Conflict & Security

Wars and conflicts are big business. DanWatch has documented trade in goods from occupied land, investments in weapons and treasury bonds in repressive regimes.

Investigation

BUSINESS ON OCCUPIED TERRITORY

Europe’s five largest pension funds have combined investments of €7.5 billion in companies with business activities in and around illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. This is at odds with United Nations guidelines, clear warnings from 18 European countries, and undermines the two-state solution, experts warn. Danwatch visited the West Bank including East Jerusalem.

News

Companies with activities in or around illegal Israeli settlements

36 publicly traded companies with economic activities in or around settlements, checkpoints, the separation wall or involved in extraction of natural resources in the occupied Palestinian territories - with investments from the five largest European pension funds.

News

Hydro boom sparks violent conflicts in Nepal

A state of emergency in Nepal has paved the way for green energy projects intended to relieve the country’s energy crisis. But following the approval of new hydroelectric power plants, conflicts have arisen between the government and local communities who feel their voices were not heard in the process, leading to several violent clashes between police and locals in 2016 alone.

News

Maersk scraps ships at dangerous shipyards in India

Maersk has sent two ships to be recycled at a shipyard in India considered by experts to be dangerous. Cancer, mutilation and death caused by a lack of protective equipment threaten employees, according to occupational safety experts that have reviewed Danwatch’s documentation. Maersk concedes that there are problems.

News

Google investors “deeply concerned” over human rights violations in Kenyan wind project

Google is preparing to acquire a large share in Kenya’s prestigious green-energy Lake Turkana Wind Power project, but the deal is mired in accusations of violations of indigenous peoples’ rights and a court case over illegal land acquisition. In a leaked letter obtained by Danwatch, Google investors say they are “deeply concerned”.

News

Danske Bank removes Bank Hapoalim from exclusion list

It made headlines around the world when Danske Bank in early 2014 excluded Israeli Bank Hapoalim from its investment portfolio over Hapoalim’s ties to Israeli settlements. Now, two years later, Danske Bank is ready to invest in Bank Hapoalim again. Danwatch has tried to find out why.

News

The Municipality of Copenhagen continues investments in Israeli settlements

Despite critique, the Municipality of Copenhagen continues its investments in companies that contribute to the maintenance of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, a new report from Danwatch shows.

News

Danish stores halts sales of cosmetics from illegal settlements

Danish stores take lotions from Israeli settlements off the shelves and retract orders. Minister advises against trade with settlements.

News

Are your savings invested in illegal settlements?

Danish pension funds and investment funds are using their customers' savings to invest heavily in illegal Israeli settlements. The UN special rapporteur recommends the selling of shares, but this is not the way to go, investors say.

News

Danish universities work with illegal settlements

The Technical University of Denmark and Roskilde University participates in scientific collaborations involving Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. DTU now drop their project with a settlement. The Danish Foreign Minister welcomes the decision.

News

ISS provides security services in illegal settlements

The cleaning service giant ISS provides cleaning services, catering and – like the security firm G4S – security services for illegal settlements in Palestine

Theme

The Hidden Slaves of Dubai

Rambøll partners use slave labour