Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

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United Nations office leading the organisation's human rights work, based in Geneva

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Logo OHCHR logo.png
Logo of UN Human Rights
Type Department of the United Nations Secretariat
Founded 20 December 1993
Founder(s) United Nations General Assembly (resolution 48/141)
Headquarters Palais Wilson, Geneva, Switzerland
Location Geneva and New York, with country and regional offices
Area served Worldwide
Services Promotion and protection of human rights; support to the United Nations Human Rights Council and treaty bodies; monitoring and reporting; the database of business enterprises involved in Israeli settlements
Key people Volker Türk (High Commissioner, since 17 October 2022); Awa Dabo (Deputy High Commissioner); Claudia Fuentes Julio (Assistant Secretary-General)
Website https://www.ohchr.org/
Remarks Publishes the UN database of businesses involved in Israeli settlements, which Israel and the United States have opposed[1]

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR, also known as UN Human Rights) is the part of the United Nations Secretariat that leads the organisation's human rights work. It describes itself as "the leading UN entity on human rights".[2] The post of High Commissioner was created by United Nations General Assembly resolution 48/141 on 20 December 1993, following the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna.[3][2]

The Office is headquartered in Geneva and has an office in New York. It also runs country, regional and peace-mission human rights presences, including an office covering the State of Palestine.[4] The current High Commissioner is Volker Türk. He took office on 17 October 2022, and the General Assembly approved him for a second term on 24 July 2026.[5][6]

For research on Israel and Palestine, the Office matters mainly because it compiles the UN database of business enterprises involved in certain activities relating to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. The United Nations Human Rights Council mandated the database in 2016.[7] The first list, published in February 2020, named 112 companies. After the September 2026 update, the database lists 214 companies from 11 countries.[8][9]

Mandate and history

Resolution 48/141 made the High Commissioner the UN official with principal responsibility for UN human rights activities. The High Commissioner is appointed by the Secretary-General, approved by the General Assembly and holds the rank of Under-Secretary-General. The term is four years, renewable once. The resolution placed the Office in Geneva, with a liaison office in New York.[3] OHCHR says its work covers standard-setting, monitoring and implementation on the ground. It also supports the Human Rights Council, the treaty bodies and the special procedures.[2]

Leadership

Volker Türk of Austria is the eighth High Commissioner. He took up his duties on 17 October 2022, after the General Assembly approved his nomination by Secretary-General António Guterres on 8 September 2022.[5][10] On 24 July 2026 the General Assembly approved his reappointment by 144 votes to 10, with 13 abstentions, for a term from 12 October 2026 to 11 October 2030. Le Mandat reported that the United States had asked for the vote to be postponed.[6] The Office lists Awa Dabo as Deputy High Commissioner and Claudia Fuentes Julio as Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights.[5]

United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights
Name Country Term
José Ayala-Lasso Ecuador 1994–1997
Mary Robinson Ireland 1997–2002
Sergio Vieira de Mello Brazil 2002–2003
Bertrand Ramcharan (acting) Guyana 2003–2004
Louise Arbour Canada 2004–2008
Navanethem Pillay South Africa 2008–2014
Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein Jordan 2014–2018
Michelle Bachelet Chile 2018–2022
Volker Türk Austria 2022–present

Sources for the table: OHCHR and the Dag Hammarskjöld Library.[5][11]

Structure and offices

The Geneva headquarters, which includes the Palais Wilson, has three substantive divisions, and there is a separate New York office. According to OHCHR, its field presences include 18 country or stand-alone offices (one of them covering the State of Palestine), nine human rights components of UN peace missions and 13 regional offices or centres.[4]

Funding

OHCHR is funded from the UN regular budget and from voluntary contributions by states and other donors.

OHCHR resources, 2025 (OHCHR figures)
Source Amount (US$) Share
UN regular budget 194.3 million 42.6%
Voluntary contributions 262.1 million 57.4%
Total 456.4 million 100%

OHCHR says the regular-budget money it received in 2025 was 77.8% of the approved US$249.6 million. It also says 67% of voluntary funding was earmarked, and that it needs US$400 million in extrabudgetary funding for 2026.[12]

Database of businesses involved in Israeli settlements

Mandate

On 24 March 2016 the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted resolution 31/36 by 32 votes to none, with 15 abstentions. The resolution asked the High Commissioner to produce a database of all business enterprises involved in the activities set out in paragraph 96 of the 2013 report of the independent international fact-finding mission on Israeli settlements (A/HRC/22/63).[13][8] The Council is an intergovernmental body of 47 member states.[7] The database covers only the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. Companies active in the occupied Syrian Golan are not included, because the fact-finding mission's report dealt with the Palestinian territory alone.[8]

