilities supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements, including transport;
    (f) Banking and financial operations helping to develop, expand or maintain settlements and their activities, including loans for housing and the development of businesses;
    (g) The use of natural resources, in particular water and land, for business purposes;
    (h) Pollution, and the dumping of waste in or its transfer to Palestinian villages;
    (i) Use of benefits and reinvestments of enterprises owned totally or partially by settlers for developing, expanding and maintaining the settlements;
    (j) Captivity of the Palestinian financial and economic markets, as well as practices that disadvantage Palestinian enterprises, including through restrictions on movement, administrative and legal constraints.
    ...
    14. Of the 307 companies reviewed, 115 companies were excluded on the basis of the criteria set out in paragraph 13 above. The 192 remaining companies formed the initial group of "screened" companies that were subject to further research and consideration. The majority of these 192 companies are domiciled in Israel or the settlements, followed by the United States of America, Germany, the Netherlands and France.
    ...
    18... [F]urther research by OHCHR revealed relevant business entities, such as parent companies or subsidiaries, that were not initially named in the submissions received in notes verbales from Member States or through the open call for submissions from interested stakeholders. This necessitated adding 14 companies to the initial list of 192 screened companies, resulting in a total of 206 companies reviewed at the time of writing.
    ...
    (e) Next steps
    26. More resources are required for OHCHCR to continue its dialogue with and issue communications to relevant business enterprises, adding information to the database and updating existing information in the database as required by resolution 31/36. Once OHCHR has been in contact with all 206 companies, and subject to determinations of their responses and non-responses, OHCHR expects to provide the names of the companies engaged in listed activities in a future update. Before the determinations on the companies are made public, OHCHR will notify the companies concerned.
    ...
    32. States' obligations specifically concerning business operations connected to Israeli settlements have been the subject of a number of United Nations reports and resolutions (for example, A/HRC/22/63, para. 117 and A/HRC/34/39, paras. 34-39, and Human Rights Council resolutions 28/26 and 34/31, para. 13 (b)). In its resolution 2334 (2016), the Security Council called upon all States to distinguish between the territory of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967. With regard to the role of home States, the fact-finding mission called upon all Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or under their jurisdiction, including those owned or controlled by them, that conduct activities in or related to the settlements respect human rights throughout their operations (A/HRC/22/63, para. 117).
    ...
    37. The Guiding Principles recognize that businesses operating in conflict-affected areas – which include areas under occupation – face heightened risks of involvement in human rights abuses, including gross human rights abuses committed by other actors (Principle 7). In such situations, the Working Group clarified in the above-mentioned statement that where businesses have an increased risk, 'enhanced' due diligence (namely, the 'heightened care' with which due diligence processes should be executed) is required. The Working Group also highlighted a number of actions that enhanced due diligence may require, including formally integrating human rights principles into relevant contracts; exercising extreme caution in all business activities and relationships involving the acquisition of assets in conflict zones; and seeking advice from international organizations and mechanisms.
    38. As part of the due diligence process, particularly in relation to a complex operating environment like the Occupied Palestinian Territory, businesses enterprises may need to consider whether it is possible to engage in such an environment in a manner that respects human rights. To do so, businesses would have to be able to show that they (in the words of the Working Group in its statement) do not 'support the continuation of an international illegality nor are complicit in human rights abuses', and that they can effectively prevent or mitigate the risks to the human rights of Palestinians. This includes ensuring that businesses are not acquiring resources and property without the 'freely given consent of the owner'.
    ...
    40. The scale, scope and immitigability of the human rights impacts caused by settlements must be taken into consideration as part of businesses' enhanced due diligence exercises. The Guiding Principles do not explicitly require companies to terminate operations where they are involved in human rights abuses; they do stipulate, however, that such companies should be prepared to 'accept any consequences – reputational, financial or legal – of the continuing connection.'
    41. OHCHR notes that, considering the weight of the international legal consensus concerning the illegal nature of the settlements themselves, and the systemic and pervasive nature of the negative human rights impact caused by them, it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which a company could engage in listed activities in a way that is consistent with the Guiding Principles and international law. This view was reinforced in Human Rights Council resolution 34/31 on the Israeli settlements, in which the Council referred to the immitigable nature of the adverse impact of businesses' activities on human rights.
    ...
    47. The involvement of businesses in the settlements extends across all main industries and sectors, including:
    The banking industry, which helps to finance construction and infrastructure projects in settlements, provide loans and financial services to settlement councils, and provide mortgage loans to home buyers
    • The tourism industry, including tour companies, online accommodation and travel booking sites, and rental car companies, all of which help to make the settlements profitable and sustainable
    • The private security industry, which includes companies involved in providing security for companies or residences in settlements, as well as those involved in the checkpoints throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem
    • The technology industry, which provides surveillance and identification equipment for use in the settlements, the wall and checkpoints
    • The construction and demolition industries, including heavy machinery suppliers, which help to facilitate and entrench Israel's confiscation of Palestinian land for settlements and associated infrastructure
    • The real estate industry, including companies involved in marketing, renting and selling properties in settlements, which helps settlements to function as viable housing markets, enabling the transfer of Israel's population
    • The extractive industry, including mining and quarrying, which contribute financially to the sustainability of settlements through the payment of fees to settlement municipalities and the Israeli Civil Administration
    • The telecommunications industry, which includes mobile networks and Internet providers servicing settlements
    • The agricultural industry, which includes companies involved in crop and livestock production, the wine industry and export companies
    • The transportation industry
    • The manufacturing industry, which includes companies that use raw materials from occupied territory
    • Others
    ...
    V. Recommendations
    ...
    62. The High Commissioner acknowledges with appreciation the extension granted by the Human Rights Council for OHCHR to implement the mandate under resolution 31/36. Recognizing that this was the first time OHCHR has been tasked with such a mandate, the High Commissioner is satisfied that significant progress has been made. However, while the dialogue with concerned business enterprises is continuing, the work remains ongoing. For the High Commissioner to update the database as required by resolution 31/36, more resources are required.    "
  • June 12, 2017: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the UN Human Rights Council: Ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem: comprehensive review on the status of recommendations addressed to all parties since 2009, A/HRC/35/19

