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    UK LAWYERS FOR ISRAEL > NEWS > BDS > UN Human Rights Office accused of violating due process when compiling BDS Blacklist.

UN Human Rights Office accused of violating due process when compiling BDS Blacklist.

June 10, 2025

The United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is accused of violating rights to a fair and due process in compiling its database of companies allegedly carrying on activities giving rise to human rights concerns in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).

The OHCHR is tasked under Resolution A/HRC/RES/31/36[i] of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to produce a database of all business enterprises involved in the activities specified in paragraph 96 of Report A/HRC/22/63.[ii] (see below for details).

Companies on this list are targeted for boycotts and divestment, so there can be serious economic and reputational consequences for any company which is included on it.

However, UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) have been informed that in its purported “research”, the OHCHR has been receiving unverified information from unidentified sources alleging that certain businesses have engaged in the specified activities.

The OHCHR then refuses to provide even the most basic information with respect to the nature or substance of the allegations to the businesses concerned. If the businesses request specific information to enable them to address the allegations, the OHCHR only provides standard form responses and no factual information.

Targeted businesses are unable to defend themselves effectively by refuting the anonymous allegations. There could also be potential manipulation of the OHCHR’s process by competitors, politically motivated actors, or anyone wishing harm upon these businesses.

The OHCHR thus violates the targeted businesses’ right to a fair and due process, which includes the presumption of innocence and the right to be informed of the nature and source of the allegations brought against oneself, including in proceedings that are akin to judicial proceedings.

These rights are guaranteed to all by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,[iii] which is one of the foundational documents underlying the work of the OHCHR.

Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UK Lawyers for Israel said: “These violations of fundamental rights of the targeted businesses are unacceptable, quite apart from other objections to this discriminatory and unfounded process. We have requested that the UN’s Office of Legal Affairs promptly intervenes in this matter. In the meanwhile, no reliance should be placed on any entry in the list.”

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Paragraph 96 of Report A/HRC/22/63  says:

“96. Information gathered by the mission showed that business enterprises have, directly and indirectly, enabled, facilitated and profited from the construction and growth of the settlements. In addition to the previously mentioned violations of Palestinian worker rights, the mission identified a number of business activities and related issues that raise particular human rights violations concerns. They include:

  • The supply of equipment and materials facilitating the construction and the expansion of settlements and the wall, and associated infrastructures
  • The supply of surveillance and identification equipment for settlements, the wall and checkpoints directly linked with settlements
  • The supply of equipment for the demolition of housing and property, the destruction of agricultural farms, greenhouses, olives groves and crops
  • The supply of security services, equipment and materials to enterprises operating in settlements
  • The provision of services and utilities supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements, including transport
  • Banking and financial operations helping to develop, expand or maintain settlements and their activities, including loans for housing and the development of businesses
  • The use of natural resources, in particular water and land, for business purposes
  • Pollution, and the dumping of waste in or its transfer to Palestinian villages
  • Captivity of the Palestinian financial and economic markets, as well as practices that disadvantage Palestinian enterprises, including through restrictions on movement, administrative and legal constraints
  • Use of benefits and reinvestments of enterprises owned totally or partially by settlers for developing, expanding and maintaining the settlements”

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Footnotes

[i]    Resolution A/HRC/RES/31/36, dated 24 March 2016 [link].

[ii]   Report A/HRC/22/63, dated 7 February 2013 [link].

[iii]   Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/217(III), 10 December 1948 [link]. See notably:

Article 10: “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.”

Article 11: “1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.”