Israel could be listed in UN sexual violence report: Guterres
What's the story
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned Israel that its armed forces could be named in an upcoming UN report on sexual violence. The warning was conveyed through a letter to Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the UN. The letter expressed concern over "credible information of violations by Israeli armed and security forces, perpetrated against Palestinians in several prisons, a detention center and military base." He urged Israel to take immediate action to prevent similar actions from occurring again.
Report details
UN's annual report on sexual violence in armed conflict
The UN's Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict publishes an annual report titled "Conflict-Related Sexual Violence." The report documents incidents of sexual violence in armed conflict. However, Guterres's letter to Danon said that "due to consistent denial of access to United Nations monitors, it has been challenging to make a definitive determination regarding patterns, trends and systematicity of sexual violence in these situations."
Human rights report
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem's report on sexual violence
A 2024 report by Israeli human rights group B'Tselem alleged repeated sexual violence by soldiers or prison guards against Palestinian detainees. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have repeatedly denied allegations of systematic abuse. Israel operates several facilities housing Palestinians, including Sde Teiman and Ketziot Prison in the Negev desert, Megiddo and Gilboa near the West Bank, and Etzion in Jerusalem, among others.
Official response
Danon accuses UN of biased publications
In response to Guterres's letter, Danon accused the Secretary-General of adopting "baseless accusations, which are steeped in biased publications." He urged the UN to focus on sexual violence committed by Hamas instead. A March UN commission had found that Israel had "increasingly employed sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence" against Palestinians. The commission also accused Israel of carrying out "genocidal acts through systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities."
Ongoing investigations
Hamas may have committed sexual violence during October 7 attack
Last year, a UN team found "clear and convincing" evidence of sexual abuse of hostages in Gaza. The team said there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that sexual violence is ongoing. Pramila Patten, the UN special envoy on sexual violence in conflict, said reasonable grounds exist for believing that conflict-related sexual violence occurred during Hamas's October 7 terror attack in Israel. This was the UN's most definitive finding regarding allegations of sexual assault following the incident.