Israel rejects UN allegations that its forces have sexually abused detained Palestinians
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a letter to Ambassador Danny Danon that he is 'gravely concerned' about reported violations against Palestinians by Israeli military and security forces in several prisons , a detention center and a military base.
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The Hill
4 minutes ago
- The Hill
Sexual violence in conflicts worldwide increased by 25% last year, UN says
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Sexual violence in conflicts worldwide increased by 25% last year, with the highest number of cases in the Central African Republic, Congo, Haiti, Somalia and South Sudan, according to a U.N. report released Thursday. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' annual report said more than 4,600 people survived sexual violence in 2024, with armed groups carrying out the majority of the abuse but some by government forces. He stressed that the U.N.-verified figures don't reflect the global scale and prevalence of these crimes. The report's blacklist names 63 government and non-government parties in a dozen countries suspected of committing or being responsible for rape and other forms of sexual violence in conflict, including Hamas militants, whose attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked the war in Gaza. Over 70% of those listed have appeared on the report's blacklist annex for five years or more without creating steps to prevent the violence, the U.N. chief said. U.N. warns Israel and Russia about allegations For the first time, the report includes two parties that have been notified the U.N. has 'credible information' that could put them on next year's blacklist if they don't take preventive actions: Israel's military and security forces over allegations of sexual abuse of Palestinians primarily in prisons and detention, and Russian forces and affiliated armed groups against Ukrainian prisoners of war. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon, who circulated a letter Tuesday from Guterres about the country's forces being put on notice, said the allegations 'are steeped in biased publications.' 'The U.N. must focus on the shocking war crimes and sexual violence of Hamas and the release of all hostages,' he said. Russia's U.N. mission said it had no comment on the secretary-general's warning. The 34-page report said 'conflict-related sexual violence' refers to rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, forced sterilization, forced marriage and other forms of sexual violence. The majority of victims are women and girls. 'In 2024, proliferating and escalating conflicts were marked by widespread conflict-related sexual violence, amid record levels of displacement and increased militarization,' Guterres said. 'Sexual violence continued to be used as a tactic of war, torture, terrorism and political repression, while multiple and overlapping political, security and humanitarian crises deepened.' The toll of sexual violence in conflict The U.N. says women and girls were attacked in their homes, on roads and while trying to earn a living, with victims ranging in age from 1 to 75. Reports of summary executions of victims after rape persisted in Congo and Myanmar, it said. In an increasing number of places, the report said armed groups 'used sexual violence as a tactic to gain and consolidate control over territory and lucrative natural resources.' Women and girls perceived to be associated with rival armed groups were targeted with sexual violence in the Central African Republic, Congo and Haiti, it said. In detention facilities, the report said sexual violence was perpetrated 'including as a form of torture,' reportedly in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Libya, Myanmar, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. 'Most of the reported incidents against men and boys occurred in detention, consistent with previous years, and included rape, threats of rape and the electrocution and beating of genitals,' the report said. U.N. report details where abuse is occurring The U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic documented cases of rape, gang rape, forced marriage and sexual slavery affecting 215 women, 191 girls and seven men. In mineral-rich eastern Congo, the peacekeeping mission documented nearly 800 cases last year, including rape, gang rape, sexual slavery and forced marriage, 'often accompanied by extreme physical violence,' the report said. The number of cases involving the M23 rebel group, now controlling the main city Goma, rose from 43 in 2022 to 152 in 2024, it said. In Sudan, where civil war is raging, the report said that groups providing services to victims of sexual violence recorded 221 rape cases against 147 girls and 74 boys since the beginning of 2024, 'with 16% of survivors under five years of age, including four one-year-olds.'