    "40. Eleven recommendations concern businesses, civil society and Member States, and call for investigations of the activities of companies and financial institutions profiting from Israeli settlements, and for such practices to be ended and for reparation to be provided to Palestinians affected.
    ...
    76. The role of States and businesses in addressing the human rights impact of businesses in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has been the subject of increasing attention. Under the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, 'business enterprises should respect human rights. This means that they should avoid infringing on the human rights of others and should address adverse human rights impacts with which they are involved' (principle 11). In 2014, the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises stated in the context of Israeli settlements that 'where an enterprise cannot effectively prevent or mitigate an adverse human rights impact ... it should consider whether its continued operation can be reconciled with its responsibility to respect human rights and act accordingly'. The Working Group also noted that: 'States that are 'home State' of business enterprises operating in or connected with settlements in the OPT should engage with such enterprises at the earliest possible stage to provide advice and guidance, and should make clear the State's policy in regard to the settlements.'"
  • January 8, 2016: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the UN Human Rights Council: Implementation of recommendations in the report of the fact-finding mission on the implications of Israeli settlements on rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, A/HRC/31/42

    "1. In its resolution 28/26 on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, the Human Rights Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to present a report to the Council at its thirty-first session, specifying the status of implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the independent international fact-finding mission on the implications of Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem (A/HRC/22/63).
    ...
    6. Lastly, in paragraph 117 of its report, the fact-finding mission recommended that private companies must assess the human rights impact of their activities and take all necessary steps - including by terminating their business interests in the settlements - to ensure that they do not have an adverse impact on the human rights of the Palestinian people, in conformity with international law and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In that regard, the mission called upon all Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or under their jurisdiction, including those owned or controlled by them, that conduct activities in or related to the settlements, respect human rights throughout their operations. The mission recommended that the Working Group on and the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises be seized of the matter.
    ...
    34. In its resolution 25/28, the Human Rights Council reiterated the call it had already made in its resolution 22/29 for the relevant United Nations bodies to take all necessary measures and actions within their mandates to ensure full respect for and compliance with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other relevant international laws and standards, and to ensure the implementation of the United Nations "Protect, Respect and Remedy" Framework, which provides a global standard for upholding human rights in relation to business activities that are connected with Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The international fact-finding mission recommended that the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises remain seized of the matter of corporate engagement with settlements (see A/HRC/22/63, para. 117).

