The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates welcomed in a statement the Human Rights Council’s adoption of the Palestine resolution calling for updating the database of companies operating in illegal Israeli settlements, including removing companies that are no longer involved from the database and adding names of companies which commenced operations with settlements. Thirty-one countries voted in favor of the draft resolution, whereas 13 countries abstained from voting, and the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic opposed it. The database was mandated by the UN Human Rights Council in 2016. The ministry expressed gratitude to the friendly countries that supported the resolution, due to its importance in the annual updating of the database of companies contributing to the Israeli colonial system and its nourishment. It also expressed gratitude to the companies that are no longer involved with settlements, describing them as brave and principled companies in protecting human rights and the rights of the Palestinian people, and rejecting the criminality posed by the colonial settlement system and settler terrorism. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called on countries that did not support the resolution to review their positions and stop encouraging Israel, the illegal occupying power, for its crimes, stressing that its position is hostile not only to human rights but also to international law. It also called on states and the international community and its organizations to support the High Commissioner for Human Rights and his office, to fulfill and implement the provisions of this resolution, and to provide the necessary information about companies that insist on violating international law, and for states to adopt laws and legislation to hold such companies and individuals accountable as violators of human rights and the rights of peoples.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA