UNHRC members call for annual updates to settlement blacklist
The list was presented to the UNHCR on Monday, following a delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFUnited Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. Geneva, Switzerland June 15, 2020(photo credit: FABRICE COFFRINI/POOL VIA REUTERS)
The UN database of companies doing business in Jewish areas beyond the pre-1967 lines – including east Jerusalem, the Golan and the West Bank – should be updated annually, UN Human Rights Council members said on Monday.The controversial database of 112 businesses, which Israel has dubbed the “blacklist,” was first published in February. The suspension of the UNHRC’s 43rd session in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic prevented its presentation to the council.That session was resumed Monday, with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet telling the 47 council members of its publication during the Agenda Item 7 debate, and providing a plan for an annual update of the list.The UNHRC should “establish a group of independent experts, with a time-bound mandate, to report directly to the council for that purpose,” Bachelet said, adding that the initial resolutions which created the database should also be updated annually. The Palestinian Authority and a number of member states echoed that call during Monday's meeting.The council has argued that the list is needed so that businesses are made aware that they are engaging in activity which it holds is illegal under international law, and which could be deemed by that law to be criminal activity.Israel has argued that the business activity is legal; that the list helps the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement boycott Israel; and that this is part of the council’s long-standing bias against the Jewish state.It has further pointed to the entire Agenda Item 7 debate as another example of that bias.Alleged human rights allegations against all UN member states are debated at each UNHRC session under Agenda Item 4. Only Israel has a standing place on the agenda, Item 7, dedicated to its alleged human rights abuses against the Palestinians.Israel’s claim of bias with regard to Agenda Item 7 has gained steam over the last several years, with many of the European members opting not to speak during the Agenda Item 7. In this session, only Luxembourg, Ireland and Switzerland spoke.Qatar said that Agenda Item 7 was needed to help council members hold Israel accountable for its actions.
