105 Organizations Submit on WSP’s Illegal Settlement Enterprise to UN Database, Calling New UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Investigate

Check out media coverage:

Human rights orgs call on UN to add Canadian firm to settlement business database, Mondoweiss, September 30, Karen Rodman

NGOs push for Montréal-based firm to be added to UN database of businesses operating in illegal Israeli settlements, Canadian Dimension, September 21, Karen Rodman

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Immediate Release

September 15, 2022

105 Organizations Submit on WSP’s Illegal Settlement Enterprise to UN Database, Calling New UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Investigate

Today, Al-Haq and Just Peace Advocates submitted a report to the newly appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, calling for WSP Global Inc. (WSP), a Canadian company, to be included to the UN database of businesses operating in illegal Israeli settlements (‘the database’). The submission is endorsed by 105 organizations from all over the world, in addition to esteemed individuals, such as former Canadian Member of Parliament Libby Davies; former UN Special Rapporteurs Michael Lynk, John Dugard, and Richard Falk; and Noam Chomsky.  

WSP, whose major shareholder is the Canadian Public Pension Investment Board, has been contracted to plan, design, maintain, and extend the Jerusalem Light Rail (JLR),^[1] an Israeli public tramway system that contributes to the maintenance of illegal Israeli settlements in occupied and annexed Eastern Jerusalem. WSP facilitates the practice of forcible transfer of settlers into the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), through its construction and servicing of the JLR, while deepening the physical, social and economic integration of the settlements. Through its active maintenance of Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise^[2] in occupied Eastern Jerusalem, WSP is involved in gross and systematic violations of fundamental human rights against the protected Palestinian population. 

Dr. Susan Power, Al-Haq’s Head of Legal Research and Advocacy, explains, “By operating rail services connecting settlements in the OPT, on land appropriated from the occupied Palestinian population, WSP is complicit in aiding and abetting the commission of war crimes, and agents for the company may be held individually criminally liable.^”

The appropriation of Palestinian land and destruction of Palestinian property executed for the construction and maintenance of the JLR violates Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.  In accordance with international law and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, WSP, as a corporation operating in a conflict-affected area, must comply with international humanitarian law and human rights law, by means of establishing policies that seek to prevent human rights abuses during its operations and trade. Moreover, WSP is expected to act with enhanced due diligence when conducting business at home and abroad.^[3]

“Canada, as the home state of WSP,” explains Karen Rodman, Executive Director of Just Peace Advocates, “is the primary duty bearer in ensuring that WSP is held to account, for its maintenance of Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise, and must fulfill its obligations to facilitate measures and remedies for the compensation of the affected Palestinian communities, whose rights to movement, property, livelihood, and family have been severely violated due to WSP’s activities.”

Considering WSP’s Code of Ethics stating its commitment to respect, support and safeguard human rights, as well as its status as an active participant of the UN Global Compact, its complicity with Israel’s extensive destruction and appropriation of Palestinian property, through the construction of the JLR, is of grave concern. WSP must cease its activity in the OPT, in accordance with its internal policies and values, and international law.

The database remains a powerful tool for assuring transparency of business enterprises that are involved in, and profit from, Israel’s apartheid regime. Yet, without annual and comprehensive updates to the database, corporations, such as WSP, remain unlisted. It is essential that the HRC fulfils the duty of its mandate to resolution 31/36 (2016) and annually update of the database to ensure it remains an effective mechanism for accountability and transparency.

As Israel’s occupation and apartheid regime is further entrenched by corporations who continue to profit from, and reinforce, Israel’s grave breaches of international law, which deny the Palestinian people their inalienable right to self-determination, including permanent sovereignty over their land and other natural resources. Accordingly, the joint-report calls on the Office of the High Commissioner for OHCHR to: 

1. Update the UN database annually, Human Rights Council resolution 31/36 (2016) in its entirety, reaffirming its independence and impartiality to fulfilling its mandates, and demonstrates its commitment to uphold human rights standards, and the rule of law and justice. 
2. List WSP in the upcoming update and report of the UN database on the grounds that its activities raise human rights concerns and that are explicitly addressed by the UN database. 
3. Continue to exert the necessary efforts to ensure transparency and promote accountability for business activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, to counter the pervasive impunity stemming from corporate- related violations and grave breaches of international law in such contexts.

