158 businesses that are alleged to be in abusive settlements were updated by the UN human rights office on Friday, according to a new database update.
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The list includes multinationals with offices in the United States, Canada, China, France, and Germany, despite the majority being Israeli.
Businesses have a duty to avoid causing abuses, according to the report.
According to the statement, “Business enterprises that have identified their causes or contributed to negative human rights impacts should provide for or cooperate in remediation through appropriate processes.”
Since the last update, which included British-registered online travel agencies Opodo and eDreams, was added to the list of 68 businesses since June 2023.
The construction, real estate, mining, and quarrying industries, which are essential to Israel’s efforts to expand its settlements, had a large presence among the other businesses. Over 300 additional businesses are still being looked at.
Volker Turk, the UN’s human rights representative, praised the findings as evidence of corporate responsibility in conflict areas.
This report emphasizes the due diligence responsibility of businesses engaged in conflict to ensure that their activities don’t lead to human rights violations, he said.
Israeli strategy for displacement of Palestinians
The review comes as Israel’s ongoing genocide against Gaza and its occupation in the West Bank are being closely watched more than ever.
Armed Jewish settlers have terrorized Palestinian communities in the West Bank, killing civilians, forcing families to relocate, and grabbing land in what human rights groups call ethnic cleansing.
Since Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 war, settlements have been strewn up, carving up the region with checkpoints, walls, and roads to encircle Palestinians who are now under military rule.
Israel allegedly employs a deliberate strategy to forcibly relocate Palestinians, establish Jewish-only settlements, and advance toward full annexation of the West Bank, according to a separate UN Commission of Inquiry this week.
The database, which the Human Rights Council mandated in 2016, is a crucial tool for influencing companies’ decisions to leave settlements, according to civil society organizations. According to rights advocates, international companies that Israel’s occupation are involved in violating international law.
Source: Aljazeera
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