UN
The database’s release demonstrates the commitment of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to upholding human rights standards and the rule of law in pursuit of justice and accountability for oppressed persons, groups and peoples around the world, while reaffirming OHCHR’s independence and impartiality in the face of undue political pressure.
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[caption id="attachment_18250" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] UN Photo/Mark Garten[/caption]
Ms. Michelle BacheletHigh Commissioner for Human RightsPalais Wilson – United NationsGeneva, SwitzerlandMarch 17, 2020Dear Madam High Commissioner,The undersigned organizations commend you and your Office for the publication of the United Nations (UN) database of businesses engaged in activities related to Israeli settlements (database) in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), ahead of the 43rd Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), almost four years since the establishment of the mandate. The database’s release demonstrates the commitment of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to upholding human rights standards and the rule of law in pursuit of justice and accountability for oppressed persons, groups and peoples around the world, while reaffirming OHCHR’s independence and impartiality in the face of undue political pressure. We reaffirm our continued support to the independent work of the OHCHR.Our organizations welcome the release of the database, although not comprehensive in scope, as a critical first step toward the fulfilment of Human Rights Council resolution 31/36 (2016), which strongly indicates that the OHCHR will question the role of business enterprises within the context of rapid illegal settlement expansion. It also indicates that the OHCHR will question Israel’s ongoing consolidation of its unlawful annexation of occupied East Jerusalem and de facto annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank in breach of international law and human rights standards. To this end, the database’s release sets an important precedent by establishing a tangible mechanism strengthening the implementation of international law, particularly in relation to State obligations and the responsibility of businesses to respect international law and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), including in situations of conflict and occupation.As our organizations strongly welcome the long overdue release of the database, we also reiterate the importance of fulfilling the mandate of HRC resolution 31/36 in its entirety; i.e., to ensure the annual update of the database within the framework of the OHCHR. The undersigned organizations are committed to supporting such annual updates through increased transparency and engagement from your office in order to ensure that the database is a living and public document, which serves as a platform for transparency and positively incentivizes corporations to end their activities and relationships with Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise.We look forward to continuing to work with the OHCHR, with a view toward ending corporate impunity for profiting from grave breaches of international law.Sincerely,
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