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Conservationists hail US judge's order to pause building at ‘Alligator Alcatraz' jail
A coalition of conservation groups has welcomed a federal judge's ruling on Thursday that halts construction work on the immigration jail in the Florida Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz. US district judge Kathleen Williams ordered workers to stop adding any new paving, infrastructure or ground filling at the remote tented detention camp that the Trump administration intends to use to eventually hold 3,000 immigrants awaiting deportation. Her verbal ruling, which she said would be reinforced by a written restraining order later on Thursday, will be in effect for two weeks while attorneys argue whether the construction of the camp broke environmental rules. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) can continue to operate the camp and hold detainees there, Williams said, pending the resolution of the lawsuit's claims that the project threatens fragile wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals, and will reverse billions of dollars' worth of environmental restoration. 'It's a relief that the court has stepped in to protect the Everglades' sensitive waters, starry skies and vulnerable creatures from further harm while we continue our case,' said Elise Bennett, attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. 'We're ready to press forward and put a stop to this despicable plan for good.' The lawsuit, filed in Miami district court by an alliance including the Friends of the Everglades, Earthjustice and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, is challenging only the environmental impact of the jail, which opened last month after a high-visibility visit by Donald Trump. A separate lawsuit brought by civil rights groups says detainees' constitutional rights are being violated. They claim they are barred from meeting lawyers and are being held without charges, and that a federal immigration court has canceled bond hearings. A hearing in that case is scheduled for 18 August. In addition to facing legal proceedings, the opening of Alligator Alcatraz has been greeted by a wave of outrage by Democrats, some of whom toured the facility last month and decried 'inhumane' conditions inside, including detainees held in cages, flooding from heavy rain, non-functioning toilets, broken air conditioning and swarms of mosquitoes. It was later also revealed that despite Trump's assurances that the jail was reserved for 'deranged psychopaths' and 'some of the most vicious people on the planet', hundreds of detainees had no criminal records or active charges against them. The lawsuit claims the detention facility violates the National Environmental Policy Act (Nepa), which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of major construction projects. Jesse Panuccio, attorney for the state of Florida, said during the hearing that although the detention center would be holding federal detainees, the construction and operation of the facility was entirely under the state of Florida, meaning the Nepa review would not apply. His argument appeared not to sway Williams, who said the project was at a minimum a joint partnership between the state and federal government, and that anything built at the site would probably remain there permanently, regardless of how the case was ultimately decided. The plaintiffs presented witnesses on Wednesday and Thursday in support of the injunction, while attorneys for the state and federal government are scheduled to present their case next week. Talbert Cypress, chair of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, said he welcomed the decision to halt construction on and around the Big Cypress preserve, the group's traditional tribal homelands. 'The detention facility threatens land that is not only environmentally sensitive but sacred to our people,' he said. 'While this order is temporary, it is an important step in asserting our rights and protecting our homeland. The Miccosukee Tribe will continue to stand for our culture, our sovereignty and the Everglades.' The Associated Press contributed to this article
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Florida governor says state will open ‘deportation depot' immigration jail
Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, said on Thursday that the state will open a second immigration jail, as a federal judge weighs whether to close the controversial existing facility in the Everglades known as 'Alligator Alcatraz'. DeSantis painted the forthcoming detention center at the shuttered Baker correctional institution in Sanderson as supplementary to the remote tented camp. He also said the facility would hold up to 1,300 undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation. 'We need additional capacity beyond what we're already doing down in south Florida. There's a massive part here at Baker that isn't being used. [It's] ready-made infrastructure,' DeSantis announced during a press conference at the disused jail 50 miles north of Gainesville. Baker was closed in 2021 after numerous reports of excessive violence and abuse of inmates by guards. The governor gave no timeline for its opening, but said the facility, which he said would be called 'the deportation depot', would be operational soon. 'We're not rushing to do it right this day, but they're doing what they need to do to get it done with all deliberate speed,' he said. 'It's a priority for the people of this state, it's a priority for the people of this country.' The development came on the heels of district court judge Kathleen Williams hearing final arguments in Miami on Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by an alliance of environmental groups seeking to close Alligator Alcatraz. Related: Ice deported boy with cancer and two other US citizen children to Honduras, suit alleges The six-week old facility has been beset by allegations of 'inhumane' conditions including detainees held in cages in excessive heat, broken toilets and air conditioning, inadequate food, and a claim this week that a respiratory virus was running rampant. Williams last week issued a two-week restraining order halting new construction at the Everglades detention facility, while allowing operations there to continue. She said she would decide whether to renew it before its 21 August expiration. In a statement, the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the plaintiffs claiming the camp was causing irreversible destruction to the ecologically sensitive wetlands, said it was 'optimistic' that the Alligator Alcatraz facility would be closed while the lawsuit proceeds. 'We're feeling hopeful that the strong case we've made over the last few days will move the court to pump the brakes on this dangerous detention center,' said attorney Elise Bennett, the group's Florida and Caribbean director. DeSantis made no mention of the lawsuit on Thursday, but confirmed the state's emergency management department, which operates Alligator Alcatraz on behalf of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (Ice) using a range of private contractors, was working in haste to have the camp at Baker opened. 'We're taking yet another step in supporting the important mission that President Trump was elected to implement, securing the border and enforcing immigration laws, and removing illegal aliens,' he said. DeSantis highlighted a number of other steps his administration had taken, including banning so-called sanctuary cities for undocumented immigrants and forcing state law enforcement agencies to support or participate in Ice actions. 'We have done more on this than any other state by a country mile,' he said. DeSantis said he had originally looked at opening an immigration jail at Camp Blanding, a joint military training base west of Jacksonville, but his staff had concluded that Baker was a better option because it was a 'one-stop shop' close to Lake City airport and its longer runway. 'The reason is not to house people indefinitely; we want to process and return illegal aliens to their home country. That is the name of the game,' he said.
