Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, is conducting an investigation into the involvement of non-state actors in the commission of crimes connected to Israel’s unlawful occupation, racial segregation, and apartheid regime.
Based on the UofA’s recent partial disclosure of its investments, we have referred the UofA to Albanese for investigation of its complicity in crimes against Palestinians. Our preliminary analysis shows that over the past four years, the UofA has invested more than $130 million per year in at least 46 companies that are well-known violators of Palestinians’ human rights.
Our report to the UN sets out the UofA’s disclosed investments across four fiscal years (2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24) and includes detailed information about 25 of the companies UofA has invested in that are known to be violating Palestinians’ rights. These include companies that have provided Israel with weapons used to commit war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity; financing or equipment for the theft of Palestinians’ lands and resources, destruction of Palestinians’ homes, and construction of illegal settlements; and equipment used to surveil and incarcerate Palestinians. Some of the named companies engage in discriminatory practices such as water apartheid, transportation apartheid, or arbitrary refusal of service. Some have harassed or fired employees who have spoken up about Palestinian rights.
All of the information we compiled about companies’ human rights violations is readily available from public sources. We have included in the report extensive citations to show every source used. Given the ready availability of this information, we conclude that the UofA is either making no effort at due diligence, or that it knows but does not care that it is investing in human rights offenders. Our UofA case study affirms that relying on universities to self-monitor, without strong mechanisms of accountability, is a failure. In our report we outline suggestions for more responsible investment policy and process to ensure due diligence around human rights.
We continue to gather information on the 21 further companies in which the UofA is invested that we have flagged as known human rights violators, and anticipate posting an addendum on this page in December 2024 so that detailed information is publicly available about all 46 known offenders. Work is still underway to review all companies on the UofA disclosure list to determine if others also have a role in the Occupation and the violation of Palestinian human rights.
The submission:
