UN adds dozens of companies to blacklist over ties to Israeli settlements

World body says it assessed 215 enterprises this round but suggested hundreds more could face scrutiny

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem. AFP

The UN on Friday added nearly 70 companies from 11 countries to a blacklist of firms it says are complicit in violating Palestinian human rights through their business ties to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The update brings the so-called database of companies to 158, most of them Israeli, with others based in the US, Canada, China, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Of the 215 business enterprises assessed for the update, the UN's human right's office OHCHR found "reasonable grounds" to believe that 158 were involved in one or more listed activity, the report stated.

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"OHCHR did not find reasonable grounds to believe that the remaining companies it assessed were involved in any of the listed activities."

The UN suggested hundreds more companies could face scrutiny.

The list identifies companies supplying construction materials, heavy equipment, security services, travel bookings and financial services deemed supportive of the settlements, which many governments consider illegal under international law.

Mandated by the UN Human Rights Council, the list has no legal enforcement power but is intended to “name and shame” companies.

“Businesses working in contexts of conflict have a due diligence responsibility to ensure their activities do not contribute to human rights abuses,” Ravina Shamdasani, a representative for the UN human rights office, said in a statement.

It remains unclear what effect the listings have had on firms’ business performance.

Newcomers include German building-materials giant Heidelberg Materials, Portuguese rail systems provider Steconfer and Spanish transport engineering company Ineco.

They join US-based travel companies Expedia Group, Booking Holdings and Airbnb, which remain on the list.