蘑菇视频

Mr. President, Distinguished Members of the Security Council,

I wish to thank the Japanese Presidency for convening this meeting and for inviting me to brief.

We meet today more than 150 days after Hamas and other armed groups launched a coordinated attack, the deadliest in the history of Israel, which left 1,200 individuals dead across multiple locations in the Gaza periphery, with several thousand wounded. More than 150 days have passed since the abduction of 253 hostages from Israel, with 134 remaining in captivity 鈥� their whereabouts and safety unknown. More than 150 days have passed since the start of the military operations in the Gaza strip, which have resulted in the death of over 30,000 Palestinians, including innocent women and children, leaving more than 70,000 injured and reducing cities, homes, hospitals and schools to rubble.

Following, reports of brutal sexual violence allegedly committed during and in the aftermath of the horrific Hamas-led terror attacks of 7 October and at the invitation of the Government of Israel, I led an official visit to Israel from 29 January to 14 February. The mission was not investigative in nature. As per its scope and parameters as agreed in advance with the Israeli authorities, the objective was to gather, analyze and verify reports of CRSV related to 7 October and in its aftermath, in order to inform reporting including to the Security Council, given the absence of relevant 蘑菇视频 entities in Israel.

In view of 蘑菇视频 verified information I had received on incidents of CRSV allegedly committed by Israeli security forces and settlers against Palestinian women and men, one of the agreed parameters, was a visit to the occupied West Bank, to engage with the Palestinian Authorities on these issues and to raise such concerns with the Israeli authorities.聽 Considering the ongoing hostilities, I did not request to visit Gaza, where other 蘑菇视频 entities are operational, including some that monitor sexual violence. I must highlight that information received during my visit along with other 蘑菇视频 verified information on Gaza and the occupied West Bank, will be included in the 2023 Report of the Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence.

To ensure that the information gathering and verification process would meet the highest standards, I was supported by a highly skilled technical team of nine experts from the United Nations system, including specialists in safe and ethical interviewing of survivors and witnesses of sexual violence crimes; a forensic pathologist; and a digital and open-source information analyst.

The mission was conducted in strict adherence with established 蘑菇视频 standards and methodologies, and in accordance with the principles of independence, impartiality, objectivity, transparency, integrity and 鈥渄o no harm鈥�, including in relation to guarantees of confidentiality and the protection of victims and witnesses. It also followed a survivor/victim-centered and trauma-informed approach.

Our conclusions were based on our 鈥渙wn assessment of the credibility and reliability of the witnesses we met, verifying the sources, cross-referencing the relevant material and information, and assessing whether, in all the circumstances, there was sufficient credible and reliable information [鈥�] to make a finding in fact鈥�. While we were presented with some witnesses and materials by the national authorities, each of these were reviewed and assessed for credibility by the team鈥檚 experts. We accepted some and where necessary discarded others. We also gathered our own independent information.

The applicable standard of proof we adopted was one of 鈥渞easonable grounds to believe,鈥� consistent with the practice of investigative bodies. Where more information has supported a finding of fact, we have made a finding of 鈥渃lear and convincing鈥� information. In a number of cases, we were also able to assess that certain heavily publicized reports or allegations of sexual violence were unfounded.

The report of the visit was publicly issued on 4 March, excluding confidential and identifying details in order to safeguard the privacy of those we spoke to, in line with a victim-centered approach including principles of informed consent. In this regard, I must be clear and categorical: there has been no attempt by the Secretary-General to silence my report or suppress its findings. On the contrary, I received his full support politically, logistically and financially, and he also gave clear instructions for the public release of my report and its immediate transmission to the Security Council.

The mission team conducted meetings with a range of Israeli national institutions including relevant lines ministries. We met with families and relatives of hostages held in captivity and members of communities displaced from several kibbutzim, as well as representatives from Israeli civil society organizations and academia. We conducted confidential interviews with 34 individuals including survivors and witnesses of the 7 October attacks, released hostages, first responders, health and service providers. We visited four sites of the attacks, as well as the morgue to which the bodies of victims were transferred; reviewed over 5000 photographic images and some 50 hours of footage of the attacks provided partly by state agencies, but also by confidential independent and online open sources. Although we met with some witnesses, despite our proactive outreach and efforts, we did not meet with any survivors of sexual violence from the 7 October attacks itself. Though most appear to have been killed, we have credible information that a handful of survivors are alive and currently receiving treatment for severe trauma. From experience, I know how long it can take for survivors to speak out. They must be given the chance to come forward on their own terms and in their own time.

