UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese Issues Groundbreaking Report on Corporate and Institutional Complicity in the Oppression of Palestinians

In a powerful and meticulously documented report presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, lays bare the evolving nature of Israel’s control over Palestinians. Titled “From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide” (A/HRC/59/23), the report characterizes the current reality not merely as an entrenched occupation, but as a system of violence that has become genocidal in character and global in scope.

This report is a continuation of Albanese’s previous analyses, including her 2022 report “Justice for Palestine,” and builds on the ongoing investigation into the structures that enable Israel’s violations of international law. However, this latest submission takes the critique a step further by exposing the global economic ecosystem — consisting of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and even universities — that sustains, facilitates, and profits from the systematic erasure of Palestinian life, culture, and economy.

A Shift in Paradigm: From Occupation to Genocide

Albanese begins by stating that the traditional framework of “military occupation” is insufficient to describe the nature and scale of violence currently occurring in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, where tens of thousands of civilians have been killed, entire neighborhoods flattened, and essential infrastructure decimated.

While the Israeli occupation has long been characterized by the appropriation of land, resources, and movement, Albanese asserts that what is unfolding in Gaza is not simply a continuation of that occupation — it is a paradigmatic shift. It marks the transition to what she calls the “economy of genocide”: an industrialized, profit-driven, and globally sustained system designed to eliminate Palestinian existence as a people.

This system is not only political and military but also economic. The “genocidal violence” is described not as a spontaneous outbreak of war, but as the planned culmination of decades of structural and institutional policies aimed at dismantling Palestinian society and identity.

Anatomy of an Atrocity Economy: Eight Complicit Sectors

Albanese’s report identifies and scrutinizes eight key sectors that are directly or indirectly involved in perpetuating this economy of oppression:

1. Military and Security Industries

These sectors manufacture, sell, and maintain weapons, surveillance equipment, and defense systems used in the daily repression of Palestinians. From drones and warplanes to crowd-control technologies, corporations in this sector benefit from Israeli contracts and combat-tested marketing.

2. Cyber-Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence

Advanced technologies, including biometric databases, facial recognition, predictive policing algorithms, and AI-driven surveillance systems are used to monitor and control Palestinian populations, particularly in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. These tools are also exported globally under the branding of "combat-proven" systems.

3. Construction and Infrastructure

Heavy machinery and construction companies provide bulldozers and engineering services used to demolish Palestinian homes and build illegal settlements. These projects facilitate settler expansion while dispossessing Palestinian communities.

4. Finance and Banking

Banks, insurance firms, and investment funds are deeply intertwined with the occupation economy, providing loans and financial services to settlement construction companies, investing in arms manufacturers, and underwriting Israeli government bonds that support military expenditures.

5. Extraction of Natural Resources

Israeli and multinational firms exploit natural resources in the occupied territories, including water, minerals, and stone, often with full knowledge that these operations violate international law and directly deprive Palestinians of access to their own resources.

6. Telecommunications

Companies in this sector provide internet, cellular, and digital infrastructure in settlements, while systematically excluding or undermining Palestinian service providers. They also support Israel’s digital surveillance infrastructure.

7. Transportation and Logistics

Airlines, shipping companies, and road construction firms play a role in facilitating the movement of goods and settlers to and from the occupied territories. Palestinian mobility, meanwhile, remains heavily restricted.

8. Academic Institutions

Universities are called out for contributing to the development of military technologies, engaging in partnerships with Israeli arms companies, and hosting programs that reinforce the security apparatus. The academic sector, Albanese argues, is not exempt from scrutiny.

Binding Legal Responsibilities for Business and State Actors

The report emphasizes that these relationships are not morally troubling alone — they are legally problematic. Citing international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Albanese reminds corporations and states alike that they have binding legal obligations to avoid complicity in grave human rights abuses, especially in a context where genocide is plausibly taking place.

Notably, Albanese references the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) provisional measures from January 2024, which found a plausible case of genocide in Gaza and placed clear obligations on all states to prevent genocide and ensure they are not contributing to it — directly or indirectly.

The report warns that corporate actors that fail to conduct proper due diligence, disengage from complicit operations, or provide remedy to affected populations could be subject to civil and criminal accountability, including in their home jurisdictions under universal jurisdiction statutes.

International Inaction and the Role of Global Markets

A recurring theme throughout the report is the passivity or complicity of third-party states, particularly those that provide political protection, military aid, or economic partnerships to Israel. Albanese criticizes the international community for maintaining what she calls an “economic firewall” that shields Israeli policies from accountability.

The marketization of violence — the way that occupation is rendered profitable for private actors — is described as a major obstacle to justice. Instead of deterring criminal behavior, the global economic system incentivizes impunity, creating a vast network of vested interests in the continuation of Israeli policies.

Recommendations: A Multi-Level Call to Action

Albanese concludes the report with a powerful set of recommendations aimed at halting the genocide and dismantling the structures that support it. These include:

For States:

• Immediately halt all arms transfers to Israel and impose comprehensive sanctions on both state and non-state actors involved in atrocity crimes.
• Enforce corporate accountability legislation that mandates due diligence and penalizes complicity in human rights abuses.
• Suspend trade agreements, especially those that benefit or support settlement activity, resource extraction, or security infrastructure in the occupied territories.

For Corporations:

• Conduct thorough human rights impact assessments for any business activity connected to Israel or the occupied territories.
• Withdraw from contracts and operations that sustain or benefit from the occupation, apartheid, or military activities in Palestine.
• Provide reparations to Palestinians harmed by corporate involvement in illegal activities or support for the Israeli war effort.

For Investors and Institutions:

• Divest from complicit companies, including those in weapons, surveillance, and infrastructure sectors.
• Cease academic partnerships with Israeli institutions involved in military-industrial activity.
• Publicly disclose exposure to operations in occupied Palestine and adopt clear ethical investment policies.

For Civil Society:

• Hold corporations and institutions accountable through naming and shaming, consumer pressure, and litigation.
• Educate and mobilize communities to demand ethical policies from their governments, universities, and employers.
• Support Palestinian-led initiatives for justice, restitution, and self-determination.

Toward a Just and Accountable Future

Francesca Albanese’s report is not merely an indictment — it is a blueprint for action. By naming the actors, exposing the structures, and clarifying the law, it gives the international community a clear opportunity to end its complicity.

“The dismantling of the economy of genocide,” she writes, “is not only a legal and moral imperative. It is a necessary first step toward any future where justice and peace can be achieved.”

As Gaza continues to suffer under the weight of what Albanese and others have described as a plausible genocide, the choices of corporations, investors, and governments will either reinforce this system of destruction — or begin to undo it.

Francesca Albanese is the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. An international lawyer and author, she specializes in displacement and human rights law and is co-author of Palestinian Refugees in International Law.

( Source: From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide (A/HRC/59/23), a report by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, presented at the 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, available here. )