UNITED NATIONS/LONDON: Israeli and Russian forces have been added for the first time to a United Nations blacklist of parties accused of conflict-related sexual violence, according to an annual report by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres due for release Friday.
The report, reviewed by AP and confirmed by Israeli officials, lists 77 government and non-government entities suspected of committing or being responsible for rape and other sexual violence in conflict zones worldwide.
Israel’s armed and security forces, including its prison service, were added to the blacklist over alleged abuses against Palestinian detainees, while Russian armed and security forces were cited for sexual violence against prisoners of war and civilians detained during the war in Ukraine.
The report said the UN documented “patterns of sexual violence” against Palestinians held in Israeli detention facilities in 2025, including rape, gang rape, genital violence, forced nudity, abusive strip searches and threats of rape.
The UN verified multiple incidents involving 14 men, seven women, nine boys and one girl from Gaza and the West Bank, the report said. It detailed at least nine victims, mostly from Gaza, who were allegedly raped or gang raped, in some cases repeatedly, by members of the Israeli military, prison service, police and special forces units.
The report also repeated accusations against Hamas militants over sexual violence during and after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Hamas was added to the blacklist last year.
The UN said many allegations against Hamas could not be independently confirmed because Israel has continued to deny investigators access needed to carry out inquiries.
Israeli officials strongly rejected the findings and accused the UN of bias.
“The decision to blacklist Israel and accuse us of using sexual violence as a weapon of war is an outrageous decision,” Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said in a video statement posted on X.
“We are done with this UN Secretary-General,” Danon added later. “To put us and Hamas terrorists on the same list, that’s unacceptable.”
Danon said Israel had provided documents, data and detailed responses refuting the allegations and announced that Israel would suspend contact with Guterres.
The blacklist is contained in the annex of the Conflict-Related Sexual Violence report, which is usually published in August.
The report is customarily presented to relevant states ahead of publication, AFP reported.
It includes state and non-state parties which are “suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict.”
Hamas was added to the list last year after reports documented the group using sexual violence during and after the October 2023 attack on Israel.
Guterres warned at the time that Israel was on notice and could be added to the list in the future.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein described the decision as “shameful and absurd,” calling the UN “a politicized and corrupt organization” that systematically targets Israel.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric responded that “the secretary-general’s door remains open.”
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia also condemned Moscow’s inclusion, calling the accusations “unsubstantiated lies” aimed at portraying Russia “as a villain.”
The report said UN investigators verified 310 cases of conflict-related sexual violence in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine involving prisoners of war and civilian detainees, the majority of victims being men.
Ukraine was not added to the blacklist, although the report documented 31 cases of sexual violence involving Ukrainian authorities, most occurring before 2025.
(With AP, AFP)
