Latest news with #NaviPillay
MTV Lebanon
13-03-2025
- Politics
- MTV Lebanon
UN Experts Accuse Israel of Sexual Violence and Genocidal Acts in Gaza
UN experts have accused Israel of increasingly using sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinians and carrying out "genocidal acts" through the systematic destruction of maternal and reproductive healthcare facilities. A report commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council documents alleged violations, including rape, in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war. It also says the destruction of maternity wards in Gaza and embryos at a fertility clinic could indicate a strategy to prevent births among a particular group - one of the legal definitions of genocide. Israel said it "categorically rejects the unfounded allegations". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded angrily, calling the Human Rights Council "an antisemitic, rotten, terrorist-supporting and irrelevant body". Instead of focusing on war crimes committed by Hamas, he said, it was attacking Israel with "false accusations". The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021 to investigate all alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. The three-member commission said its new report was based on testimony from victims and witnesses of sexual and reproductive violence, some of whom spoke during two days of public hearings held in Geneva earlier this week, as well as verified photos and video footage, and information from civil society and women's rights organisations. The commission's chair Navi Pillay, a South African former UN human rights chief, said the evidence collected "reveals a deplorable increase in sexual and gender-based violence" that she claimed was being employed by Israel against Palestinians "to terrorise them and perpetuate a system of oppression that undermines their right to self-determination". The report says specific forms of sexual and gender-based violence - such as forced public stripping and nudity, sexual harassment including threats of rape, as well as sexual assault - "comprise part of the Israeli Security Forces' standard operating procedures toward Palestinians". Other forms of such violence, including rape and violence to the genitals, were "committed either under explicit orders or with implicit encouragement by Israel's top civilian and military leadership", it alleges. The report does not provide examples of explicit orders from commanders or senior officials. But it does cite statements from Israeli ministers who defended soldiers who were accused of severely mistreating a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman military base last year. Commission member Chris Sidoti, an Australian human rights lawyer, told the BBC: "Sexual violence is now so widespread that it can only be considered systematic. It's got beyond the level of random acts by rogue individuals." Israel has rejected accusations of widespread ill-treatment and torture of Gaza detainees, and insisted it is fully committed to international legal standards. The report says the commission also found that Israeli forces had systematically destroyed sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities across Gaza during the 17-month war there. It concludes that women and girls have died from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth due to conditions imposed by the Israeli authorities which have denied access to reproductive health care, and says they amount to the crime against humanity of extermination. The commission also alleges that Israeli authorities have "destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group" through the "systematic destruction" of sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities, including maternity hospitals and maternity wards of hospitals and Gaza's main in-vitro fertility clinic, Al-Basma IVF Centre in Gaza City. This amounts to "two categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention, including deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians and imposing measures intended to prevent births", it concludes. According to the report, the embryology laboratory at Al-Basma was hit in early December 2023, reportedly destroying around 4,000 embryos as well as 1,000 sperm samples and unfertilised eggs. It says the commission determined through visual analysis of pictures that the damage was caused by a large calibre projectile, most probably an Israeli tank shell, and that it was intentionally attacked by Israeli forces. However, the Israeli military told ABC News at the time that it was not aware of a strike on the clinic. The BBC has contacted the IDF for comment. "The deliberate destruction of a health facility is one serious issue for international humanitarian law and human rights law. But it does appear from our analysis of the attack on this clinic, that it was knowingly and intentionally directed towards the destruction of reproductive services," Mr Sidoti said. "The consequence of this is the prevention of births." In a statement, Israel's mission to the UN in Geneva said the report was "a shameless attempt to incriminate the [Israel Defense Forces] and manufacture the illusion of 'systemic' use of [sexual and gender-based violence]". It criticised what it called the commission's decision to use "information from second-hand single uncorroborated sources", which it said was inconsistent with established UN standards and methodologies. The statement also stressed that the IDF had "concrete directives, procedures, orders, and policies, which unequivocally prohibit such misconduct", as well as mechanisms to investigate any incidents of alleged sexual violence. Israel's prime minister also rejected the report's findings and called the Human Rights Council an "anti-Israel circus". "Instead of focusing on the crimes against humanity and the war crimes that were perpetrated by the Hamas terrorist organisation in the worst massacre carried out against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, the UN has again chosen to attack the State of Israel with false accusations, including baseless accusations of sexual violence," Netanyahu said. The International Court of Justice is hearing a case bought by South Africa that accuses Israeli forces of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel has vehemently denied the allegation. The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. More than 48,520 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. Most of Gaza's 2.1 million population has also been displaced multiple times. Almost 70% of buildings are estimated to be damaged or destroyed; the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have colla
Leaders
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Leaders
UN Report Accuses Israel of Genocidal Acts in Gaza
