UN to vote on 'black list' of Israeli settlement-linked firms

The United Nations human rights council will today vote on whether to establish a database of companies that do business in Israeli settlements on the West Bank. Israel, the US and the UK are opposing the move, arguing that it would constitute a blacklist. The database, which would be managed by the UN and which would include Israeli, Palestinian and international companies, would cover business activity in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. Various EU countries are believed to be opposed to the resolution and plan to abstain.

The United Nations human rights council will vote on Thursday on whether to set up a database of all companies that do business in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied territories.



The database, which would be managed by the UN, would list Israeli, international and Palestinian companies.

The move is being opposed by Israel – which argues that the database would constitute a blacklist – as well as the US and the UK. Palestinian officials believe they have sufficient support to ensure the measure passes at the human rights council (HRC) in Geneva when it is put to a vote on Thursday.

The final draft – seen by the Guardian – requests the UN’s high commissioner for human rights, in consultation “with the working group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises ... to produce a database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed … to be updated annually”. The database would cover business activity in the occupied West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.

According to Palestinian officials involved in negotiations to produce the draft resolution, they have come under pressure from US and UK officials, who have warned them that if they do not remove the paragraph from the draft resolution it could affect both aid to the Palestinian Authority and bilateral ties.

The resolution is the result of a Palestinian initiative, advanced with the help of Egypt, Pakistan and other Arab and Muslim countries and sponsored by countries including Bahrain, Venezuela and Algeria.

Other EU countries are said to be concerned about the resolution and are believed to be planning to abstain, arguing that the database is too close to encouraging the boycott, sanctions and divestment movement. Members of the HRC have no veto, however, making such a measure far easier to pass than a similar resolution on the UN security council.

The resolution condemns continued Israeli settlement activity, saying that Jewish settlements in the occupied territories are illegal under international law, and warns companies and businesses against entering into business transactions in the settlements so as not to risk being involved in human rights violations.

A Palestinian official told the Guardian on Wednesday that its delegation intended for the full resolution to go to a vote, unchanged, on the orders of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. “We are being offered incentives to remove it,” he said. “High-level meetings in Ramallah; the passage of the rest of the resolution condemning settlements by consensus. But the view is that this would be a concrete measure against the Israeli occupation.”

The latest moves came as President Barack Obama once again poured cold water on hopes that there could be a breakthrough in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in his remaining time in office.

“This conflict has been going on for 60 years,” Obama told students in Argentina. “It’s certainly not going to be solved in the nine months that I have left on the job,” adding that a binational, one-state solution was also not the answer. “That isn’t a solution that will bring stability because of the great distrust between the Jewish people and the Palestinians. The only way to solve the crisis is with two states for two peoples.

“Israelis and Palestinians both have legitimate fears, but when it comes to making peace, we can’t do it for them.”