---

^[1] The JLR, which services the illegal settlements, also provide services to the A1 train line project between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, which crosses the Green Line into occupied Palestinian territory (OPT). 

^[2] The establishment of which, is internationally condemned under UN Security Council as having “no legal validity” and constituting “a flagrant violation under international law,” UNSC Resolution 2334 (23 December 2016), p.1. Canada also recognizes the illegality of Israel’s settlements and understand that they “constitute a serious obstacle to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.” Government of Canada, ‘Canadian policy on key issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’ (Government of Canada, 19 March 2019)

^[3]  Ibid. See also See also, United National Development Programme, Heightened Human Rights Due Diligence for Business in Conflict‑Affected Contexts (UNDP, 2022).

#stopthetrain

 #Mindthegap

 #HRC51

Today, John Dugard, @MichaelLynk5 and @rfalk13 (former UN Special Rapporteurs) & former MP @LibbyDavies endorsed a report submitted by @alhaq_org & @AdvocatesJust to @UN_HRC to add @wsp to UN database for its complicity with Israel's annexing Jerusalem Light Rail. #Mindthegap pic.twitter.com/QGqrj0mFNX

— Just Peace Advocates (@AdvocatesJust) September 15, 2022

Endorsements from Organizations

ECOSOC Organizations are designated with an asterisk.

1. Academics for Palestine- Concordia
2. Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
3. Africa4Palestine
4. Al Dameer Association for Human Rights
5. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights *
6. American Association of Jurists (Asociación Americana de Juristas) *
7. Americans Committed to Justice and Truth
8. Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ)
9. Arab Cause Solidarity Committee (CSCA)
10. Artists for Palestine UK
11. Asociación Venezolana de juristas
12. Associação Portuguesa de Juristas Democratas
13. Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS)
14. Atlantic Canada Palestine Society
15. Australian Palestinian Professionals Association
16. Australians for Palestine
17. Baltimore Nonviolence Center
18. Barmard-Boecker Centre  Foundation
19. Bathurst Street United Church
20. BDS Vancouver/Coast Salish Territories
21. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies *
22. Canada Palestine Association
23. Canadian Council of Muslim Women Montreal
24. Canadian Foreign Policy Institute
25. Canadian Voice of Women for Peace *
26. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
27. Canadians for Peace and Justice in Kashmir
28. Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem
29. Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid Victoria, British Columbia
30. Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe
31. Defense for Children International – Palestine
32. Early Childhood Development Intercultural Partnerships
33. Edmonton Small Press Association
34. Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Israel Network
35. European Legal Support Center
36. Free Palestine Halifax
37. Free Palestine Maastricht, the Netherlands
38. Freedom Flotilla Coalition
39. Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)
40. Gaza Action Ireland
41. Global Peace Alliance Society
42. Good Shepherd Collective
43. GreaterToronto4BDS
44. Green Mountain Solidarity With Palestine, Vermont
45. Hamilton Coalition to Stop The War
46. Housing and Land Rights Network – Habitat International Coalition, Egypt
47. Human Rights for All (HR4A) Saskatchewan
48. Human Without Borders Organization
49. ICAHD Finland
50. Independent Jewish Voices Canada
51. International Association of Democratic Lawyers *
52. International Service for Human Rights, Switzerland *
53. Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC)
54. Jewish Network for Palestine (JNP), UK
55. Jewish Voice for Peace – Bay Area Chapter
56. Joining Hands for Justice, Palestine/Israel, Atlanta
57. Justice For All Canada
58. Justice for Palestinians Calgary
59. Kairos Sabeel Nederland
60. Kashmir Law and Justice Project
61. Knowledge Track Inc.
62. Kumi NOW
63. Land Research Center, Palestine *
64. Local Alliance for Mideast Peacen Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
65. Midislanders for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, British Columbia
66. Montreal for a World BEYOND War
67. National Association of Democratic Lawyers of South Africa (NADEL)
68. National Lawyers Guild International Committee
69. Niagara Movement for Justice in Palestine-Israel (NMJPI)
70. Oakville Palestinian Rights Association
71. Palestine House (Mississauga, Canada)
72. Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network (PIEN), Australia
73. Palestine Solidarity Campaign, South Africa
74. Palestine Solidarity Network – Edmonton
75. Palestine Solidarity St, John’s Newfoundland
76. Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU), Montreal
77. Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Palestine
78. Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace, Vienna
79. Peace Alliance Winnipeg
80. People for Peace-London
81. Quebec Public Interest Research Group – Concordia
82. Regina Peace Council, Saskatchewan
83. Rosette Network Ltd., Canada
84. Rumbo a Gaza, Spain
85. Sabeel Jerusalem
86. Sadaka The Ireland Palestinian Alliance
87. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
88. Social Justice Centre UBC
89. Socialist Action/Ligue pour L’Action socialiste, Canada
90. Solidarité populaire Estrie, Sherbrooke
91. SOMO (The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations),the Netherlands
92. SPHR-McGill
93. StandWithKashmir
94. Students for Justice in Palestine at Rutgers – New Brunswick
95. The Canadian BDS Coalition
96. The Community Action Center / Al-Quds University
97. The Israel Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
98. The Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa
99. The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy – MIFTAH *
100. Union of Agricultural Work Committees, Palestine
101. United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine and Israel, Canada
102. Victoria Peace Coalition, British Columbia
103. Winnipeg Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid
104. Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling, Ramallah *
105. World BEYOND War

