The Don't Buy into Occupation coalition publishes an annual report on financial relationships between European financial institutions and companies involved in the illegal Israeli settlement enterprise in the occupied Palestinian territory. A member of the coalition will present the findings of its fourth report at the Geneva Press Club on Tuesday, 26th November from 1.30 - 2.30 pm. 

A panel of guest speakers will respond to the report and discuss the report's implications for the responsible business agenda, including the requirement for heightened due diligence in conflict areas, how well (or not) ESG is working for human rights, and third party obligations in securing respect for international humanitarian law. 

Confirmed speakers include:

Dr. Tara Van Ho, Senior Lecturer, Essex Law School. Tara's research focuses on business and human rights and international economic law in conflict-affected areas and situations of transitional justice. She sits on the Editorial Board of the Business and Human Rights Journal. Her research has been relied on by the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, government and intergovernmental organisations, and non-governmental organisations. She holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law and PhD in Law from the University of Essex.

Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967. Francesca is an Affiliate Scholar at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University, and a Senior Advisor on Migration and Forced Displacement for the think tank Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD). She has published widely on the legal situation in Israel/Palestine and holds a Law Degree (with honours) from the University of Pisa and an LLM in Human Rights from the University of London, SOAS.

Rania Madi, Senior legal advisor for Law for Palestine (L4P). Rania worked for 18 years as a legal advisor with the government of the Geneva canton and was a representative of Badil to UN institutions in Geneva and the EU institutions in Brussels. She holds a master’s in international law from the University of Geneva and a master’s in human rights law from University of Strasbourg.

Jens Skancke Presthus, member of the Responsible Investments team at KLP Asset Management, Norway’s largest pension fund. Jens has a particular focus on human rights and corruption-related matters. Prior to joining KLP, Jens worked in the consulting industry providing international investors and corporations with analysis and advice on company-specific, political and economic issues. He holds an MA in international relations from the University of St Andrews and an MSc in international political economy from the London School of Economics.

Andrew Preston, Senior Advisor at Norwegian People's Aid (NPA), the Norwegian labour movement's humanitarian solidarity organisation, where he is responsible for "Norwegian links to the occupation", a collaborative project with the Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees - Fagforbundet. Fagforbundet. Prior to NPA, Andrew was director of the Norwegian Forum for Development and Environment, and is currently on the board of Ethical Trade Norway. 

Eva Gerritse, Project Lead for Business, Conflict and Human Rights at PAX, the largest peace organization in the Netherlands, which works to protect civilians against acts of war, end armed violence, and build inclusive peace. Eva will moderate the event. 

The side event has free admission, but registration is required to allow us to order enough lunch for participants. This will be served from 1.00 pm onwards.

The event will also be streamed via Zoom. Please indicate whether you will be attending online below. A Zoom link will be sent to your email in advance of the event.