United Nations chief Antonio Guterres puts both countries ‘on notice’ over documented pattern of sexual violence.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has put Israel and Russia “on notice” that their armed forces and security personnel could be listed among parties “credibly suspected” of committing sexual violence in conflict zones.
The warning on Tuesday resulted from “significant concerns regarding patterns of certain forms of sexual violence that have been consistently documented by the United Nations”, Guterres wrote in a report seen by the Reuters news agency.
In his annual report to the UN Security Council on conflict-related sexual violence, Guterres said that Israel and Russia could be listed next year among the parties “credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence”.
In his warning to Israel, Guterres said he was “gravely concerned about credible information of violations by Israeli armed and security forces” against Palestinians in several prisons, a detention centre and a military base.
