Following weeks of silence by women’s organizations and international bodies, UN secretary-general says issue needs to be ‘vigorously investigated’; Israel’s UN envoy: ‘When it comes to Israeli women, sexual violence that has been proven and determined by state authorities still needs to be investigated’
Against the backdrop of widespread anger in Israel over the silence of women’s organizations and international bodies regarding the severe sexual violence used by Hamas terrorists against women in the attack on October 7, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced Thursday that these actions must be thoroughly investigated.
“There are numerous accounts of sexual violence during the abhorrent acts of terror by Hamas on 7 October that must be vigorously investigated and prosecuted,” Guterres wrote on the X platform
I’m assuming you aren’t aware of the UN having investigated Israeli war crimes in 2009 which was highly regarded by the Middle Eastern delegates specifically for its having investigated and reported on the war crimes of both sides of the conflict.
You might also be unaware that the investigation was originally chartered to only look at and investigate Israeli war crimes, the very opposite of what you seem to think is the UN’s position in their investigations. As the delegate to the HRC from Lebanon put it (regarding the involvement of the lead investigator who had also been the UN’s lead prosecutor of war crimes in Yugoslavia and Rawanda):
Unless the UN has changed dramatically in the past decade, they’ll definitely be investigating Israeli war crimes.
We’re in 2023. I assume you aren’t aware of how a decade old news isn’t relevant to the discussion anymore.
You seem to indicate it will happen. I’m asking when?
Probably like with literally every other war crimes investigation.
After the hostilities are over so a full accounting can be made.
That’s convenient isn’t it? Lay seige, let nobody in and then “wait” for a war crimes investigation instead of creating channels for an independent investigation when everybody in the world was asking for one, see numerous hospital and school bombings from example. This is the same Israel that didn’t let aid into Gaza, if you have trouble recalling how generous and compliant they are.
Ironically, war crimes investigation in an active war zone is a thing.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/09/1127691
Why is that ironic?
Also the UN already set up a similar initiative back on Oct 10th just three days into the war for the same looking at birth sides in the Israel/Palestine conflict (which was an extension of an existing ongoing investigation since 2021):
Commission of Inquiry collecting evidence of war crimes committed by all sides in Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories since 7 October 2023
You might want to spend a bit of time Googling your preconceptions, as well as the difference between parallel preliminary reports of ongoing hostilities and the final reporting (which is typically what gets more attention).
You seem really upset over a thing not existing which in actuality existed literally three days in.
Setting up an investigation over something does not mean it will happen, especially when the area is under siege and the risk of evidence disappearing increases with each bomb dropped. I’m not sure what you’re trying to get at here? Is it the just that they’ve set up an initiative to investigate all war crimes? Cool, again, for the third time, when is that going to happen?
We’re going in circles because you aren’t acknowledging the deplorable conditions, lack of access and the eventual removal/destruction of evidence that could have helped shed light and convict both sides. But, for some reason, you’re trying to convince of something that is either irrelevant or useless.
I’m not upset, but I’m poking at the lip service and inaction of holding people accountable, which typically becomes the case when the West’s interests are at stake.