The U.N. human rights office added 61 firms to its list, saying they are involved in Palestinian rights violations through ties to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The list now has 214 firms in 11 countries, mostly Israeli; five of last year's 158 were removed.
First published in 2020 following a vote by the U.N. Human Rights Council, the database is intended to name and shame businesses; the council cannot force firms to act. It is unclear how inclusion has affected companies financially.
U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said companies are expected to conduct due diligence to avoid involvement in human rights violations or abuses. Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva called the database a “political tool” and said Türk’s office was using it to advance a “smear campaign” against businesses it said had committed no wrongdoing. Earlier this month, Britain banned trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying “settler terrorists” were carrying out “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians. France and Canada announced they would take similar action.
