On Tuesday 3 December Al-Haq, in conjunction with Franciscans International, Act Alliance, MISEREOR, FASTENOPFER and the Centre Catholique International Geneve will host a side event entitled "Addressing Justice, Due Diligence and Access to Remedy in the Context of Extractive Industries: Cases in the Philippines, Mozambique, southern Africa, Palestine and Thailand". The event will provide an opportunity to exchange views on the implementation of the United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Guiding Principles) in terms of due diligence, State responsibility and access to remedy. It will be held at 6:45 pm in the Conference Room (Ground Floor), 1 rue Varembé (opposite ITU Building), 1202 Geneva. The event is open to those who are interested in the subject of business and human rights, but may be unable to attend the Forum itself.

Al-Haq welcomes the decision by the Dutch company Royal HaskoningDHV to terminate its involvement in a municipal wastewater project to be located in occupied East Jerusalem. In particular, Al-Haq approves of Royal HaskoningDHV’s adherence to principles of international law, and their commitment to the principles and standards of the UN Global Compact (2000). The first two principles of the UN Global Compact (2000) state that businesses should support and respect the protection of international human rights within their spheres of influence and make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses. In a statement issued on 6 August the company explained that “[i]n the course of the project, and after due consultation with various stakeholders, we came to understand that future involvement in the project could be in violation of international law.”

As a Palestinian organisation committed to the promotion and protection of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Al-Haq is gravely concerned by the Israeli authorities’ plans to build a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Wadi al-Nar (Kidron Valley), in occupied East Jerusalem. This wastewater treatment plant will treat wastewater originating from households in East Jerusalem, including settlements. The wastewater will undergo initial, partial treatment in a facility run by the settlement organisation the Jordan Valley Water Association. The partially treated wastewater will subsequently be used for irrigation in settlements in the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea area.