UN experts on Thursday accused Israel of carrying out 'genocidal acts' and 'sexual violence' against Palestinians during its ongoing war with Hamas. In a new report, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel said that Israeli crimes include the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities and using sexual violence as a war strategy. Sexual Violence The report examined a broad range of violations committed against Palestinian women, men, girls and boys across the Occupied Palestinian Territory since October 7, 2023. It also included two days of public hearings in Geneva on 11-12 March, during which the commission listened to victims of sexual violence, lawyers, advocacy groups and others whose accounts were included in the report. According to the report's findings, Israel has used sexual and gender-based violence across the Occupied Palestinian Territory as 'a strategy of war to dominate and destroy the Palestinian people.' These include forced public stripping and nudity, sexual harassment such as threats of rape, and sexual assault. On this occasion, Chair of the Commission, Navi Pillay, said: 'The evidence collected by the Commission reveals a deplorable increase in sexual and gender-based violence.' Deliberate Acts The report noted that these and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence were committed 'either under explicit orders or with implicit encouragement by Israel's top civilian and military leadership.' Gaza On this matter, Pillay said: 'There is no escape from the conclusion that Israel has employed sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinians to terrorize them and perpetuate a system of oppression that undermines their right to self-determination.' Accountability Measures The report pointed to a lack of accountability measures to convict perpetrators. In the light of this, Pillay said: 'The exculpatory statements and actions by Israeli leaders and the lack of effectiveness shown by the military justice system to prosecute cases and convict perpetrators send a clear message to members of the Israeli Security Forces that they can continue committing such acts without fear of accountability.' The findings of the report could be used by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) or in other jurisdictions to try to hold the perpetrators accountable and bring justice to victims and their relatives, according to the Associated Press (AP). 'In this context, accountability through the International Criminal Court and national courts, through their domestic law or exercising universal jurisdiction, is essential if the rule of law is to be upheld and victims awarded justice,' Pillay noted. Targeting Healthcare Facilities Israeli forces have targeted sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities across Gaza in a systematic way, according to the report. This included preventing the delivery of necessary medication and equipment to ensure safe pregnancies, deliveries and post-partum and neonatal care. Gaza These conditions imposed by the Israeli authorities have led to the death of women and girls from pregnancy and childbirth complications. The report said that these acts amount to the crime against humanity of extermination. Genocidal Acts The report concluded that Israel has committed genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza. 'Israeli authorities have destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group through the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive healthcare, amounting to two categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention,' it said. In the light of this, Pillay said: 'These violations have not only caused severe immediate physical and mental harm and suffering to women and girls, but irreversible long-term effects on the mental health and reproductive and fertility prospects of Palestinians as a group.' Israeli Rejection In response to the report findings, Israel's mission in Geneva rejected the allegations and accused the commission of relying on 'second-hand, single, uncorroborated sources,' according to AP. Similarly, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, rejected the report's findings, accusing the commission of being 'biased and antisemitic.' The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. The Gaza war has so far claimed the lives of more than 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Short link : Post Views: 143
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UN experts accuse Israel of sexual violence and 'genocidal acts' in Gaza
UN experts have accused Israel of increasingly using sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinians and carrying out "genocidal acts" through the systematic destruction of maternal and reproductive healthcare facilities. A report commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council documents alleged violations, including rape, in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war. It also says the destruction of maternity wards in Gaza and embryos at a fertility clinic could indicate a strategy to prevent births among a particular group - one of the legal definitions of genocide. Israel said it "categorically rejects the unfounded allegations". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded angrily, calling the Human Rights Council "an antisemitic, rotten, terrorist-supporting and irrelevant body". Instead of focusing on war crimes committed by Hamas, he said, it was attacking Israel with "false accusations". Blindfolded, bound and beaten: Palestinians tell of Israeli jail abuse Israel, Hamas accused of war crimes in new UN report UN finds 'convincing information' of sexual violence against hostages Warning: This article contains distressing content The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021 to investigate all alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. The three-member commission said its new report was based on testimony from victims and witnesses of sexual and reproductive violence, some of whom spoke during two days of public hearings held in Geneva earlier this week, as well as verified photos and video footage, and information from civil society and women's rights organisations. The commission's chair Navi Pillay, a South African former UN human rights chief, said the evidence collected "reveals a deplorable increase in sexual and gender-based violence" that she claimed was being employed by Israel against Palestinians "to terrorise them and perpetuate a system of oppression that undermines their right to self-determination". The report says specific forms of sexual and gender-based violence - such as forced public stripping and nudity, sexual harassment including threats of rape, as well as sexual assault - "comprise part of the Israeli Security Forces' standard operating procedures toward Palestinians". Other forms of such violence, including rape and violence to the genitals, were "committed either under explicit orders or with implicit encouragement by Israel's top civilian and military leadership", it alleges. The report does not provide examples of explicit