Secretary General Guterres Says Allegations of Sexual Violence Against Hamas Must Be Investigated, UN Commission Collects Evidence

Illustration of the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres. (Wikimedia Commons/IAEA Imagebank)

JAKARTA - The UN Commission will collect evidence regarding allegations of sexual violence when the Hamas militant group carried out attacks on the southern region of Hamas last month, with the UN Secretary-General saying gender-based violence must be condemned.

"There were many reports of sexual violence during the actions carried out by Hamas on October 7 which must be investigated and prosecuted," wrote Guterres in X, as quoted on November 30.

"Gender-based violence must be condemned. Anytime, anywhere," he stressed.

Meanwhile, a UN commission of inquiry investigating war crimes on both sides of the Israel-Hamas conflict, which will focus on sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas in attacks on Israel, plans to submit an appeal seeking evidence.

Commission chairman Navi Pillay said he would submit the evidence to the International Criminal Court, calling on the court to consider prosecution, amid previous criticism from Israel and the families of the Israeli hostages that the UN had not expressed it.

"I now serve as chairman of a commission which has the authority to investigate this. So it is impossible for us not to do this," Pillay told Reuters, as quoted on November 30.

However, the big challenge for Pillay is that Israel is not cooperating with the commission, which they say has an anti-Israel bias. The Commission may have difficulty gathering sufficient evidence to support future charges, if access is not granted.

Israeli authorities have opened their own investigation into sexual violence during the deadliest attack on Israel in its history, including rape, after evidence emerged suggesting sexual crimes, such as victims found disrobed and mutilated.

Hamas denies the violations and could not be reached for comment. An Israeli government spokesman could not be reached for comment.

The UN Commission of Inquiry, established in 2021 by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and consisting of three independent experts, has a very broad mandate to collect evidence and identify perpetrators of international crimes.

The commission will also issue a public "call for submissions" for evidence of sexual violence by Hamas, said Pillay, who is a former UN human rights chief and International Criminal Court judge.

At times, evidence gathered by these UN bodies forms the basis of war crimes prosecutions and can be relied upon by the International Criminal Court which has jurisdiction over Hamas attacks and any crimes committed in the Palestinian territories as part of Israel's response, including bombings in Gaza Strip, says ICC chief prosecutor.

Pillay told Reuters he had been meeting with ICC prosecutors since the Oct. 7 attack to collaborate on sharing evidence.

"I was very impressed with the deputy prosecutor's (Nazhat Shameem Khan) emphasis on how seriously she wanted to investigate incidents of sexual violence, complaints that came from Israel," he said

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.

Gender-based violence must be condemned. Anytime. Anywhere.

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) November 29, 2023