UN places Israel and Russia on sexual violence blacklist
By David Brunnstrom and Olivia Le Poidevin
UN Blacklist Report and International Reactions
May 29 (Reuters) - The United Nations on Friday added Israel and Russia to a U.N. blacklist of countries suspected of committing sexual violence in conflict zones, a move that prompted Israel's foreign ministry to say it would sever all ties with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Guterres' annual report to the U.N. Security Council on conflict-related sexual violence goes a step further than last year, when he put Israel and Russia "on notice" that they could be added to the list of parties "credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence."
The latest report does that and contains harrowing descriptions of abuses at the hands of Israeli and Russian armed and security forces.
Reactions from Israel, Russia, and Other Nations
Israel's arch enemy Hamas, whose October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza, was already on the blacklist and in a post on X on Thursday, Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said ranking Israel with the militant group marked a "new low".
"This is a political decision! Disconnected from the facts and reality!" Danon said in another post by the Israeli mission to the U.N. which said he was informed about it during a phone call with Guterres.
Russia's U.N. mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report, which Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, welcomed in a post on X.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, posted on X that it was "ridiculous for the UN to put a democracy like Israel — with robust rule of law that conducts investigations and holds criminals accountable — on the same level as terrorist organizations like Hamas."
Reputational Damage and Consequences
REPUTATIONAL DAMAGE
Being added to the list does not automatically carry specific punitive measures such as sanctions, although public naming and shaming can cause significant reputational damage for the states involved, and those repeatedly listed are barred from U.N. peacekeeping operations.
Danon said Israel had responded in detail to each allegation and had invited U.N. representatives to visit and examine the situation, but that they had chosen not to do so.
"Given that Antonio Guterres has chosen to violate every standard of honesty, integrity and professionalism, Israel has decided to sever all ties with the Secretary-General’s Office and will wait until a new U.N. Secretary-General is appointed,” Israel's Foreign Ministry posted on X.
A new U.N. secretary-general is due to be appointed later this year.
Disagreements Over UN Visit
The report's compiler, Pramila Patten, Guterres' special representative on sexual violence in conflict, confirmed at a news briefing that there had been an invitation from Israel, but referred also to disagreements about the scope of the visit and related issues of access and cooperation, and said it ultimately had to be suspended due to the war in Gaza.
Global Trends and UN Findings
'VERY DISTURBING TREND'
She said cases of conflict-related sexual violence verified by the United Nations globally rose by more than 100% in 2025 over 2024 and called it a very disturbing trend that was still only the "very tip of the iceberg."
Asked about Danon's comments at a regular briefing on Thursday, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said: "From the Secretary-General's point of view, his door remains open to Israeli representatives, as to the other 192 member states and the two observer states."
Details of Sexual Violence Cases in Israel and Palestinian Territories
This year's report said that in 2025, "the United Nations verified multiple incidents of conflict-related sexual violence, including as a form of torture, inflicted against 14 men, seven women, nine boys and one girl from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank."
It said 13 of the cases occurred in 2025, and 18 in 2023 and 2024.
"Violations consisted of rape, including with objects, gang rape, attempted rape, physical violence to the genitals, instances of targeted shooting of the genitals, touching of breasts and genitals, strip and cavity searches conducted without apparent security justification, forced nudity and threats of rape," it said.
Specific Incidents and Victims
'RAPE AND GANG RAPES'
"Rape and gang rape, in some cases repeated, were perpetrated against nine victims, the majority from Gaza," it said, adding that perpetrators included Israeli armed and security forces and occurred primarily during detention and interrogation and across several sites, including military camps and also at checkpoints and during Israeli military operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
It said survivors included journalists and human rights defenders and that in some cases, the violations were filmed or photographed, including one case of rape.
The report added that sexual violence against female detainees included mostly threats of rape, forced nudity, unwanted touching, and humiliating or degrading strip searches without justification, while men and boys were targeted with rape, attempted rape and violence to the genitals.
This resulted in five male victims suffering severe rectal bleeding or swelling for multiple days or weeks, it said.
Sexual Violence Cases in Ukraine
The report said the U.N. human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine had verified 310 cases of conflict-related sexual violence perpetrated by Russian armed and security forces.
It said the cases, including rape, gang rape, genital mutilation, electric shocks and beatings to the genitals, affected 280 men, 26 women and four girls.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Olivia Le Poidevin; Additional reporting by Rami Ayyub in Jerusalem and Yuliia Dysa in Kyiv; Editing by Ros Russell, Don Durfee, Daniel Wallis and Nick Zieminski)
