{"id":294207,"date":"2024-03-11T13:17:44","date_gmt":"2024-03-11T17:17:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=294207"},"modified":"2024-03-12T16:14:24","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T20:14:24","slug":"sc-meeting-record-11mar24","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/sc-meeting-record-11mar24\/","title":{"rendered":"Reasonable Grounds to Believe Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Occurred in Israel During 7 October Attacks, Senior UN Official Tells Security Council- Press release"},"content":{"rendered":"
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11 March 2024<\/div>\n
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9572ND MEETING (PM)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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SC\/15621<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

However, Urges Mandate Is Not \u201cWar Without Rape\u201d but \u201cWorld Without War\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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There are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence \u2014 including rape and gang-rape \u2014 occurred across multiple locations of Israel and the Gaza periphery during the attacks on 7\u00a0October\u00a02023, a senior United Nations official reported to the Security Council today, as she presented findings from her visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n

Following allegations of brutal sexual violence committed during and in the aftermath of the Hamas-led terror attacks, Pramila Patten, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, led an official visit to Israel from 29\u00a0January to 14\u00a0February to gather, analyse and verify reports of sexual violence related to the 7\u00a0October attack. \u00a0Due to ongoing hostilities, the Special Representative did not request to visit Gaza, where other UN entities that monitor sexual violence are operational.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I witnessed in Israel were scenes of unspeakable violence perpetrated with shocking brutality,\u201d Ms.\u00a0Patten recalled.\u00a0Detailing her methodology, she said that her team met with families of hostages and members of communities displaced from several kibbutzim.\u00a0 It conducted confidential interviews with 34 individuals, including survivors and witnesses of the 7\u00a0October attacks, released hostages, first responders and health and service providers.\u00a0 It visited four attack sites \u2014 as well as the morgue to which the bodies of victims were transferred \u2014 and reviewed over 5,000 photographic images and some 50 hours of footage of the attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a catalogue of the most extreme and inhumane forms of killing, torture and other horrors,\u201d including sexual violence, she stated. \u00a0The team also found convincing information that sexual violence was committed against hostages, and has reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may still be ongoing against those in captivity.\u00a0 While there are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred in the Nova music festival site, Route 232, and kibbutz Re\u2019im, reported incidents of rape could not be verified in other locations.\u00a0Concurrently, the team determined that at least two allegations of sexual violence in kibbutz Be\u2019eri \u2014 widely reported in the media \u2014 were unfounded.<\/p>\n

Turning to the West Bank, she painted a grim picture of \u201cintense fear and insecurity, with women and men terrified and deeply disturbed over the ongoing tragedy in Gaza\u201d.\u00a0 On her visit to Ramallah, she spotlighted instances of sexual violence in the context of detention, such as invasive body searches; beatings, including in the genital areas; and threats of rape against women and female family members.\u00a0 Sexual harassment and threats of rape during house raids and at checkpoints were also reported.\u00a0 She expressed disappointment that the immediate reaction to her report by some Israeli political actors was not to open inquiries into those alleged incidents but, rather, to reject them outright via social media.<\/p>\n

However, she underscored that her findings do not legitimize further hostilities. \u00a0Instead, they create a moral imperative for a humanitarian ceasefire to end the unspeakable suffering imposed on Palestinian civilians in Gaza and bring about the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. \u00a0\u201cI am horrified by the injustice of women and children killed in Gaza,\u201d she said, stressing that the end goal of her mandate is not \u201ca war without rape\u201d but a \u201cworld without war\u201d.<\/p>\n

In the following discussion, numerous Council Members \u2014 among them, the representatives of China, Switzerland, Japan, Slovenia, Malta, Mozambique and Ecuador \u2014 expressed shock over the incidents of sexual violence related to the 7\u00a0October attacks detailed in the Special Representative\u2019s report. \u00a0Many urged Hamas to immediately release all hostages, who \u2014 according to the report \u2014 can still be subjected to such acts. \u00a0Some, including the representatives of the United States and France, criticized the Council\u2019s failure to condemn Hamas.<\/p>\n

There can be no doubt about what happened on 7 October, said the representative of the United States, pointing to the report\u2019s findings that several bodies, naked from the waist down, were recovered \u2014 mostly \u201cwomen with hands tied and shot multiple times, often in the head\u201d. \u00a0The report also indicated that the detention of Palestinians has been compounded by sexual violence. \u00a0Nevertheless, she rejected \u201cthe false equivalency between these actions and hostage-taking by a foreign terrorist organization\u201d.<\/p>\n

Incidents of sexual violence in Israel and the West Bank contained in the report \u201cadd another horrific dimension to the tragedy unfolding in the Middle East\u201d, observed Guyana\u2019s delegate. \u00a0Noting that at least two widely reported allegations of sexual violence were unfounded, she urged all parties \u201cto act responsibly and avoid sensationalizing headlines\u201d.<\/p>\n