orders from commanders or senior officials. But it does cite statements from Israeli ministers who defended soldiers who were accused of severely mistreating a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman military base last year. Commission member Chris Sidoti, an Australian human rights lawyer, told the BBC: "Sexual violence is now so widespread that it can only be considered systematic. It's got beyond the level of random acts by rogue individuals." Israel has rejected accusations of widespread ill-treatment and torture of Gaza detainees, and insisted it is fully committed to international legal standards. The report says the commission also found that Israeli forces had systematically destroyed sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities across Gaza during the 17-month war there. It concludes that women and girls have died from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth due to conditions imposed by the Israeli authorities which have denied access to reproductive health care, and says they amount to the crime against humanity of extermination. The commission also alleges that Israeli authorities have "destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group" through the "systematic destruction" of sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities, including maternity hospitals and maternity wards of hospitals and Gaza's main in-vitro fertility clinic, Al-Basma IVF Centre in Gaza City. This amounts to "two categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention, including deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians and imposing measures intended to prevent births", it concludes. According to the report, the embryology laboratory at Al-Basma was hit in early December 2023, reportedly destroying around 4,000 embryos as well as 1,000 sperm samples and unfertilised eggs. It says the commission determined through visual analysis of pictures that the damage was caused by a large calibre projectile, most probably an Israeli tank shell, and that it was intentionally attacked by Israeli forces. However, the Israeli military told ABC News at the time that it was not aware of a strike on the clinic. The BBC has contacted the IDF for comment. "The deliberate destruction of a health facility is one serious issue for international humanitarian law and human rights law. But it does appear from our analysis of the attack on this clinic, that it was knowingly and intentionally directed towards the destruction of reproductive services," Mr Sidoti said. "The consequence of this is the prevention of births." Israeli soldier jailed for abusing Palestinian detainees from Gaza Israeli protesters enter army base after soldiers held over Gaza detainee abuse In a statement, Israel's mission to the UN in Geneva said the report was "a shameless attempt to incriminate the [Israel Defense Forces] and manufacture the illusion of 'systemic' use of [sexual and gender-based violence]". It criticised what it called the commission's decision to use "information from second-hand single uncorroborated sources", which it said was inconsistent with established UN standards and methodologies. The statement also stressed that the IDF had "concrete directives, procedures, orders, and policies, which unequivocally prohibit such misconduct", as well as mechanisms to investigate any incidents of alleged sexual violence. Israel's prime minister also rejected the report's findings and called the Human Rights Council an "anti-Israel circus". "Instead of focusing on the crimes against humanity and the war crimes that were perpetrated by the Hamas terrorist organisation in the worst massacre carried out against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, the UN has again chosen to attack the State of Israel with false accusations, including baseless accusations of sexual violence," Netanyahu said. The International Court of Justice is hearing a case bought by South Africa that accuses Israeli forces of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel has vehemently denied the allegation. The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. More than 48,520 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. Most of Gaza's 2.1 million population has also been displaced multiple times. Almost 70% of buildings are estimated to be damaged or destroyed; the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed; and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.
BBC News
13-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Gaza war: UN experts accuse Israel of 'genocidal acts' and sexual violence
UN experts have accused Israel of increasingly using sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinians and carrying out "genocidal acts" through the systematic destruction of maternal and reproductive healthcare facilities.A report commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council documents alleged violations, including rape, in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza also says the destruction of maternity wards in Gaza and embryos at a fertility clinic could indicate a strategy to prevent births among a particular group - one of the legal definitions of said it "categorically rejects the unfounded allegations". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded angrily, calling the Human Rights Council "an antisemitic, rotten, terrorist-supporting and irrelevant body".Instead of focusing on war crimes committed by Hamas, he said, it was attacking Israel with "false accusations". Warning: This article contains distressing contentThe Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021 to investigate all alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights three-member commission said its new report was based on testimony from victims and witnesses of sexual and reproductive violence, some of whom spoke during two days of public hearings held in Geneva earlier this week, as well as verified photos and video footage, and information from civil society and women's rights commission's chair Navi Pillay, a South African former UN human rights chief, said the evidence collected "reveals a deplorable increase in sexual and gender-based violence" that she claimed was being employed by Israel against Palestinians "to terrorise them and perpetuate a system of oppression that undermines their right to self-determination".The report says specific forms of sexual and gender-based violence - such as forced public stripping and nudity, sexual harassment including threats of rape, as well as sexual assault - "comprise part of the Israeli Security Forces' standard operating procedures toward Palestinians".Other forms of such violence, including rape and violence to the genitals, were "committed either under explicit orders or with implicit encouragement by Israel's top civilian and military leadership", it report does not provide examples of explicit orders from commanders or senior officials. But it does cite statements from