Excluding services from Occupied Territories Bill has ‘no legal basis’, says IHREC

IHREC chief commissioner Liam Herrick welcomed confirmation that the long-awaited Occupied Territories Bill will be introduced before the Dáil’s summer recess in July. Picture. Robbie Reynolds

The Government’s decision not to include the provision of services in its Occupied Territories Bill has “no legal basis”, according to Ireland’s leading human rights NGO.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) said distinctions between services and products had not previously been raised when Ireland championed a ban on goods imported from Israeli settlements in occupied territories.

IHREC chief commissioner Liam Herrick welcomed confirmation that the long-awaited Occupied Territories Bill will be introduced before the Dáil’s summer recess in July.

However, he said Ireland’s legal obligations are clear and that the bill should include all forms of trade, including services, because “that's clearly the will of the Irish people”.

The bill, which will prohibit the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, is due to be brought forward by foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee after months of criticism that the Government was delaying progress.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has argued that banning services could affect hundreds of thousands of jobs. In defending the exclusion of services from the legislation, he said he has “to protect about 250,000 jobs in this country”.

Mr Herrick said: “It's very welcome that there's a clear political commitment from the government that they will now bring forward their own bill.

“It's a very important step for Ireland in terms of its international obligations. It has a wider European significance as well.” 

However, he said it was important to note that the International Court of Justice, in its advisory opinion to the UN General Assembly, outlined obligations on Israel, the UN, and other states regarding the continued occupation of Palestinian territories.

“It made clear that there was an obligation on all states to take steps to prohibit trade or investment that supports the continuing occupation of the (Occupied Palestinian Territories).

“Now that's unequivocal, and there's no suggestion in the opinion of the International Court of Justice that there's a distinction between trade in goods and trades and services.

“Indeed, when Ireland (previously) intervened at the International Court of Justice, Ireland did not make any such distinction.

“So, there is, from our perspective, no legal basis for such a distinction.” 

Mr Herrick also pointed out that while advice from Attorney General Rossa Fanning has been cited as the reason services were excluded from the bill, previous legal advice had not made such a distinction.

“We've seen previous advice of the Attorney General in regard to this bill and that did not address such a distinction between goods and services,” he said.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland on Wednesday, Mr Herrick was asked whether Helen McEntee was correct when she said in a recent interview that the legislation “won't change the decisions or the actions by the Israeli government”.

He replied: “I’m not sure she is.

“Ireland has played a very significant role in moving the dial within the European Union on the common position with regard to Israel.

“It's important to bear in mind the steps Ireland has taken, including the recognition of Palestine, and I think most significantly, calling for a suspension of the EU trade agreement.

“So Ireland has taken these much bigger steps without economic consequence.

“So I think it's very clear the legal obligations are that it should be all forms of trade.

“That's clearly the will of the Irish people, and it's now for the Oireachtas to pass the necessary legislation.”