PCHR Welcomes South Africa Move to Label West Bank Goods

PCHR Welcomes South Africa Move to Label West Bank Settlement Goods
 
The South African Ministry of Trade and Industry has signified its intention to outlaw the labelling of products from illegal Israeli settlements as ‘Made in Israel’.
 
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Rob Davies, published a notice in the Government Gazette on Thursday, 10 May 2012, stating: “I, … intend to issue a Notice in terms of … the Consumer Protection Act…to require traders in South Africa, not to incorrectly label products that originate from Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) as products of Israel” (GG No.35328 Notice 379 of 2012).
 
Dr Davies further stated that consumers in South Africa “should not be misled into believing that products originating from the OPT are products originating from Israel”. Significantly, the notice indicates that the burden for proving where the products originate will lie with the traders.
 
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) welcomes this announcement by South Africa, and urges the South African authorities to continue with their plans to implement the proposal, which will require accurate labelling of products from illegal settlements in the West Bank.
 
PCHR condemns, in the strongest terms, the ongoing construction of settlements in the oPt. Israel’s settlement activities violate international law, as well as the private property rights and the collective and individual human rights of the Palestinian people. For example, Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into the territory it occupies and from creating any permanent change in an occupied territory not intended for the benefit of the occupied population. As such, the construction of settlements in the oPt constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law.
 
A number of other states have signalled that they may take similar steps in relation to the labelling of settlement products. For example, the Danish Foreign Minister, Villy Sovndal, recently announced plans to introduce labelling guidelines for settlement products, which will be mandatory for fruit and vegetable products and voluntary for other products.
 
Additionally, the Irish Foreign Minister, Eamon Gilmore, has suggested that Ireland may push for the European Union to impose a ban on settlement goods unless Israel changes its policy on the illegal settlements. Ireland will assume the rotating Presidency of the EU in January 2013 and Mr Gilmore indicated that Ireland may take advantage of its position to push for an EU boycott of settlement products. The European Union has already excluded settlement goods from the duty-free status given to other Israeli imports.
 
 In this context, PCHR calls upon:
 
1. Israel to fulfil its legal obligations under, inter alia, Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and put an end to settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt);
2. The international community to put pressure on Israel to put an immediate end to its settlements policy in the oPt, which violate international human rights law and international humanitarian law; and
3. The High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfil their obligation under Article 1 of the Convention to respect, and ensure respect for, the Convention in all circumstances.

ENDS

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