Amnesty raises West Bank wall issues
The human rights group called on the Government to probe whether subsidiaries of homegrown companies are involved in building the 26-feet high concrete wall around Palestinian towns and cities.
Colm Ó Cuanacháin, secretary general of Amnesty's Irish section, said the Government had to adopt a coherent approach to human rights.
"The Tánaiste must ensure that Government policy is consistent, and that Irish companies apply the same human rights standards abroad as they would at home," he said.
Israel has claimed the wall is a security measure to combat terrorism, but the wall does not follow the 1967 boundaries of the Occupied Territories.
Mr Ó Cuanacháin added Ireland should use its role as EU president to raise the issue of human rights abuses. "There is an obligation for the Irish Government to promote the protection of human rights and all Irish companies whether working at home or abroad are obliged to comply with human rights law."
Amnesty has claimed a subsidiary of Dublin-based Cement Roadstone Holdings Ltd is involved in the supply of materials for the construction of the wall.
Mr Ó Cuanacháin called on CRH to take immediate steps to ensure its products and subsidiary companies were not involved in building the wall.
"The company should develop a human rights policy as a matter of urgency, and make a clear statement on the impact of its activities in Israel and the Occupied Territories on human rights," he added.
Close to 90% of the wall lies on Palestinian land and when complete it will annex almost 60% of the Occupied Territories to Israel. The International Court of Justice in the Hague is due to rule later this year whether or not the wall is illegal under international law. A spokesman for CRH confirmed it held a minority stake in Mashav, which owns cement suppliers Nesher Cement.
He added: "Nesher is not involved in the manufacture of concrete, or concrete products, or construction activities in the region and has no involvement with this so called security wall."