 

Excellencies,

What I witnessed in Israel, were scenes of unspeakable violence perpetrated with shocking brutality resulting in intense human suffering. In South Israel, I met with traumatized communities-still in shock and deep pain; mourning their loved ones and trying to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. The families and relatives of hostages are enduring a nightmare. I saw the pain in their eyes and as a mother, I could feel their anguish and heartache.

I want to pause here and invite you Mr. President and all Council members 鈥� for just a few seconds 鈥� to try and put yourself in the shoes of those families of hostages 鈥� torn between hope and despair. Mr. President, many of them are in this Council Chamber today, seeking a glimpse of hope from this august body. 156 days have passed since the abduction of their loved ones- with no less than 16 women among the hostages.

What do we tell them? Hostage taking is strictly prohibited under International Humanitarian Law.

Information gathered threw light on the indiscriminate and coordinated attacks by Hamas and other armed groups against multiple military and civilian targets, aimed to kill, to inflict suffering and abduct the maximum number possible of men, women, and children 鈥� soldiers and civilians alike 鈥� in the minimum possible amount of time. It was a catalogue of the most extreme and inhumane forms of killing, torture and other horrors: people聽 shot, often聽 in the head and at close range; families burnt alive in their homes as they tried to hide in their safe rooms; gunned down or killed by grenades in bomb shelters where they sought refuge; partygoers聽 hunted down at the Nova music festival site as well as in the fields and roads adjacent to the festival ground. Other violations included sexual violence, abduction of hostages and corpses, the public display of captives, both dead and alive, the mutilation of corpses, including decapitation and desecration of bodies as well as the looting and destruction of civilian property.

In terms of findings on sexual violence:

We found clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment has been committed against hostages and we have reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may still be ongoing against those in captivity.

I pause here and add that this finding does not in any way legitimize further hostilities. In fact, it creates 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. Continuation of hostilities, can, in no way, protect them. It can only expose them to further risk of violence, including sexual violence. The Israeli hostages and the millions of civilians in Gaza share a common fate: for their common sake, there must be a humanitarian ceasefire now.

With regard to the 7 October attacks, we found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence, including rape and gang-rape occurred in at least three locations, namely: the Nova music festival site and its surroundings, Road 232, and Kibbutz Re鈥檌m. In most of these incidents, victims were first subjected to rape then killed. In other locations, such as kibbutz Kfar Aza, while circumstantial information may indicate the occurrence of sexual violence, reported incidents of rape could not be verified.

In addition to these specific locations, we also found, across multiple locations of the Gaza periphery, a pattern of victims, mostly women, found fully or partially naked from the waist down, with their hands tied behind their back and/or tied to structures such as trees and poles, and shot. Although circumstantial, such a pattern may be indicative of some forms of sexual violence, including sexualized torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.

At the same time, with regards to kibbutz Be鈥檈ri which was severely affected by the 7 October attacks with 10% of its population killed and 50 people taken hostages, we were also able to determine that at least two allegations of sexual violence, which had been widely reported in the media, were unfounded. None of the other reports of sexual violence in Be鈥檈ri could be verified at this point.

Other reported incidents of sexual violence could not be established for various reasons including destructive burn damage of multiple bodies. Similarly, the medicolegal assessment of photos and videos of bodies with multiple gunshot wounds, including to intimate body parts such as breasts and genitalia, could not establish a discernible pattern of targeted genital mutilation.

 

Mr. President, members of the Council,

Sexual violence being a chronically underreported and historically hidden crime, my visit was not intended to determine its prevalence. Neither could I determine whether sexual violence was used as a tactic of war, or in a widespread and/or systematic manner. As it was not an investigation and due to various other challenges, including limited time on the ground and the multiple perpetrators, we did not attempt to determine the attribution of these violations. A determination of attribution will require the conduct of an independent and fully-fledged human rights investigation by competent 蘑菇视频 bodies.

