The UN human rights office has added 61 more companies to a blacklist of companies it says are involved in violations of Palestinian human rights through business links with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The vast majority of the total of 214 companies, which are based in 11 countries, are Israeli. Five of the 158 companies included on the list last year were removed in the latest update. The blacklist, first published in 2020, was born from a vote by the UN human rights council, which has no power to force companies to act. Their main goal is to name and shame companies with ties to the settlements. It is unclear how the listing has affected the companies financially. “This report is another reminder to companies that they have human rights responsibilities and are expected to carry out due diligence to ensure they are not involved in human rights violations or abuses,” UN human rights chief Volker Türk 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 crimes,” the Israeli diplomatic mission in Geneva said in a statement. “We call on friends not to give in to this ugly attempt to blacklist Israeli companies.” The U.N. office said it had informed the companies about their inclusion on the list and given 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 announced they would take similar measures.
