HP responds to the ECCP letter on involvement in Israel’s apartheid policy

In response to a letter submitted on behalf of the ECCP – a european network of 47 organisations from 20 European countries – Jonathan Bauer, Hewlett-Packard Human Rights Program Manager has stated:

(..)  The issues taking place in Israel and Palestine are complex. HP adheres to the laws and regulations of the countries it does business with, including restricted party lists. HP is committed to making the benefits of technology accessible to all people as a means to learn, work and thrive.”

Replying to inquiry related to the HP involvement in several contracts that directly violate international law and Palestinians’ human rights Mr Bauer stated:

The Basel System referenced in your letter was developed by HP to expedite checkpoint passage in a secure environment. The solution contributes to the development of the regional economy by enabling workers and others to get to their place of work or to carry out their business in a faster and safer way. HP’s human rights policy is global, and our commitments regarding respect for human rights are outlined in HP’s Global Human Rights Policy. We acknowledge your concerns around the Basel system and consistent with policy, we will regularly assess HP’s human rights risks, including the Basel System.”

ECCP contend that it remains an insufficient response in the context of Israel’s illegal occupation and persistent human rights violations. 

We would like to remain HP that international law is very clear about Israel’s policy in the Occupied Palestine Territories (OPT). All Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law – this is also the official position of the EU and USA.

Israel maintains a stratified ID system – designating Palestinians holding West Bank residence with green ID cards, those in Gaza with red ID cards, and residents of occupied Jerusalem with blue IDs (distinguished from the IDs of Israeli citizens). This structure serves to divide the Palestinian population both from the occupiers and each other, drasticallylimiting freedom of movement, and institutionalise inequality and discrimination, whichamounts to apartheid.

Therefore wewould like to remind HP that the purpose of the checkpoint system established in the OPT is precisely to stop Palestinians from getting to their places of work and carrying out their daily lives, in a clear violation of Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

By supplying Ariel and Modi’in Illit – 2 of the largest illegal Israeli settlements with various forms of technology, HP is complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation and colonisation policy and thus in breach of international law.

According to international law, as reaffirmed in the 2004 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on Israel’s wall and settlements, third parties are obliged not to recognise nor render aid or assistance to such Israeli violations by carrying out financial and economic activity in the settlements.

In addition, in their report adopted in March 2013, the UN Fact Finding Mission affirmed that involvement in settlement activities falls under the jurisdiction of the ICC and could result in criminal liability.

Therefore, the European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP) – a network of 47 organisations, NGO’s, unions and human rights organisations from 20 European countries – reaffirms our demand that Hewlett Packard immediately end all its contracts with Israel that contribute to its policy of colonisation and oppression of the Palestinian people, and that HP undertake concrete measures to that effect.