UN adds 61 companies to settlement blacklist over alleged Palestinian human rights violations | West Bank

The UN human rights office has added 61 more companies to a blacklist of companies it says are involved in violating the human rights of Palestinians through business ties with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The vast majority of the 214 companies, based in 11 countries, are Israeli. Five of the 158 companies listed last year were removed in the latest update.

The blacklist, first published in 2020, arose from a vote by the UN Human Rights Council, which does not have the ability to compel companies to act. Its main goal is to expose and shame companies with ties to the settlements.

It’s unclear how being on the list affected the companies financially.

“This report once again reminds businesses that they have human rights responsibilities and are expected to exercise due diligence to ensure that they are not implicated in human rights violations or abuses,” Volker Türk, UN human rights chief, said in a statement.

Israel said it “categorically rejects” the publication. “This database is intended to serve as a blacklist against companies that have not committed any wrongdoing,” the Israeli diplomatic mission in Geneva said in a statement. “We call on our friends not to give in to this ugly attempt to blacklist Israeli companies. »

The UN office said it informed the companies of their registration and gave them a right of reply.

The latest report comes as Israeli settlements in Palestinian areas face new scrutiny.

Earlier this month, Britain banned trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where it says “terrorist settlers” are carrying out “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians. France and Canada have announced they will take similar measures.