Thread by @TaraVanHo

The policy changes from @MorningstarInc show such a lack of competence in #BizHumanRights, international law & human rights standards as to raise questions about the company's basic competence to do ESG research.

A brief 🧵

responsible-investor.com/morningstar-di…

First, "occupation" & "occupied territories" are legal terms. The conditions for those terms are met in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. @MorningstarInc's refusal to accurately describe the situation & geography is a legally unsound choice.

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It is also a dangerous choice. It normalizes a situation that is distinctly & intentionally abnormal under int'l law. Occupation is supposed to be temporary & annexation is prohibited. By choosing, politically, to downplay the illegality of the situation, @MorningstarInc is

giving effect to a series of unlawful actions. That normalization has distinct, negative effects for Palestinians & Palestinian human rights.

@MorningstarInc has clearly not grappled with that part of this situation or their attendant responsibility.

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Why do I say "@MorningstarInc has clearly not grappled" with this? B/c it lists NO Palestinian NGOs in the list of groups consulted. This renders the company's research & "consultation" on everything to do with this situation incomplete & inadequate.

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newsroom.morningstar.com/newsroom/news-…

It also calls into question @MorningstarInc's basic competence to conduct objective & conflict-sensitive human rights analysis. You cannot undertake an ESG / #BizHumanRights assessment of *any* situation without consulting relevant stakeholders & here MS left out an entire

segment of affected stakeholders (Palestinians) whilst making decisions about how to address & understand their reality.

If they couldn't find 🇵🇸 willing to talk with them, (1) they could've started w/ expert academic advice & (2) this should've raised *many* red flags.

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That it didn't raise red flags for @MorningstarInc -- that this is how the company does "social" research for its own interests -- suggests such a lapse of professional competence that MS seems incapable of understanding or meeting (let alone assessing) #BizHumanRights standards.

Their seeming admission of professional incompetence is furthered by the vague claim that "Sustainalytics will immediately terminate the use of several sources, including the United Nations Human Rights Council, among others."

This statement raises *So.* Many. Questions.

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Including: Will this only apply to Israel? If so, why? Does this mean @MorningstarInc will no longer use information only from the political resolutions or also reports from @UNHumanRights or @UN_SPExperts to the Council? The latter are highly valued, expert-driven bodies.

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& does @MorningstarInc realise there's a difference b/w these groups / bodies?

A refusal to use reports from @UNHumanRights or @UN_SPExperts is to commit to willful ignorance & incomplete information. It should be considered professional malfeasance for S-research.

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Finally, Israel & Palestine -- both as an occupation & independent of it -- is a conflict-affected area. Under UN Guiding Principles on #BizHumanRights, this does give rise to a responsibility to use heightened due diligence, meaning a presumption of heightened HR risks.

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For @MorningstarInc to remove that presumption from the Israel-Palestine conflict puts the company perpetually out of alignment with the UNGPs on #BizHumanRights.

It also subjects Palestinians to a lower level of protection than, eg, Ukrainians, South Sudanese, Yemenis, etc.
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In other words, @MorningstarInc has embedded a racist (anti-Palestinian) approach into its ESG research in an effort to combat concerns about another form of racism (anti-Semitism).

This is unacceptable.

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You cannot combat racism & human rights violations by embracing a different type of racism & human rights violations.

& if your ability to assess & respect Israeli rights requires ignoring & abusing Palestinian rights, you again demonstrate professional incompetence.

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The combination of issues suggests such a level of incompetence at #BizHumanRights as to render all other assessments suspect.

In light of this, @MorningstarInc should stick to E&G research & drop the S completely: they clearly don't know how to do it ethically.

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