The United Nations has announced a far-reaching investigation into the involvement of private entities in international crimes within the Israeli occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). The inquiry, set to culminate in a report to the Human Rights Council in March 2025, will scrutinise a broad spectrum of private sector actors – including businesses, banks, pension funds, insurance companies and, notably, private military and security companies and weapons manufacturers – that are enabling international crimes, such as apartheid.
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, took to social media platform X to call for public submissions. “My next report will investigate the involvement of private entities in the commission of international crimes in the occupied Palestinian territory. Anyone can make submissions,” Albanese stated.
My next report will investigate the involvement of the private entities (including businesses, banks, pension funds, insurance companies and especially private military and security companies & weapons manufacturers) in the commission of international crimes in the occupied…
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) October 16, 2024
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has issued a formal call for input, with a submission deadline of 30 November 2024. This initiative expands upon previous UN efforts, such as the 2020 blacklisting of 112 companies with ties to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The forthcoming report aims to assess how private sector practices, policies and relationships in the oPt align with international law, including the Arms Trade Treaty and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It will pay particular attention to developments since 2014, including the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into the situation in Palestine and recent rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Over the past year, the ICJ opened in investigation to determine if Israel’s military aggression on Gaza amounts to genocide. The UN’s highest legal body also issued a judgement in July declaring Israel’s occupation illegal, called on the apartheid state to make reparation and to end the Occupation expeditiously and unconditionally, within a timeframe not exceeding 12 months.
Key areas of inquiry into the latest probe include how private entities have contributed to establishing and maintaining Israel’s presence in the oPt since 1967, which entities have had the most detrimental impact on Palestinian rights, and the extent of human rights due diligence undertaken by these organisations.
The UN is seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders, including states, national human rights institutions, NGOs, human rights defenders, business enterprises, unions, academics and UN agencies.
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