Representational image (AFP)

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres put Israel and Russia on notice, warning that they could be added next year to a UN list of parties “credibly suspected” of committing sexual violence in conflict zones. In his annual report to the UN security council, Guterres expressed grave concern over credible reports of rape and other forms of sexual violance by Israeli armed and security forces against Palestinians in prisons, a detention centre, and a military base. UN-documented cases included genital violence, prolonged forced nudity, and repeated abusive strip searches. Guterres said Israel’s refusal to grant UN monitors access made it difficult to fully assess patterns and urged the government to end such acts, investigate credible allegations, and allow monitoring. In March, UN-backed human rights experts accused Israel of systematically using sexual and gender-based violence. Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon rejected the claims as “baseless” and accused the UN of bias, saying the focus should be on Hamas’s actions. In July 2024, nine Israeli soldiers were detained over the alleged sexual assault of a Palestinian prisoner at the Sde Teiman facility. Guterres also voiced concern over reports of sexual violence by Russian forces and allied groups against Ukrainian prisoners of war in both official and unofficial detention sites. Documented cases included genital electrocution, beatings, burns, forced stripping, and prolonged nudity used to humiliate and extract information.