    35. Actions taken by the Working Group were reported in the previous report of the High Commissioner (A/HRC/28/43 and Corr.1).

    36. In its report to the General Assembly at its seventieth session, the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories reported on information it received that several companies were profiteering, directly or indirectly, from a wide range of illegal Israeli practices. The Special Committee noted that such activities took an enormous toll on the daily lives of Palestinians and that private companies had allegedly played a major role in funding, facilitating and supporting the Israeli occupation (see A/70/406 and Corr.1, para. 18).

    37. In that same report, the Special Committee grouped the activities of corporations involved in settlements into three broad categories (para. 19): (a) Israeli industry engaged in the construction of Israeli settlements, in production in settlements or in the provision of services to settlements; (b) control of the Palestinian population by constructing the wall and checkpoints, and the provision of private security or specialized equipment, such as surveillance and crowd control weapons; and (c) economic exploitation by using Palestinian workers, Palestinian natural resources or the Palestinian captive market. In addition, it referred to corporate activities of concern from a business and human rights perspective in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the occupied Syrian Golan.

    38. To exemplify the different categories, a number of case studies were presented to the Special Committee, for instance on financing the Israeli occupation, the exploitation of natural resources, corporate interdependency and the mislabelling of settlement products (see A/70/406 and Corr.1, paras. 20-27).

    39. The Special Committee stressed that corporate actors needed to be held accountable for the impact of their activities on human rights. Both Governments and businesses played a role in and were responsible for protecting and respecting the human rights of the Palestinian people. Moreover, the Special Committee stressed that third countries too should be held responsible for ensuring corporations' respect for human rights and that they should cease to fund or enter into commercial transactions with organizations and bodies involved in settlements or the exploitation of natural resources in the occupied territories.

    40. The Special Committee recommended that the General Assembly call on the State of Israel to inform Israeli and multinational corporations working in the occupied territories of their corporate social responsibility to act with heightened due diligence and of the international legal ramifications of business activities with negative human rights impacts, and to take appropriate measures to prevent, investigate, punish and provide redress for corporate abuse and/or exploitation of resources in the occupied territories through, inter alia, effective policies, legislation, regulations and adjudication."

  • January 12, 2015. Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the UN Human Rights Council: Implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the independent international fact-finding mission on the implications of Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem (A/HRC/22/63), A/HRC/28/43

    "3...The fact-finding mission made six recommendations, of which four were addressed to the State of Israel. Basing itself on article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the mission called upon Israel to cease all settlement activities without preconditions; to immediately initiate a process of withdrawal of all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory; and to ensure adequate, effective and prompt remedy for all Palestinian victims for the harm suffered as a consequence of human rights violations that were a result of the settlements, in accordance with its international obligation to provide effective remedy.
    ...
    6. Lastly, the fact-finding mission stated that private companies must assess the human rights impact of their activities and take all necessary steps - including by terminating their business interests in the settlements - to ensure that they do not have an adverse impact on the human rights of the Palestinian people, in conformity with international law and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In this regard, the mission called upon all Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or under their jurisdiction, including those owned or controlled by them, that conduct activities in or related to the settlements, respect human rights throughout their operations. The mission recommended that the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises be seized of this matter (para. 117).
    ...
    20. In its resolution 25/28, the Human Rights Council reiterated its call (made previously in resolution 22/29) upon the relevant United Nations bodies to take all necessary measures and actions within their mandates to ensure full respect for and compliance with Human Rights Council resolution 17/4 on the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other relevant international laws and standards, and to ensure the implementation of the United Nations "Protect, Respect and Remedy" Framework, which provides a global standard for upholding human rights in relation to business activities that are connected with Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

    21. The international fact-finding mission recommended that the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises remained seized of the matter of corporate engagement with settlements (A/HRC/22/63, para. 117). On 6 June 2014, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 22/29, the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises issued a statement on the implications of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in the context of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

    22. In the statement, the Working Group indicated that, in carrying out due diligence, in accordance with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, corporations should be cognizant of the illegal status of settlements under international law, and should be informed by the publicly available information about the relation between settlements and human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The Working Group further stated that the fact that the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including areas with settlements, was a conflict-affected area resulted in a heightened risk of negative human rights impacts which in turn required that companies act with heightened due diligence. The Working Group noted that where a business could not prevent or mitigate human rights risks, it might need to consider termination of operations (guiding principle 19).

