U.S. Stays on U.N. Rights Council While Blacklist Delayed

The United States has said it will continue as a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) after the agency said it was not ready to release a database of companies blacklisted for doing business with entities over the Green Line.

“The U.S. remains a member of the Human Rights Council and intends to be fully engaged at the upcoming March session,” a U.S. official told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.

The reason for the delay was not a change of heart, however, but was blamed on lack of resources. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was tasked by the UNHRC to report on the companies by the end of December, but missed the deadline.

“OHCHR was given limited resources to carry out the mandate within the anticipated time frame, which required it to calibrate its research and engagement with companies accordingly,” it explained on Wednesday.

“Not all companies about which OHCHR had received information could be contacted by the time of submission of the present report,” the office wrote. Only 64 of those have been contacted.

On Wednesday, only the number of companies on the list was made known, but their names were not disclosed.

“Once OHCHR has been in contact with all 206 companies, and subject to determinations of their responses and non-responses, OHCHR expects to provide the names of the companies engaged in listed activities in a future update.”