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Israel says U.N. theatened to add it to its sexual violence blacklist
Israel said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had threatened to add it to a blacklist of countries and groups, including Hamas, for which there was credible reason to believe used sexual violence as a weapon of war. File Photo by COP28/UN Climate Change/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Israel received a formal warning from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that its military and security agencies faced being added to an annual "blacklist" of countries and groups believed to be committing acts of sexual violence in armed conflict.
Israel escaped inclusion in this year's U.N. Report on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, but Guterres wrote Danny Danon, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N., placing Israel on notice over "grave concerns" regarding allegations in the report of sexual violence by its security forces against Palestinians in Israeli detention.
In the letter, shared by Danon, Guterres warned that Israel was on watch and could be added to the blacklist in next year's report, saying consistently documented patterns had triggered "significant concerns."
Guterres complained that Israel's consistent refusal to allow U.N. monitors access to verify abuse had made the task of making a "definitive determination regarding patterns, trends and systematicity" of sexual violence very problematic.
"I urge the government of Israel to take the necessary measures to ensure immediate cessation of all acts of sexual violence," he wrote.
Danon accused Guterres of spreading a serious accusation against the State of Israel, saying that in doing so, he had "again chosen to adopt baseless accusations, relying on biased publications."
"The U.N. should focus on the shocking war crimes of Hamas and the immediate release of all hostages. Israel will not be deterred from defending its citizens and will continue to act in accordance with international law," Danon said in a post on X.
Inclusion on the list would place Israel in the same company as Hamas, which was confirmed on Tuesday to have earned a place on the list for the first time, both in relation to sexual violence perpetrated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and against hostages in captivity.
Leading Israeli human rights group B'Tselem alleged routine meting out of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees by Israeli soldiers and guards in an August 2024 report that claimed the Israeli penal system operated a "network of torture camps."
In March, a report by the U.N.'s human rights watchdog accused Israel of increasing sexual violence against Palestinians and genocidal acts "through the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities," in Gaza and the West Bank.
The 49-page U.N. Human Rights Commission report, which was presented to Human Rights Council hearings in Geneva, detailed violations perpetrated against Palestinian women, men, girls and boys across the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
It said the abuses constituted "a major element in the ill-treatment of Palestinians and are part of the unlawful occupation and persecution of Palestinians as a group."