    23. In its report to the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly, the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories reported on information received regarding the continuing exploitation of natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by Israeli and foreign companies, and on corporate involvement in a number of Israeli measures with adverse human rights impacts, including involvement in Israeli settlements. It noted, as examples of corporate activities of concern from a business and human rights perspective, three companies with activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and one company in the occupied Syrian Golan..."

  • January 10, 2014. Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the UN Human Rights Council: Implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the independent international fact-finding mission on the implications of Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem (A/HRC/22/63), A/HRC/25/39

    "1. In its resolution 22/29 on the follow-up to the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem (A/HRC/22/63), the Human Rights Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to present a report detailing the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report to the Council at its twenty-fifth session.
    ...
    4. In its report, the fact-finding mission called upon all Member States to comply with their obligations under international law and to assume their responsibilities in their relations with a State breaching peremptory norms of international law, and specifically not to recognize an unlawful situation resulting from Israel's violations.

    5. Lastly, the fact-finding mission stated that private companies must assess the human rights impact of their activities and take all necessary steps – including by terminating their business interests in the settlements – to ensure that they do not have an adverse impact on the human rights of the Palestinian people, in conformity with international law and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In this regard, the mission called upon all Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or under their jurisdiction, including those owned or controlled by them, that conduct activities in or related to the settlements, respect human rights throughout their operations. The mission recommended that the Working Group on Business and Human Rights be seized of this matter."

Statements

  • June 30, 2023: Update of database of business enterprises in relation to Occupied Palestinian Territory, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

    "We have today issued an update to the database of business enterprises involved in certain activities relating to settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Those of you who have been following this issue closely will recall that the UN Human Rights Council, in a resolution in 2016, mandated our Office to produce a database of business enterprises involved in such activities. We subsequently issued a report in 2018 on the methodology used, and then a report in 2020 containing the database itself.

    The 2020 report identified 112 business entities which we had reasonable grounds to conclude were involved in one or more of the specific activities referenced in the HRC resolution. While the resolution calls for annual updating, no regular resources were provided for that purpose, limiting our ability to undertake further work. However, a number of companies continued to engage with us, seeking their removal from the database.

    With limited funds, and on an exceptional basis, in July 2022, we sent each of the 112 entities a letter, informing them that we were reviewing the database, on the basis of information available to us. We invited them to provide any further relevant information on their structure, ownership or involvement with the listed activities. This process was important, in fairness to the companies that had reached out to us. We received responses from 13 enterprises, and engaged in dialogue with some companies that requested it. Following our review, we found reasonable grounds for the removal of 15 business enterprises on the basis that they were ceasing or were no longer involved in one or more of the listed activities in the OPT.

    The update was formally transmitted to the Human Rights Council President this morning and is available on our website. We hope this serves as a tool for constructive engagement to ensure full compliance with obligations and responsibilities under international human rights law. The High Commissioner expresses hope for it to become a tool that could be used in other country contexts too."
  • March 18, 2021: Statement by Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Council, 46th session, Agenda Item 7

    "...questions have been raised in the course of this session with respect to my report to the Council's 43rd session issued under resolution 31/36 (A/HRC/42/71) and associated process. Operative paragraph 17, which mandated that the data contained in the database be reported to the Council's 34th session, also contemplated the database "to be updated annually". In the Statement of Programme Budget Implications read out prior to the Council's adoption of resolution 31/36 in March 2016, however, it was clearly stated that resource implications of the resolution set out in the Statement were on a one-time basis.

