Mr. Martin Konený:

I thank the Senator for the question. The UN database already exists. It is a database of companies involved in the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. It was put together and made public at the beginning of last year. It is not the only such list. The UN has previously published lists of companies involved in human rights violations in Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo. A number of civil society organisations have suggested that it would be good to apply such measures to further conflict zones and occupied territories around the world.

Our main point, and we mention it in our submission, is that the Irish Government has been ambivalent about the database, while countries such as Belgium and Sweden openly welcomed it. We see a contradiction there between the usual very strong Irish position on the illegality of the settlements and the ambivalent stance on the database. The database is supposed to be updated annually, but there is a question now as to whether this will happen. That is why support from European governments for the continuation of this project at the UN is very important, not least from the point of view of the companies that have been listed. If a company ceases its activities which contribute to the settlements, it has a right to be delisted. Conversely, companies that get involved in activities supporting settlements should be added to the database. That is why it is so important to continue the updating process.