The UN human rights office added 61 companies to its list of businesses linked to Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The total reached 214 businesses across 11 countries; five of last year’s 158 entries were removed. The office assesses activities including settlement construction, banking, surveillance equipment and utilities. The list grew out of a Human Rights Council decision and cannot compel companies to act.
The United Nations human rights office added 61 companies to its list of businesses it links to Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Its latest update puts 214 businesses across 11 countries on the list. Five of the 158 companies listed last year were removed. Expedia, Tripadvisor, Airbnb and Motorola were already on the list.[1], [2]
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights assesses whether a business has reasonable grounds to be linked to at least one of ten settlement-related activities. The activities include construction, surveillance equipment, banking and utilities. Spanish company Salvat Logistica and Israeli company Alony Hetz are among the latest additions. The list’s scope concerns specified business ties to settlements, not every operation a listed company conducts.[1]
The database grew out of a vote by the UN Human Rights Council, which cannot force the listed companies to change their conduct. The Associated Press reported that the list chiefly seeks to identify businesses with settlement ties, while the financial effect of inclusion remains unclear. The update therefore changes the public record of companies named by the human rights office, without itself imposing a penalty or ordering a company to withdraw.[2]
