"Orange willing to terminate its contract with Israeli telecommunication company Partner: a statement that must be accompanied by concrete measures", 04 June 2015

Our organizations [1] welcome the statement made by the CEO of the Orange Group Stéphane Richard on 3 June 2015 of his willingness to terminate the contract between Orange and the Israeli telecommunication company Partner, active in Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This statement follows the recent publication of the joint report "Orange’s dangerous liaisons in Occupied Palestinian Territory” by our organizations. The concerned organizations had repeatedly requested that Orange publicly recognize the risks associated with this business relationship with Partner, in particular with its involvement in human rights and international humanitarian law violations. The joint report published on 6 May 2015 showed that through this brand licensing agreement with Partner, Orange indirectly contributes to the maintenance of Israeli settlements, recognized illegal under international law and involving numerous human rights abuses. Orange’s CEO statement on Wednesday is an important development that must now be translated into concrete measures...