UN puts Israel on notice over conflict-related sexual violence
The United Nations has warned Israel that it may feature in the next report into perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict if it does not take 'necessary measures' to prevent sexual violence against Palestinian detainees. Hamas, however, was reportedly omitted from the report's section on sexual violence as a tactic of war.
News of the report was first relayed in a letter from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, on Monday.
In the letter, Guterres informed Danon that while Israel is not featured in the new UN Security Council report on Conflict Related Sexual Violence, the UN is still "gravely concerned" about "credible information of violations by Israeli armed and security forces."
However, Guterres 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."
Israel has been put on notice for potential listing in the next reporting cycle "due to significant concerns of patterns of certain forms of sexual violence," Guterres added. He urged Israel to take measures to ensure the immediate cessation of all such acts.
He also issued six time-bound commitments, including the establishment of related enforcement procedures, investigation into all credible allegations, and unimpeded access for relevant UN entities - among others.
Israel rejects UN threats
Danon expressed "outrage" at the claims in a letter of response on Tuesday, adding that "Israel categorically rejects the threats contained in your letter and will not accept the defamation of its defense and security forces, forces which are on the front lines of combating the very crimes your mandate exists to prevent."
The report itself has not yet been made public, however Danon said the section discussing Israel and the Palestinians is "riddled with distortions, selective omissions, and a deeply troubling moral equivalence between the barbaric sexual atrocities committed by the Hamas terror organization and its partners on October 7, 2023, and towards the hostages they have been holding since, and the unfounded, politically motivated allegations levelled against Israeli forces."
Danon added that Guterres's letter failed to take into account that Israel is a democratic state governed by the rule of law with "zero tolerance for sexual violence."
He also criticized the report for calling the detention of Palestinians - "often due to direct involvement in terrorist activity" - 'arbitrary.'
"This is a politicized label and has no relevance to the topic of the abovementioned report," he said.
Danon also claimed that the figures mentioned in the report, even if taken at face value, do not establish a pattern as required for listing under UNSC resolution 2467.
In addition, Danon found fault with Guterres's insinuation that Israel 'denied access' to United Nations monitors, saying it "deliberately omits the clear security, operational, and impartiality concerns that have been repeatedly conveyed to your offices."
"Access cannot be granted to entities that have already prejudged outcomes and that, in some cases, have demonstrated bias against Israel in both language and conduct," he said. "These restrictions stem from impartiality concerns, not from unwillingness to investigate."
According to Danon, Hamas is "conspicuously absent" from the chapter of your report titled 'Sexual violence including as a tactic of war and terrorism: patterns, trends and emerging concerns', despite having committed such acts.
He demanded that the UN immediately remove any consideration of listing Israel in the Annex of following reports, and that it amend the report to accurately reflect both the systematic nature of Hamas's crimes, including in the chapter pertaining acts of terrorism, and on the other hand reflect the absence of evidence establishing a pattern of conflict-related sexual violence by Israeli forces.
He also called for Hamas and associated organizations to be immediately designated as terrorist organizations and sanctioned accordingly in light of the report's annex, which lists them as perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence.
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