Tariq Ahmad, Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom, said that London is ready to provide support, including its team of experts on preventing sexual violence in conflict and its toolkit that provides practical measures to address the stigma faced by survivors.\u00a0 \u201cAll reports of sexual violence must be fully investigated to ensure justice for survivors and victims,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cjustice delayed is justice denied\u201d.<\/p>\n

Many echoed that call for accountability, including Sierra Leone\u2019s delegate, who urged Israel to grant access to the\u00a0Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights\u00a0(OHCHR) \u2014 as well as the Independent International Commission of Inquiry in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel \u2014 to fully investigate all alleged violations.<\/p>\n

Likewise, his counterpart from Switzerland underscored that competent bodies must establish the facts to help identify violations and ensure accountability.\u00a0 Adding to that, the representative of the Republic of Korea stressed that a comprehensive investigative process, involving national authorities and OHCHR, will \u201cbring light to the complete extent of alleged violations\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Russian Federation\u2019s delegate, meanwhile, questioned the UN\u2019s selective approach to visits in the region \u2014 including the Special Representative\u2019s recent trip, which did not cover the Gaza Strip. \u00a0\u201cWe are dealing with some sort of half-truth that in no way gives a full picture,\u201d she stressed. \u00a0Noting that the Special Representative\u2019s report was based on data received from the Israeli Government rather than accounts of the 7\u00a0October victims, she underscored that \u201cputting an end to violence, including sexual violence, will only be possible when we have objective and verified information\u201d.<\/p>\n

Calling for such impartiality was Algeria\u2019s delegate, who said that the Special Representative should have been granted authorization to visit the numerous detention centres where more than 3,484 Palestinian administrative detainees are held without trial.\u00a0 \u201cHer presence in the Gaza Strip would have allowed her to witness, first-hand, the extent of sexual abuse inflicted upon Palestinians by occupying forces and convey it to the international community,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n

The plight of Palestinians is not a recent phenomenon, he continued, noting that only three criminal investigations have been initiated in response to 1,400 complaints about acts of torture since 2001.\u00a0 None have led to indictments.\u00a0 \u201cWhat the Palestinians \u2014 particularly women \u2014 endure is a litmus test for the credibility of international law and the global framework outlined in Security Council resolutions,\u201d he underscored, urging an immediate end to ongoing atrocities.<\/p>\n

For his part, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine said that the Council has shown \u201cunprecedented reactivity\u201d by convening a briefing on a report just released.\u00a0 For decades, similar reports regarding sexual assault against Palestinians have not led to the convening of a single Council meeting.\u00a0 He then recalled that the Special Representative\u2019s mission did not seek to gather information or verify allegations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, so as not to duplicate the ongoing work of other UN entities there.<\/p>\n

Yet, none of these entities were invited today to present their findings, he pointed out, extending an invitation for the Special Representative to visit Gaza.\u00a0 He also pledged Palestine\u2019s readiness to cooperate with OHCHR and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry.\u00a0 The Council should demand that Israel do the same since that country keeps saying that it has nothing to hide, he stated, adding:\u00a0 \u201cLet the facts speak, let the law decide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel Katz, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel, criticized the United Nations for remaining silent about Hamas\u2019 horrible acts for too long. \u00a0According to the Special Representative\u2019s report, the killings of innocent young men and women on 7\u00a0October were crimes against humanity.\u00a0 Against this backdrop, he called on the United Nations to declare Hamas a terrorist organization, citing the recognition of this status by numerous countries. \u00a0Emphasizing that \u201cHamas does not speak on behalf of the Muslim world,\u201d he urged Muslim leaders to denounce the crimes committed by Hamas, particularly those involving sexual violence.<\/p>\n

Turning to the situation of hostages, he urged the Council to take urgent action to ensure the release of 134 kidnapped individuals and \u201cstop this living hell\u201d. \u00a0\u201cBy doing so, you will show the world that the Security Council can be a shining light of justice for all,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

11 March 2024 9572ND MEETING (PM) SC\/15621 However, Urges Mandate Is Not \u201cWar Without Rape\u201d but \u201cWorld Without War\u201d There are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence \u2014 including rape and gang-rape \u2014 occurred across multiple locations of Israel and the Gaza periphery during the attacks on 7\u00a0October\u00a02023, a senior United Nations official […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[660,759,807,897,906,969,5248,1593,1074,5836,1119,1152,2321],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[1825,1362,6949],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1769,2005,6848,6901,6245,6251,1841],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-294207","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","country-algeria","country-china","country-ecuador","country-israel","country-japan","country-malta","country-mozambique","country-palestine-state-of","country-russian-federation","country-sierra-leone","country-slovenia","country-switzerland","country-united-kingdom","document-category-press-release","document-source-office-of-the-united-nations-high-commissioner-for-human-rights-ohchr","document-source-security-council","document-source-special-representative-of-the-secretary-general-on-sexual-violence-in-conflict","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-hostages","document-subject-sexual-violence","document-subject-violence","document-subject-west-bank","document-subject-women","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/294207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/294207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":294226,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/294207\/revisions\/294226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=294207"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=294207"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=294207"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=294207"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=294207"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=294207"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=294207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}