    In my statement last June to the Council's resumed 43rd session on introduction of this report, I also specifically noted the question of resource requirements for any further work. It is not possible for the Office to absorb, on an open-ended recurring basis into the future, the substantial resources that updating the database and reporting to the Council would annually imply. Any further work in this area can only be discharged consistent with the Organization's budgetary process applicable to funding mandates of the Council."
  • February 12, 2020: UN rights office issues report on business activities related to settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

    "'I am conscious this issue has been, and will continue to be, highly contentious,' said Michelle Bachelet, the current High Commissioner for Human Rights. 'However, after an extensive and meticulous review process, we are satisfied this fact-based report reflects the serious consideration that has been given to this unprecedented and highly complex mandate, and that it responds appropriately to the Human Rights Council's request contained in resolution 31/36,' Bachelet said..."
  • March 4, 2019: Letter from the High Commissioner to the President of the Human Rights Council regarding Human Rights Council resolution 31/36, UN Human Rights Council

    "I write further to Human Rights Council resolution 31/36 of 24 March 2016, entitled "Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan".

    In a letter dated 25 January 2017 to the then President of the Human Rights Council, my predecessor as High Commissioner, Zeid Ra' ad Al Hussein, recommended a deferment of the report requested in resolution 31/36, based on the need to consider inputs submitted and ensure that due process was fully respected. In a report to the Council dated 1 February 2018 (A/HRC/37/39), my predecessor described the state of progress made, and advanced a preliminary analysis. On 7 August 2018, by way of letter to the then President of the Human Rights Council, further detail was provided as to process as it stood at that time, with indication that OHCHR expected to provide the Council with an update on the matter in the future.

    Since my assumption of functions as High Commissioner in September 2018, I have been engaged in a process of consideration and assessment of the steps undertaken to date. The steps taken pursuant to resolution 31/36 have led to important, and welcome, engagement with Member States, business entities, civil society and other stakeholders, which is ongoing. I am committed to discharging the mandate of the Human Rights Council set out in its resolution 31/36, and intend to report to the Council accordingly. Given the novelty of the mandate and its legal, methodological and factual complexity, further consideration is necessary to fully respond to the Council's request.

    My Office shall continµe to devote requisite attention to the matter, with a view to finalizing this mandated activity in coming months, and I look forward to engagement with the Council in that regard."
  • October 15, 2018: Oral statement by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN General Assembly Third Committee

    "On the Palestine, asked a question about the database of businesses engaged, I have to say that my office, following a Human Rights Council resolution 31/36 of 2016, we issued a report on the 31st of January 2018 detailing the significant progress made towards consolidation of the database. Today, my office has assessed more than 68 companies out of a total of 206 companies, about which assessed reviewed information that are engaged in one or more to the list of activities, and my office has informed these companies of their inclusion in the database and the procedures by which they can be removed. As of today, we have contacted all remaining companies about which we have received information and we are continuing to assess responses received, engaging in dialogue, as well as making determinations. So since we have now contacted all companies about which we have received, I expect that according to the resolution, probably next year we'll have, at the beginning of next year, the new Human Rights Council will have the information that has been asked and as required by the resolution."
  • June 18, 2018: Oral statement by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Council, Opening of the 38th session

    "...as I transition out of my position, the Office will continue its work on the database of business enterprises engaged in specific activities related to Israeli settlements, as called for by the Council, with an update possibly before September."
  • March 20, 2018: Oral statement by Kate Gilmore, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Council, 37th session, Agenda Item 7

    "The fifth report before you details OHCHR's work on producing a database of business enterprises engaged in specific Israeli settlement activities (A/HRC/37/39), as your resolution 31/36 requested. These activities, which were identified in the report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements, are either explicitly linked to the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory or otherwise enable and support their establishment, expansion and maintenance.

    In line with resolution 31/36, OHCHR undertook associated work in consultation with the Working Group on business and human rights. The report details the rigorous methodology followed by OHCHR and describes progress made towards consolidation of the database. It recalls the relevant normative framework, drawing on the Working Group on business and human rights' June 2014 statement on the occupied Palestinian territory, and makes a preliminary analysis of the most common explanations given by companies for their involvement in listed activities.

