BHR in conflict-affected areas
After decades of occupation, the civilian population of Gaza is facing further collective punishment including military bombardment, constituting clear breaches of international humanitarian law by Israel, following killings and hostage-taking of Israeli civilians by Hamas on 7 October.
While the international community has immense responsibility to help bring this humanitarian crisis to an end, secure the release of hostages, and end the occupation, business also has an immediate responsibility to ensure it is not contributing to the horrific killings of Palestinian civilians in Gaza or exacerbating the human suffering across the region.
For business and investors, the international standards in conflict are clearly defined by the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), supplemented with guidance from the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, as well as the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights and UN Development Programme. These demand heightened human rights due diligence regarding their operations and supply chains, proportionate to the scale and severity of the risks to people.
To encourage companies to deliver transparent due diligence, cross-company learning, and to support responsible investor engagement, BHRRC is beginning a survey and tracker of companies’ heightened due diligence, as we have done for other conflicts.
While this violence continues, companies in this broader zone of conflict must be far more diligent to ensure they are not exacerbating or contributing to the conflict. The harm they can contribute to civilians is immense, as are the legal and reputational risks they run if they ignore their responsibilities.
Switched off: Tech company opacity & Israel's war on Gaza
We invited 104 technology companies operating in or providing services to the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel to respond to a survey on transparency and heightened human rights due diligence in the context of Israel's war on Gaza.
Featured stories
Experts call on arms manufacturers & investors to end the transfer of arms to Israel while media & civil society allege companies' involvement in the war on Gaza
Following the call from UN Experts to end the sale of arms to Israel, we asked 15 companies and 21 investors about their heightened human rights due diligence and measures taken to end the sale of arms. Investor responses pointed to the need for heightened human rights due diligence by companies in the war zone and indicated exclusion of weapons companies from their portfolios is an option.
Israel/OPT: Microsoft confirms it provides cloud & artificial services to Israeli Defence Ministry
Microsoft workers have protested the company's supplying of AI technology and cloud services to the Israeli military amid its war on Gaza. The company said it found "no evidence" its products have been used to target or harm people in Gaza.
Israel/OPT: 30 Palestinians killed trying to reach Israel-backed food aid site
Palestinians killed and wounded as Israeli military opens fire at aid distribution site linked to "militarised and privatised" US group
Report alleges Meta facilitated Israeli-led crackdown on pro-Palestinian content
Media outlet Drop Site News examined Meta's role in facilitating a global censorship campaign allegedly orchestrated by the Israeli government, targeting pro-Palestinian content on Facebook and Instagram. We asked Meta to respond.
Big Tech companies face allegations of war crimes complicity amid Israel’s war in Gaza
We asked Amazon, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Palantir, and Starlink to respond to allegations of potential complicity in international humanitarian law violations in the context of Israel’s war in Gaza and on the steps taken to address grave human rights and humanitarian law violations.
Airbnb faces multi-jurisdictional legal actions over alleged profiting from rentals in illegal Israeli settlements
Legal challenges brought by Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Sadaka Ireland (the Ireland-Palestine Alliance) and Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq claim 300+ listings on Airbnb located in Israel’s settlements in the OPT may constitute “money laundering by Airbnb of proceeds of Israeli war crimes.”
Guidance: Responsible business conduct in challenging contexts
Heightened human rights due diligence for business in conflict-affected contexts
Guidance from UNDP and the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights
Conducting business during armed conflict
What is International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and how do companies comply with their obligations? Guidance from Business and Human Rights Compliance