UN Blacklists Israel, Russia for Sexual Violence
The UN has blacklisted Israel and Russia for conflict-related sexual violence, citing verified abuses by their security forces against detainees and civilians.
Lauren Collins ·
UN Blacklists Israel, Russia for Sexual Violence
The United Nations has added Israel and Russia to its global blacklist for conflict-related sexual violence, citing verified abuses by their security forces. This designation, announced in a recent UN report, follows investigations into incidents occurring between 2023 and 2025, highlighting a pattern of sexual violence against detainees and civilians in conflict zones.
For Israel, the UN verified 31 cases of sexual abuse against Palestinian men, women, and children from the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. These incidents included gang-rapes, sexual violence used as torture, forced nudity, and threats of rape.
Perpetrators included Israeli soldiers, prison officers, and members of an elite police counter-terror unit. The report noted that restrictions on UN investigators, including denied access to detention centers and threats to Palestinian detainees, limited the scope of verification.
Regarding Russia, the UN verified 310 cases of abuse, predominantly against men, with 26 women and four girls also affected. These abuses, occurring in Ukraine, included rape, gang-rape, genital mutilation, and electric shocks to genitals.
The report indicated that Russian forces employed multiple forms of sexual violence in two-thirds of cases, with over half of survivors enduring repeated attacks. Both Israel and Russia deny the allegations, with Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, stating a cessation of ties with the UN Secretary-General in response to the blacklisting.