Francesca Albanese warns multinationals of complicity in what she calls a “genocide economy,” naming top firms linked to Israel’s military and surveillance operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
A United Nations human rights expert has called on dozens of multinational corporations to halt all business activities with Israel, warning that continued engagement could amount to complicity in war crimes committed in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Francesca Albanese, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, delivered a scathing report to the UN Human Rights Council this week, accusing Israel of operating within an “economy of genocide.” She claims the war in Gaza has become a testing ground for unregulated military and surveillance technologies — a system she says operates without oversight or accountability.
Albanese, an Italian international lawyer known for her uncompromising tone, reiterated her position that Israel is “committing one of the cruellest genocides in modern history.” Her report lists a number of high-profile corporations she alleges are profiting from the ongoing conflict, making them indirectly complicit in Israel’s military campaign.
Among the companies named are:
- Lockheed Martin, accused of supplying weapons used in the conflict;
- Tech giants Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon, for providing surveillance and targeting technologies;
- Caterpillar, Hyundai, and Volvo, for supplying vehicles allegedly used in home demolitions and infrastructure destruction;
- Financial institutions BNP Paribas and Barclays, which are claimed to have underwritten Israeli treasury bonds.
Lockheed Martin responded that its arms sales are government-to-government transactions, directing further queries to the U.S. government. Volvo stated that Albanese’s criticism was based on “insufficient and partly incorrect information,” and emphasized its commitment to human rights, while acknowledging limitations in controlling the long-term use of its products.
Israel’s government has dismissed the report as “groundless,” declaring it will “join the dustbin of history.”
Although UN special rapporteurs are independent experts who do not speak for the organization officially, their findings often shape international human rights discourse. Albanese has consistently been among the most vocal UN voices condemning Israeli policy in Gaza.
In her latest report, she calls on all corporations listed to “end their involvement immediately” in what she argues is an unjust and unlawful military occupation financed by private sector support.