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| UN special investigator Richard Falk |
Caterpillar, Hewlett Packard among businesses that UN "expert" says should be boycotted because they profit from "settlements".
(JPost) UN special investigator Richard Falk has warned that international businesses operating in West Bank settlements may face criminal and civil liability under international law.
This also extends to employees of the businesses in question, he told the United Nations in New York on Thursday, when he spoke at the 24th meeting of a UN General Assembly human rights group – formally called the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee.
Falk also submitted a report to that effect to the General Assembly.
He called on it to considering asking the International Court of Justice at the Hague, which has already advised that Israel is in occupation of the West Bank, to issue an opinion on the liability of businesses that benefit economically from settlements.
Falk further asked the international community to do more to stop West Bank settlements, including boycotting international businesses which operate there.
“My main recommendation is that the businesses highlighted in the report – as well as the many other businesses that are profiting from the Israeli settlement enterprise – should be boycotted, until they bring their operations into line with international human rights and humanitarian law and standards,” Falk said.
“In short, businesses should not breach international humanitarian law provisions.
Nor should they be complicit in any breaches. If they do, they may be subject to criminal or civil liability. And this liability can be extended to individual employees of such businesses,” Falk said.
Among those businesses which he highlighted in the report were, Caterpillar Inc. (US); Veolia Environnement (France); G4S (UK); Dexia Group (Belgium); Ahava (Israel); the Volvo Group (Sweden); the Riwal Holding Group (Netherlands); Elbit Systems (Israel); Hewlett Packard (US); Mehadrin (Israel); Motorola (US); Assa Abloy (Sweden); and Cemex (Mexico).
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