On 14 July 2023 the Council adopted resolution 53/25 by 31 votes to 3, with 13 abstentions. Czechia, the United Kingdom and the United States voted against. The resolution asked for the database to be updated every year, with companies added and removed, starting from the Council's 57th session, and for the work to be properly resourced.[14]

Listed activities

The database is limited to ten "listed activities" set out by the fact-finding mission:[8]

  • (a) supplying equipment and materials for building and expanding settlements, the wall and associated infrastructure;
  • (b) supplying surveillance and identification equipment for settlements, the wall and checkpoints directly linked with settlements;
  • (c) supplying equipment for demolishing housing and property and destroying farms, greenhouses, olive groves and crops;
  • (d) supplying security services, equipment and materials to enterprises operating in settlements;
  • (e) providing services and utilities that support the maintenance and existence of settlements, including transport;
  • (f) banking and financial operations that help develop, expand or maintain settlements and their activities, including loans for housing and business development;
  • (g) using natural resources, in particular water and land, for business purposes;
  • (h) pollution, and dumping waste in, or moving it to, Palestinian villages;
  • (i) captivity of the Palestinian financial and economic markets, and practices that disadvantage Palestinian enterprises;
  • (j) using the benefits and reinvestments of enterprises owned wholly or partly by settlers to develop, expand and maintain settlements.

The 2020 report found no enterprise that met the standard for activities (c), (i) or (j).[8] In the 2026 list, J.C. Bamford Excavators and the Israeli firm Comasco are listed under (c), and one Israeli company is listed under (j).[15]

Reports and updates

Reports on the database
Date Document Main content
March 2018 A/HRC/37/39 Interim report presented by High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, covering an initial 307 companies. OHCHR later said 321 had been reviewed in total, of which 206 were taken forward for further assessment.[13]
12 February 2020 A/HRC/43/71 First list under Michelle Bachelet. 112 of 188 companies considered met the standard (94 Israeli and 18 from six other states). Assessment period 1 January 2018 to 1 August 2019.[8][13]
30 June 2023 Update (not formally submitted to the Council) 15 companies removed, leaving 97. 13 of the 112 listed companies responded to OHCHR letters. OHCHR said the update was prepared "within existing resources, on an exceptional basis".[16][17]
2 August 2024 A/HRC/57/21 Progress and methodology report following resolution 53/25. A call for input ran from 2 May to 12 June 2024.[18][7]
26 September 2025 A/HRC/60/19 733 submissions about 596 enterprises; 215 enterprises reviewed, including all 97 already listed. 158 found to be involved, 68 added and 7 removed.[19][20]
25 September 2026 A/HRC/63/20 A further 126 enterprises reviewed; 61 added and 5 removed, giving 214 companies from 11 countries.[15][21]

The 2023 update removed 15 companies that OHCHR found were no longer involved. They included General Mills and its Israeli subsidiary, Indorama, Ashtrom Properties, Energix and the Municipal Bank.[16] The 2025 report removed seven, among them Alstom, eDreams ODIGEO, Opodo, Kardan and Tahal. Its additions included Heidelberg Materials, Booking Holdings, the Spanish firms CAF, Ineco, ACS and SEMI, Portugal's Steconfer, Canada's Metrontario and China's Fosun.[19] The 2025 report also referred to the International Court of Justice advisory opinion of 19 July 2024 on Israel's policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory.[19]

The 2026 update concentrated on agriculture, transport, storage, waste management, energy, and food and hospitality.[21] For the first time, it classified each company's involvement in harm to the Palestinian right to self-determination. It found that 200 companies "contribute" to the harm and 14 are "directly linked" to it; none was found to have caused it. After further assessment it removed ACS, Cim Lustigman, Metrontario, SEMI and Steconfer, and reinstated one company removed in 2025. OHCHR reported that since September 2025 it had engaged with 14 states, 43 companies (14 of them investors) and 27 other stakeholders.[15]

Notable listed companies

Most listed companies are Israeli. They include the main Israeli banks (Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Israel Discount Bank, First International Bank of Israel and Mizrahi Tefahot), the telecoms companies Bezeq, Cellcom and Hot, Egged, Israel Railways, Mekorot, Shufersal, Rami Levy, Delek Group, Paz and Ahava.[15] The non-Israeli companies on the 2026 list are shown below.