Organizations that signed after submission:

Norwegian People’s Aid
Womens International League for Peace and Freedom Canada
Nederlands Palestina Komitee
Antonine Friendship Link
Reedley Peace Center, Reedley, California.
TwentyOne34 Technologies Corp.
Islamic Human Rights Commission
Ontario Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines

Endorsements from Individuals

Ali Sbeiti, Imam, Montreal

Alisa Gayle-Deutsch, Musician, Tkaronto, Canada

Alroy Fonseca, Activist, Ottawa

Annette Lengyel, Human rights organizer, Calgary, Canada

Art Jaszczyk, Retired Public High School Teacher in Toronto

Barry Heselwood, Human Rights Activist                      

Bill Walton, Leeds UK

Bruce Katz, Retired teacher. Co-president Palestinian and Jewish Unity, Montreal

Bruce Lofquist, Human rights advocate, Oakville

Bruce R. Allen Paralegal, St. Catharines

Carol Sanders, Retired legal services attorney, Berkeley, CA

Cathy Gulkin, Filmmaker, Toronto

Chris Hedges, Former Middle East Bureau Chief, The New York Times and author

Cindy Shamban, CA

Clyde Leland, Legal Ethics Professor, Berkeley, CA

Cory Greenlees , Activist, Victoria BC

Hadley Finke, Clerk of Peace Building and Justice, local congregation, Oberlin, Ohio, USA

Dan Maitland, Canada

David L. Mandel, Human rights attorney, Sacramento, CA, USA

Deborah Jackman, Artist, St. John’s, NL

Desmond Sequeira, Activist, Multi-Faith Chaplain (Retired), St. Catharines ON

Diana Chaplin, Advocacy for Palestinian rights, London Ontario

Diane Norman, Mother and Grandmother, Montréal

Dr. Dwyer Sullivan, Retired Social justice high school teacher, Kitchener, Ontario