 

Excellencies,

What I witnessed in the occupied West Bank was a climate of intense fear and insecurity with women and men terrified and deeply disturbed over the ongoing tragedy in Gaza. Regarding my visit to Ramallah, I must stress that its purpose was completely different as 蘑菇视频 verified reports of CRSV, already provided by 蘑菇视频 entities on the ground, will be included in the annual Report of the Secretary General which will be debated before this Council on 25 April. In this regard, today, I will only share with you reports which I received during my visit to Ramallah following my meetings with a range of stakeholders 鈥� relevant ministries from the Palestinian Authority, human and women rights organizations, as well as recently released detainees.

While I did not receive any reports of rape, interlocutors raised with me instances of sexual violence in the context of detention of male and female Palestinians such as invasive body searches; unwanted touching of intimate areas; beatings, including in the genital areas; threats of rape against women and threats of rape against female family members (wives, sisters, daughters) in the case of men; and inappropriate strip searches and prolonged forced nudity of detainees.

Sexual harassment and threats of rape, during house raids and at checkpoints were also reported, as well as threats of rape if conditions of detention were reported or publicly disclosed after liberation.

I raised these reports with the Israeli authorities, who provided me with some information regarding their protocols in place to prevent and address such instances, and indicated their willingness to investigate any alleged breaches. In this regard, I wish to express my disappointment that the immediate reaction to my report by some political actors was not to open inquiries into those alleged incidents, but rather to reject them outright via social media.

 

Excellencies, Distinguished Members of the Security Council,

We must translate political resolve into operational responses, which are critical in the current context of unremitting violence. My report makes a number of recommendations, and I would like to highlight a few for this Council鈥檚 consideration:

First, I urge all parties to the conflict to immediately agree on a humanitarian ceasefire. I further urge Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release all hostages. The implicated parties in these hostilities have turned a blind eye to international law. The adoption of an immediate humanitarian ceasefire is more urgent than ever for desperate communities in Gaza to access humanitarian assistance and for the release of hostages.

Second, I encourage the Government of Israel to grant without further delay access to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian Territory, including east Jerusalem, and Israel to carry out fully-fledged investigations into all alleged violations that occurred on 7 October. Truth and recognition of all violations are critical steps in survivors鈥� and victims鈥� overcoming trauma and regaining a sense of agency. It is also essential to prevent any denial of the atrocities committed on 7 October.聽 Truth is the only path towards peace.

Third, I call on all relevant and competent bodies, national and international to bring all perpetrators, regardless of rank and affiliation, to justice based on individual, superior and command responsibility.

Fourth, I encourage the Government of Israel to sign a framework of cooperation with my office with a view to prevent and address sexual violence in conflict including through security sector engagement, training, and oversight as well as to strengthen capacity on justice and accountability for CRSV crimes. I also call on the Government of Israel to take robust measures to mitigate the risk of sexual violence and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in the context of detention and the current military operation.

Lastly, I call on all relevant actors to uphold the highest standards of information integrity. Respect for the safety and dignity of survivors is a paramount consideration in the reporting of sexual violence cases. Moreover, the occurrence of sexual violence should never be used as a tool for inflammatory rhetoric, political pressure or to legitimize further violence in the region. I strongly reject and condemn any instrumentalization of my mandate and report as well as the plight of victims and survivors, to serve wider political or military ends.

To conclude, I echo the Secretary-General鈥檚 messages 聽namely that on the one hand, 聽nothing can justify the deliberate violence perpetrated by Hamas and other armed groups on 7 October against Israel鈥�.and on the other hand, nothing can also justify the collective punishment of the people in Gaza, which has left tens of thousands of Palestinians killed and injured, including an unprecedented number of 蘑菇视频 staff, with 聽entire communities facing inhumane conditions, including famine and disease.

Mr. President, members of the Council, before concluding my remarks, I must also state that I am horrified by the injustice of women and children killed in Gaza by countless bombs, gunfire, and outraged by the level of deaths and pain with entire families, often generations, wiped out. With every bomb that drops, the world becomes more unjust and the road to peace more clouded.

The end goal of my mandate is not 鈥渁 war without rape鈥� but a 鈥渨orld without war鈥�. We must rise to the challenge of our times. Prospects for peace and stability should not be blocked by geopolitical polarization and division.

Civilians and their families in both Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territory cannot be abandoned by the international community. Survivors of sexual violence and persons at-risk must be protected and supported. We cannot fail them. The people of this region need to see a peaceful future at last on the political horizon. We must replace horror and heartache with healing, humanity and hope. The credibility of the multilateral system depends on it, and the rules-based international order demands no less.

Thank you.