Non-Israeli companies in the 2026 database (A/HRC/63/20, Annex I)
Company Home state Listed activity Type of involvement
Absoluteskin Cosmetics (Pty) Ltd South Africa (g) Direct linkage
Adama Ltd China (a), (e) Contribution
Airbnb Inc (UK arm) United States (e) Contribution
Altice International Luxembourg (e), (g) Contribution
Booking Holdings Inc United States (e) Contribution
Booking.com B.V. (UK arm) Netherlands (e) Contribution
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) (UK arm) Spain (a), (e), (g) Contribution
Egis and Egis Rail (UK arm) France (e) Contribution
Expedia Group Inc (UK arm) United States (e) Contribution
Fosun International China (g) Contribution
Friends of Ir David United States (e), (g) Contribution
Greenkote P.L.C. United Kingdom (g) Direct linkage
Hayovel Inc United States (e), (g) Contribution
Heidelberg Materials AG (UK arm) Germany (g) Contribution
Ingeniería y Economía del Transporte (Ineco) Spain (e) Contribution
J.C. Bamford Excavators Ltd United Kingdom (a), (c) Direct linkage
Motorola Solutions Inc (UK arm) United States (d), (e) Contribution
Re/Max Holdings Inc United States (e), (g) Direct linkage
Salvat Logistica S.A. Spain (e) Direct linkage
TripAdvisor Inc (UK arm) United States (e) Contribution

Source: A/HRC/63/20, Annex I.[15] Other companies on the list include Motorola Solutions' Israeli subsidiary and Heidelberg Materials' Israeli subsidiary Hanson Israel.[15] The UK companies Greenkote and J.C. Bamford Excavators have been listed since 2020.[8]

Reactions and use

Michelle Bachelet said when the first list was published: "I am conscious this issue has been, and will continue to be, highly contentious". The report said that naming the companies was not "a judicial or quasi-judicial process".[13] Volker Türk said of the 2025 update that it "underscores the due diligence responsibility of businesses working in contexts of conflict to ensure their activities do not contribute to human rights abuses".[22] In 2026 he said the update was "another reminder to companies that they have human rights responsibilities".[23]

The Norwegian pension company KLP excluded 16 companies after the 2020 list, selling holdings worth NOK 275 million. They included Alstom, the main Israeli banks, Bezeq, Cellcom, Partner, Delek Group, Paz and Motorola Solutions. KLP's senior analyst Kiran Aziz said the banks were excluded because "by funding residential construction, they contribute to the development, expansion or maintenance of the settlements".[24]

Who Profits, an Israeli research centre that tracks corporate involvement in the occupation, called the 2020 list "a positive yet partial step". It argued that the narrow focus left out many companies, among them HeidelbergCement (now Heidelberg Materials), which was added in 2025.[25][19] NGO Monitor calls the database the "UN BDS blacklist". In 2019 it said that OHCHR and the Human Rights Council were "relying significantly on Who Profits" to prepare it.[26]

Controversies and conflicts

Israeli and US opposition to the database

According to The Times of Israel, Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom tried to stop the 2020 list being published. After it appeared, Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz suspended ties with the High Commissioner's office, calling it an "exceptional and harsh measure". Katz accused Bachelet's office of "serving the BDS campaign". Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Whoever boycotts us will be boycotted". President Reuven Rivlin read out the names of listed companies. Gilad Erdan spoke of "the UN's consistent anti-Semitism and Israel-hatred", and Benny Gantz called it a "dark day for human rights". The Yesha Council also condemned the list. For the Palestinian Authority, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh threatened legal action against the listed companies, and foreign minister Riyad al-Malki called the list "a victory for international law".[1]

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was "outraged". He called the Human Rights Council "discredited" and said the database "facilitates the discriminatory boycott, divestment, and sanction (BDS) campaign".[27] The United Kingdom, the United States and Czechia voted against resolution 53/25 in 2023.[14]

When the 2025 and 2026 updates were published, Israel's mission in Geneva said it "categorically rejects" them. It said: "This database is meant to serve as a blacklist against businesses that have committed no wrongdoing."[28][23] The Associated Press noted that the 2026 update came shortly after the United Kingdom banned trade with Israeli settlements, and after France and Canada announced similar measures.[23]

Resourcing

OHCHR said that "no regular resources were provided" for the database and that the 2023 update was produced on an exceptional basis.[17] The 2025 report noted that the 2023 update "was not formally submitted to the Human Rights Council".[19] Resolution 53/25 asked for annual updates and for resources to carry them out.[14]

