U.N. defers report on companies with Israeli settlement ties
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS | Mon Feb 13, 2017 | 8:48am EST
U.N. defers report on companies with Israeli settlement ties
By Stephanie Nebehay | GENEVA
A U.N. report on establishing a database of companies with business ties to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank has been delayed, the U.N. Human Rights Council said on Monday.
Reuters reported on Friday that the politically sensitive report, due this month from the office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, was not ready.
The council's president, El Salvadorean ambassador Joaquin Alexander Maza Martelli, said on Monday that Zeid had written to him recommending the report be deferred and saying it should now be submitted "as soon as possible, but no later than the end of December 2017".
The issue is sensitive because companies appearing in such a database could be targeted for boycotts or divestment aimed at stepping up pressure on Israel over its West Bank settlements, which most countries and the United Nations view as illegal. Goods produced there include fruit, vegetables and wine.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-un-settlements-idUSKBN15S1BD?il=0