A new advance edited report from the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese, argues that corporations have created an enabling environment for Israel’s illegal occupation, apartheid and genocide in Palestine.
Simply put, this devastation “could not happen without the support of private sector actors.”
The report names many companies and sectors with Canadian links, including the sale in Canada of real estate in Israeli colonies. Corporate entities named in the report include arms manufacturers, tech firms, building and construction companies, extractive and service industries, banks, pension funds, insurers, universities, and charities.
Sovereign wealth and pension funds are highlighted as “significant financiers” of abuse, including the Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ). The CDPQ invests almost $9.6 billion in companies named in the rapporteur’s report – “despite its sustainable investment policy and human rights policy.”
Businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights. They can implement this responsibility by conducting human rights due diligence, and heightened human rights due diligence through periods of conflict. The Special Rapporteur names these responsibilities directly and notes, “Had proper human rights due diligence been undertaken, corporate entities would have long ago disengaged from Israeli occupation.”
The CNCA reiterates its calls to the Canadian government to implement human rights and environmental due diligence legislation to prevent Canadian corporations from acting with impunity. New research by the Palestinian Youth Movement, World Beyond War, and other members of the Arms Embargo Now campaign clearly shows that Canada continues to send weapons to Israel, despite Canadian government claims to the contrary. We urge the government to take seriously the UN reports of genocide and several decades of human rights abuses under occupation, and to make every effort to divest from these.
We also note with great concern that the UN Special Rapporteur has been sanctioned by the U.S. following the publication of her report. It is fundamentally important that governments protect independent investigation, human rights for all, and the ability to fairly critique the corporate sector and governments freely.
