UN expert calls for companies to stop doing business with Israel

A United Nations adept has called connected dozens of multinational companies to halt doing concern with Israel, informing them they hazard being complicit successful warfare crimes successful Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Francesca Albanese, presenting her study to the UN quality rights council, described what she called "an system of genocide" successful which the struggle with Hamas provided a investigating crushed - with nary accountability oregon oversight - for caller weapons and technology.

Israel has rejected her study arsenic "groundless", saying it would "join the dustbin of history".

UN experts, oregon peculiar rapporteurs, are autarkic of the UN, but appointed by it to counsel connected quality rights matters.

Ms Albanese is an planetary lawyer from Italy, and she is known for her bluntness; successful erstwhile reports she has suggested that Israel is committing genocide successful Gaza.

On Thursday she repeated that, accusing Israel of "committing 1 of the cruellest genocides successful modern history".

In this study she names companies she says are profiting from, and truthful complicit in, warfare crimes successful Gaza.

Her database includes arms shaper Lockheed Martin for selling weapons, and tech firms Alphabet, IBM, Microsoft and Amazon, for providing exertion which allows Israel to way and people Palestinians.

She besides lists Caterpillar, Hyundai, and Volvo, which her study claims person supplied vehicles utilized for demolishing homes and flattening bombed communities.

Financial institutions are included too: banks BNP Paribas and Barclays, claims Ms Albanese, person been underwriting Israeli treasury bonds passim the conflict.

The BBC has approached the companies named supra for comment.

Lockheed Martin said overseas subject income were government-to-government transactions, and discussions were champion addressed by the US government.

Volvo said it did not stock Ms Albanese's disapproval which it believes was based connected "insufficient and partially incorrect information". It added it is committed to respecting quality rights and perpetually works to fortify its owed diligence. But it said since its products person a agelong beingness and alteration hands often "there is unluckily a bounds to however overmuch power oregon power we tin person connected however and wherever our products are utilized during their lifetime".

For the companies named the concern is lucrative, the study says, and helps Israel to proceed the war. Ms Albanese says each the companies should halt dealing with Israel immediately.

But however apt is that? UN reports similar this 1 person nary ineligible power, but they bash pull attention.

Ms Albanese is, successful targeting economical ties, trying to punctual multinationals, and governments, of what happened with apartheid South Africa.

For a portion galore businesses made bully wealth trading with South Africa, but the injustice of apartheid attracted planetary condemnation and UN sanctions which forced disinvestment and, eventually, helped to extremity the apartheid regime.

By listing companies which are household names, Ms Albanese is astir apt besides hoping to supply millions of consumers worldwide with accusation they tin usage erstwhile choosing whether oregon not to bargain something, arsenic they did with South Africa.

But the proposition they are complicit successful imaginable genocide is the 1 the multinationals themselves whitethorn instrumentality astir seriously. The instrumentality connected genocide is strict, it needs to beryllium determined by a tribunal of law, and successful information the International Court of Justice is presently considering a lawsuit against Israel connected this precise question, brought by South Africa.

Complicity is defined arsenic a idiosyncratic oregon entity having engaged successful actions whose foreseeable results whitethorn person contributed to genocide, but without having personally intended to perpetrate genocide.

This is an accusation that Ms Albanese suggests could beryllium levelled against businesses selling thing that mightiness lend to Israel's warfare effort. It is known that planetary lawyers person privately advised European governments that continued arms income to Israel whitethorn pb to charges of complicity.

Israel, which has agelong accused Ms Albanese of being highly hostile to it, and adjacent antisemitic, has rejected her latest study arsenic "groundless, defamatory and a flagrant maltreatment of office". It besides denies genocide, claiming the close of self-defence against Hamas.

But erstwhile Ms Albanese presented her study to UN subordinate states, she received chiefly praise and support.

African, Asian, and Arab states backed her telephone for disinvestment, galore agreed that genocide was taking place, and immoderate besides warned Israel against vilifying planetary lawyers similar Ms Albanese for doing their job.

European states, traditionally much supportive of Israel, besides condemned the denial of assistance to Gaza, and said Israel had a ineligible responsibility, arsenic the occupying power, to guarantee Palestinians had the means to survive.

But Israel's biggest ally, the United States, near the UN Human Rights Council erstwhile President Donald Trump took bureau successful January. Washington's effect to the study has simply accused Ms Albanese, whose squad contacted US companies for accusation astir their dealings with Israel, of an "unacceptable run of governmental and economical warfare against the American and worldwide economy".

It's improbable the US medication volition wage overmuch much attraction to the words of 1 planetary lawyer. But the large US companies named successful her report, listening to the condemnation from truthful galore countries wherever they person fiscal interests, whitethorn commencement to question their ties with Israel.