Carlyle, Union advocate, Winnipeg, Canada

Eliot Helman, San Francesco, CA

Elizabeth Block, Member of Independent Jewish Voices, Toronto, Canada

Elizabeth Lee, St. Anthony, Newfoundland

Enver Domingo, Activist, Oakville. Canada

Eric Mills, Editor, Toronto

Eve Hershcopf, Attorney          

Frances Combs, Clergy, Toronto

Frank Holden, Human Rights Activist, St. John’s, NL

Genie Silver, Activist, retired professor, US

Georgina Kirkman, Senior, activist, concerned citizen, Victoria, B.C. Canada

Gordon Doctorow, EdD, Adjunct Nova Southeastern University, Toronto

Haim Bresheeth-Zabner, Professor, London

Helga Mankovitz, Kingston, Canada

Jacob Ecclestone, Former journalist and trade union organizer, United Kingdom

Jalal Kawash, Human Rights Advocate             

James Deutsch, Assistant Professor University of Toronto, Toronto

James Dickins, Professor, Leeds, United Kingdom

Jane Collier, Clinician, United Kingdom

Jean Gagne, Supporter, Independent Jewish Voices Canada, Montreal

Jennifer Whitfield, Activist, St. John’s, NL

Joe Modeste, Retired teacher, Ajax

John Coates, Professional Engineer, England

John Darling, Member Toronto New Democratic Labor Party, Toronto

John Dugard, Professor of Law, The Hague, Netherlands

John Grant, Citizen, UK

Jordan Samolesky, Musician, St Francis-Xavier, MB

Judith Goldschmidt, Jewish activist for Palestinian human rights, British Columbia

Karen Platt, Jewish Voice for Peace member, Albany

Karen Rodman, Retired civil servant, Kawartha Lakes, Ontario

Kate Chung, Grandmother, Toronto

Kay Von Riesen, Activist, Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador

Khaled Loutfi Mouammar, Former Member, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Richmond Hill,

Larry B Harder, Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture (Retired), Guelph

Larry Hannant, Academic and author, Victoria, BC, Canada

Lawrence Sutherland, Human Rights Activist, Winnipeg,

Libby Davies, Former MP 1997-2015, Vancouver

Lilian Patey, Clergy, Windsor, Ontario

Lisa Rofel, Professor Emerita and Research Professor, San Francisco

Lynette Bondarchuk, Artist; NPO Administrator; Legal Observer, Edmonton, AB Canada

Marco Castillo, Writer and poet, Toronto

Marlena Santoyo, Social justice activist, Philadelphia, PA

Marny Kittredge, Washington, USA

Martha Larsen, Member of Jewish Voice for Peace, San Francisco, CA

Martin Fontaine, agent de pastorale, Montréal, Québec

Michael A. Lebowitz, Professor emeritus of economis, Vancouver, Canada

Michael Lynk, Law Professor, Western University, Canada  

Michal Sapir, Writer and musician, Tel Aviv

Mike Cushman, Retired academic and Palestinian Rights activist            London, UK

Miriam Meir, Jewish-Israeli Human rights activist. Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Mounir Zaccak, North York, Ontario, Canada

Murray Lumley, Retired teacher Toronto

Nadege Couamin, Activist of human rights, Montréal, Québec

Noam Chomsky, Professor, Tucson AZ USA

Omer Aijazi, Academic, Canada

Paul Salvatori, Journalist, Toronto

Paul Tetrault, Retired lawyer, Vancouver, British Columbia

Penny Oyama, Retired nurse, Burnaby, British Columbia

Peter Eglin, Professor Emeritus, Wilfrid Laurier University, Kitchener, Ontario

Peter Purich, Technical Writer (Retired), Ottawa

Phyllis Creighton, Human rights activist, Toronto

Ralph Carl Wushke, Pastor, Toronto

Rev. F. Mark Mealing, Ph.D., Anglican Priest, Meadow Creek, British Columbia

Richard Falk, Professor of International Law, Santa Barbara, CA

Richard Seaford, Professor Emeritus, University of Exeter, UK

Robert Fantina, Author, journalist, Kitchener, Ontario

Roger Waters, Musician & activist     

Rosemary Brown, Community activist, Calgary, Alberta

Roxanna Sabir – Barrister & Solicitor, Human Rights and Immigration Lawyer, Abbotsford, BC

Sally Regan, Company Director, Devon, UK

Sara Sheriff, Education, UK

Seth Morrison, Antizionist activist, El Cerrito, CA

Sherry Ann Chapman, Engaged citizen, Canada

Shirel, Teacher, Mississauga

Sumi Hasegawa, Retired Faculty Lecturer, Canada

Susan Shawl, Concerned Jew, Oakland, CA

Sylvat Aziz, Professor, Kingston, Ontario

Thomas C Brown, Professor Emeritus. Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

W. T. Beckett, Human Rights Activist, St. John’s, NL, Canada

Wolfe Erlichman, Activist, Godfrey, Ontario, Canada

Yann Martel, Writer, Canada

Yves Engler, Author, Montreal

Zvi Gaster, Toronto, Canada

Over 400 people have now endorsed the call. The list above includes those who had endorsed at the time of the submission.