    As stated in the High Commissioner's press release of 31 January and his global update to the Council on 7 March, a total of 206 companies, out of 321 companies reviewed, have been screened. The Office expects to release further details after communicating with all 206 companies and considering their responses and non-responses.

    The High Commissioner notes that if the database is to be updated annually, as required by resolution 31/36, then additional resources are required."
  • March 8, 2018: Annual Report and Oral Update by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the activities of his Office and recent human rights developments

    "Six reports will be presented to the Council regarding the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, under Item 7. Regarding the Council's request to my Office to produce a database of business enterprises engaged in specific activities related to Israeli settlements, a total of 206 companies have been screened in, out of 321 companies reviewed, and we expect to release further details after we have reviewed the detailed responses of all 206."
  • January 31, 2018: Press Release: UN rights office issues report on business and human rights in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory

    "The UN Human Rights Office on Wednesday issued a report detailing its work on producing a database of business enterprises engaged in certain, specific activities in the occupied Palestinian territory that are either explicitly linked to Israeli settlements or form part of processes that 'enable and support the establishment, expansion and maintenance of Israeli residential communities beyond the Green Line..'...

    'I am satisfied, given the resource constraints and the unprecedented nature of such a request from the UN Human Rights Council, that significant progress has been made in the Office's efforts to operationalize the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,' High Commissioner Zeid said. 'I urge all sides to avoid misrepresenting the contents of this report, which has been produced in good faith on the basis of the mandate laid down by the Human Rights Council. We hope that our work in consolidating and communicating the information in the database will assist States and businesses in complying with their obligations and responsibilities under international law.'"
  • October 16, 2017: Statement by the High Commissioner during the interactive dialogue with the Third Committee of the General Assembly

    Responding to a question from the Palestinian representative regarding the creation of the database mandated in Human Rights Council resolution 31/36: "The report, as we have made clear to the Human Rights Council, and was then sort of echoed by the Human Rights Council which was made clear to us, will be produced by the end of September this year. December, sorry, December, and we're working on it."

  • January 25, 2017: Letter from the High Commissioner to the President regarding Human Rights Council resolution 31/36, UN Human Rights Council

    "I am writing regarding Human Rights Council resolution 31/36 of 24 March 2016, entitled 'Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, [and in the occupied Syrian Golan]'. Operative paragraph 17 'requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in close consultation with the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises [...] to produce a database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the afore-mentioned report [A/HRC/22/63, concerning settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory], to be updated annually, and to transmit the data therein in the form of a report to the Council at its thirty-fourth session'.

    Let me assure you that my Office is doing its utmost to prepare this report. All interested persons, entities and organisations were invited by an open call to submit their contributions by 31 December 2016. We have also undertaken close consultations with the members of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises as requested by the resolution. Finally, we have held a number of meetings with parties concerned.

    Bearing in mind the complexity of the requested report,...that the Council defers for one time only its consideration of my report... to allow for the submission of the report as soon as possible but no later than the end of December 2017. My request is based on the need for more time to carefully consider the inputs submitted in relation to the open call for submissions..."

  • October 11, 2016: Call for Submissions HRC Resolution 31/36

    "On 24 March 2016, at its 31st session, the Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted resolution 31/36 entitled 'Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan'.

    Operative paragraph 17 of this resolution '[r]equests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in close consultation with the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, in follow-up to the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem [A/HRC/22/63], and as a necessary step for the implementation of the recommendation contained in paragraph 117 thereof, to produce a database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the afore-mentioned report, to be updated annually and to transmit the data therein in the form of a report to the Council at its thirty-fourth session'.

    The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) invites all interested persons, entities and organizations to submit relevant information and documentation that will assist in the implementation of the above mandate. Submissions should focus on business enterprises allegedly involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of A/HRC/22/63..."

  • March 21, 2016: Oral statement by Kate Gilmore, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Council, 31st session, Agenda Item 7

    "In line with Human Rights Council resolutions S-9/1 and S-12/1, I present the High Commissioner's eighth periodic report on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory... [M]ost issues of concern raised by the fact finding mission on settlements continue to be reported, including in relation to the involvement of business establishments in exploitation of natural resources in the occupied territories, and sustenance and expansion of settlements."

Articles on actions of the High Commissioner