Company objections

Some listed companies dispute their inclusion. Heidelberg Materials told the Associated Press in 2025 that neither it nor Hanson Israel was active in the occupied territories, so their inclusion was "not justified". Steconfer described its "neutral, apolitical role", and Ineco said it worked "strictly within internationally recognised territories".[28] Steconfer was removed in 2026; Heidelberg Materials remains listed.[15]

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Raphael Ahren, Israel freezes ties with UN rights chief after release of settlement blacklist The Times of Israel, 12 February 2020, accessed 22 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 OHCHR, About UN Human Rights OHCHR, accessed 22 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 United Nations General Assembly, A/RES/48/141: High Commissioner for the promotion and protection of all human rights UN Documents, 20 December 1993, accessed 22 October 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 OHCHR, Where we work OHCHR, accessed 22 October 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 OHCHR, High Commissioner OHCHR, accessed 22 October 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Le Mandat, Volker Türk reappointed: Burundi refuses to give him its vote Le Mandat, July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 OHCHR, Database of Business Enterprises Pursuant to Human Rights Council Resolutions 31/36 and 53/25 OHCHR, accessed 22 October 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 United Nations Human Rights Council, Database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/43/71) United Nations, 28 February 2020 (reissued 22 July 2020), accessed 22 October 2026.
  9. ↑ OHCHR, UN Human Rights updates list of companies involved in Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory OHCHR, September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  10. ↑ UN News, Volker Türk appointed new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights UN News, 8 September 2022, accessed 22 October 2026.
  11. ↑ Dag Hammarskjöld Library, OHCHR – UN System Documentation Research Guides at United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library, accessed 22 October 2026.
  12. ↑ OHCHR, OHCHR's Funding and budget OHCHR, accessed 22 October 2026.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 OHCHR, UN Rights Office Issues Report on Business Activities Related to Settlements in the oPt – Press Release Question of Palestine (UNISPAL), 12 February 2020, accessed 22 October 2026.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 United Nations Human Rights Council, Implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 31/36 (Database of settlement businesses) – Human Rights Council Resolution (A/HRC/RES/53/25) Question of Palestine (UNISPAL), 14 July 2023, accessed 22 October 2026.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 United Nations Human Rights Council, A/HRC/63/20: Database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem OHCHR, report dated 25 September 2026 (advance edited version), accessed 22 October 2026.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 OHCHR, Update of the database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the report of the independent international fact-finding mission (A/HRC/22/63) OHCHR, 30 June 2023, accessed 22 October 2026.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 OHCHR, Update of Database of Business Enterprises Involved in Certain Activities Relating to Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory – OHCHR Press Briefing Question of Palestine (UNISPAL), 30 June 2023, accessed 22 October 2026.
  18. ↑ United Nations Human Rights Council, Implementation of Human Rights Council resolutions 31/36 and 53/25: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/57/21) United Nations, 2 August 2024, accessed 22 October 2026.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 United Nations Human Rights Council, Database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the report of the independent international fact-finding mission (A/HRC/60/19) United Nations, 26 September 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
  20. ↑ OHCHR, Report: UN Human Rights Office updates database of businesses involved in Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank (A/HRC/60/19) Question of Palestine (UNISPAL), 26 September 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 UNifeed, OHCHR / OPT Israeli Settlements United Nations, 25 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  22. ↑ Al Jazeera, UN lists 158 firms tied to illegal Israeli settlements Al Jazeera, 26 September 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Associated Press, UN adds 61 firms to settlements blacklist over alleged human rights violations against Palestinians The Guardian, 26 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
  24. ↑ KLP, Why KLP is excluding 16 companies following UN report KLP, 5 July 2021, accessed 22 October 2026.
  25. ↑ Who Profits, UN Releases List of Companies Involved in the Israeli Occupation Who Profits Research Center, February 2020, accessed 22 October 2026. Who Profits-side source.
  26. ↑ NGO Monitor, Who Profits: Foundation for the UN BDS Blacklist NGO Monitor, 24 January 2019, accessed 22 October 2026. Critical source.
  27. ↑ Michael R. Pompeo, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Database Report Release United States Department of State, 13 February 2020, accessed 22 October 2026. Critical source.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Associated Press, U.N. blacklists 68 more companies for alleged complicity in Israeli rights violations in West Bank NBC News, 27 September 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.
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