Israeli ministers who defended soldiers who were accused of severely mistreating a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman military base last member Chris Sidoti, an Australian human rights lawyer, told the BBC: "Sexual violence is now so widespread that it can only be considered systematic. It's got beyond the level of random acts by rogue individuals."Israel has rejected accusations of widespread ill-treatment and torture of Gaza detainees, and insisted it is fully committed to international legal standards. The report says the commission also found that Israeli forces had systematically destroyed sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities across Gaza during the 17-month war concludes that women and girls have died from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth due to conditions imposed by the Israeli authorities which have denied access to reproductive health care, and says they amount to the crime against humanity of commission also alleges that Israeli authorities have "destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group" through the "systematic destruction" of sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities, including maternity hospitals and maternity wards of hospitals and Gaza's main in-vitro fertility clinic, Al-Basma IVF Centre in Gaza amounts to "two categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention, including deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians and imposing measures intended to prevent births", it to the report, the embryology laboratory at Al-Basma was hit in early December 2023, reportedly destroying around 4,000 embryos as well as 1,000 sperm samples and unfertilised says the commission determined through visual analysis of pictures that the damage was caused by a large calibre projectile, most probably an Israeli tank shell, and that it was intentionally attacked by Israeli forces. However, the Israeli military told ABC News at the time that it was not aware of a strike on the clinic. The BBC has contacted the IDF for comment."The deliberate destruction of a health facility is one serious issue for international humanitarian law and human rights law. But it does appear from our analysis of the attack on this clinic, that it was knowingly and intentionally directed towards the destruction of reproductive services," Mr Sidoti said. "The consequence of this is the prevention of births." In a statement, Israel's mission to the UN in Geneva said the report was "a shameless attempt to incriminate the [Israel Defense Forces] and manufacture the illusion of 'systemic' use of [sexual and gender-based violence]".It criticised what it called the commission's decision to use "information from second-hand single uncorroborated sources", which it said was inconsistent with established UN standards and statement also stressed that the IDF had "concrete directives, procedures, orders, and policies, which unequivocally prohibit such misconduct", as well as mechanisms to investigate any incidents of alleged sexual prime minister also rejected the report's findings and called the Human Rights Council an "anti-Israel circus"."Instead of focusing on the crimes against humanity and the war crimes that were perpetrated by the Hamas terrorist organisation in the worst massacre carried out against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, the UN has again chosen to attack the State of Israel with false accusations, including baseless accusations of sexual violence," Netanyahu International Court of Justice is hearing a case bought by South Africa that accuses Israeli forces of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel has vehemently denied the Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken than 48,520 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health of Gaza's 2.1 million population has also been displaced multiple times. Almost 70% of buildings are estimated to be damaged or destroyed; the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed; and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.
Al Bawaba
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
UN report accuses Israel of ‘genocidal acts' and systematic sexual violence in Gaza
ALBAWABA- The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel released its findings Thursday, highlighting the use of heavy explosives in civilian areas, direct attacks on hospitals, and the destruction of reproductive healthcare facilities. These actions led to "disproportionate violence against women and children," the report states. Israel committed "genocidal acts" against Palestinians by systematically destroying women's healthcare facilities in Gaza and using sexual violence as a war strategy, according to the damning report by United Nations experts. According to Navi Pillay, chair of the commission, Israel has used sexual and gender-based violence as a tool to terrorize Palestinians and sustain a system of oppression. The report details alarming abuses, including forced public stripping, sexual harassment, threats of rape, and sexual assault, which it claims have been part of Israeli security forces' standard procedures. More extreme violations, including rape and violence to the genitals, were reportedly carried out under either direct orders or with implicit approval from Israel's leadership. Israeli settlers in the West Bank have also been accused of committing sexual and gender-based crimes to instill fear and forcibly displace Palestinian communities, often with impunity. One of the report's most severe findings is Israel's targeting of Gaza's maternity wards and the destruction of its only in-vitro fertility clinic, while also blocking humanitarian aid for pregnant women and newborns. These actions amount to crimes against humanity, including extermination by denying Palestinian women access to reproductive healthcare. The commission argues that Israel has 'destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group,' which it classifies as genocidal acts under the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention. The report also documents a sharp rise in female fatalities in Gaza, attributing the deaths to Israeli airstrikes on residential buildings and densely populated areas. Women and girls, including maternity patients, were directly targeted in acts the commission calls 'the crime against humanity of murder and the war crime of willful killing.' The findings were presented alongside two days of public hearings in Geneva on March 11-12, where victims, witnesses, and medical personnel provided testimony. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the report as biased and antisemitic, accusing the United Nations of ignoring war crimes committed by Hamas. "Instead of focusing on the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the Hamas terrorist organization ... the United Nations once again chooses to attack the state of Israel with false accusations," Netanyahu said in a statement.
