Copenhagen divests from firms tied to settlements

Copenhagen Municipality voted on June 11, 2024 to stop investing in companies linked by the United Nations to Israeli settlements, according to Danish media reports and the city’s published investment policy. The decision was approved by the municipality’s finance committee by nine votes to two. The move required the city to sell holdings in Airbnb, Expedia Group and Booking Holdings, companies cited in Danish coverage of the vote as appearing on a UN list tied to settlement activity. Copenhagen’s current investment policy says the city does not want to invest in companies that fail to meet international standards on human rights and labor rights. ### Which companies did Copenhagen say it would sell? Airbnb, Expedia Group and Booking Holdings were the companies named in Danish reports on the June 2024 vote. TV 2 Kosmopol and DR reported that the municipality’s holdings in companies on the UN list totaled about 6.8 million Danish crowns at the time. Booking Holdings owns Booking.com, which was also named in Danish coverage before the vote. (tv2kosmopol.dk) The 6.8 million-crown figure was cited by Copenhagen Lord Mayor Sophie Hæstorp Andersen before the committee meeting. DR reported on June 7, 2024 that she planned to present the proposal and said the city should not help promote Israeli settlements or companies investing in them. ### What UN list was the city relying on? (tv2kosmopol.dk) The UN Human Rights Office said on September 26, 2025 that it had updated its database of businesses involved in specified activities connected to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. The office said the database was first issued in 2020 and updated in 2023 before the 2025 revision. The 2025 update listed 158 business enterprises from 11 countries. (dr.dk) The UN office said the listed activities include supplying equipment and materials that facilitate settlement construction and maintenance, surveillance activities, use of natural resources for business purposes, and waste dumping in Palestinian villages. The office said it found “reasonable grounds” to conclude that 158 of 215 companies reviewed were involved in listed activities. (ohchr.org) ### How did Copenhagen frame the decision? Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, Copenhagen’s lord mayor at the time, said before the vote that the municipality had a responsibility as a large investor to consider human rights. DR quoted her as saying the city should invest in a fair and green way and should not be part of the conflict through its investments. (ohchr.org) Copenhagen’s investment policy now states that the city does not want to invest in companies that do not take responsibility for the environment, human rights and worker rights in line with recognized international rules and norms. The policy cites frameworks including the UN Global Compact, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. (dr.dk) ### Who backed it and who opposed it? Social Democrats, the Red-Green Alliance and the Social Liberals voted for the measure, TV 2 Kosmopol reported. Conservatives and Liberal Alliance members voted against it. The vote split reflected a broader debate in Denmark over whether public institutions should use investment policies to cut ties with companies linked to Israeli settlements. (kk.dk) DR reported before the vote that Copenhagen’s finance administration had previously concluded such a move could conflict with applicable rules, but that position later changed, allowing the proposal to proceed. The report did not detail the legal reasoning in the excerpt available. ### Where does the policy stand now? (tv2kosmopol.dk) Copenhagen Municipality’s investment policy page says the finance committee last updated the responsible-investment policy on August 12, 2025, and that the city council subsequently considered it on August 21, 2025. The same page states explicitly that Copenhagen does not want to invest in companies on the UN list linked to Israeli settlements. (dr.dk) The city’s policy page remains the clearest public reference point for the next step because it sets the screening rules for municipal investments and names the standards the municipality says it applies. As of the latest version available on the city website, those rules still include the exclusion tied to companies on the UN settlement-related list. (kk.dk)