"Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese" From economy of occupation to economy of genocide, 16 June 2025

In this .. report, the Special Rapporteur discusses corporate entities in various sectors: arms manufacturers, tech firms, building and construction companies, extractive and service industries, banks, pension funds, insurers, universities and charities.

Had proper human rights due diligence been undertaken, corporate entities would have long ago disengaged from Israeli occupation.

... Corporate entities must refuse to be complicit in human rights violations and international crimes or be held to account.

... Over 45 entities named in the report have been duly informed of the facts that led the Special Rapporteur to formulate a series of allegations: 15 replied.

...The post-Holocaust industrialists’ trials, such as the I.G. Farben trial, laid the groundwork for recognizing the international criminal responsibility of corporate executives for participation in international crimes. By addressing corporate complicity in apartheid, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa helped shape corporate responsibility for human rights violations. Increasing domestic and international litigation signal a growing trend toward corporate accountability.
...International humanitarian law and criminal law also confer specific obligations and liabilities on private actors, with domestic jurisdictions primarily responsible for enforcement.

...In conflicts, businesses must observe heightened human rights due diligence to identify concerns and adjust their conduct. ...The liability of corporate entities will be determined by their actions and by the human rights impact: due diligence is not sufficient to absolve corporations of liability.

...At a minimum, corporate entities directly linked to human rights impacts must exercise leverage or consider termination of their activities or relationships. Failure to act accordingly may give rise to liability.

...Where violations constitute crimes, corporate executives and, increasingly, entities themselves, may be held accountable for their knowledge of and material contributions to crimes.
... Citing racial segregation and apartheid, violations of the right to self-determination and the prohibition on the use of force, the International Court of Justice unequivocally affirmed the illegality of the presence of Israel, including its military presence, colonies and its infrastructure and resource control.

...Furthermore, the atrocities committed since October 2023 triggered proceedings for genocide before the International Court of Justice, and for war crimes and crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court.

... The corporate sector has materially contributed ... by providing Israel with the weapons and machinery required to destroy homes, schools, hospitals, places of leisure and worship, livelihoods and productive assets, such as olive groves and orchards, to segregate and control communities and to restrict access to natural resources.

...Financial and academic institutions have also enabled the conditions for Palestinian displacement and replacement. Banks, asset management firms, pension funds and insurers have channelled finance into the illegal occupation.

After October 2023, long-standing systems of control, exploitation and dispossession metamorphosed into economic, technological and political infrastructures mobilized to inflict mass violence and immense destruction.

...Entities that previously enabled and profited from Palestinian elimination and erasure within the economy of occupation, instead of disengaging are now involved in the economy of genocide.

...Repression of Palestinians has become progressively automated, with tech companies providing dual-use infrastructure to integrate mass data collection and surveillance, while profiting from the unique testing ground for military technology offered by the occupied Palestinian territory.

The Special Rapporteur urges Member States:

(a) To impose sanctions and a full arms embargo on Israel, including all existing agreements and dual-use items such as technology and civilian heavy machinery;

(b) To suspend or prevent all trade agreements and investment relations, and impose sanctions, including asset freezes, on entities and individuals involved in activities that may endanger the Palestinians;

(c) To enforce accountability, ensuring that corporate entities face legal consequences for their involvement in serious violations of international law.

The Special Rapporteur urges corporate entities:

(a) To promptly cease all business activities and terminate relationships directly linked with, contributing to and causing human rights violations and international crimes against the Palestinian people, in accordance with international corporate responsibilities and the law of self-determination;

(b) To pay reparations to the Palestinian people, including in the form of an apartheid wealth tax along the lines of post-apartheid South Africa.

The Special Rapporteur urges the International Criminal Court and national judiciaries to investigate and prosecute corporate executives and/or corporate entities for their part in the commission of international crimes and laundering of the proceeds from those crimes.