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Palestinian detainee’s testimony was heard at the UN event on sexual violence

Palestinian detainee’s testimony was heard at the UN event on sexual violence

Pramila Patten, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, opened the commemoration by stressing the urgency of addressing the root causes of war (GETTY/file photo)

Testimonials Palestine survivors sexual abuse -most Israeli prisons It was played at an event at the United Nations on Wednesday to mark the 15th anniversary of the mandate against sexual violence. conflict.

Global leaders and advocates have come together to call for more efforts to combat the use of rape as a tool. weapon of war At the event hosted by the UN and some member states in New York to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the creation of a mandate on sexual violence and conflict by the UN Security Council resolution in 2009.

Pramila PattenThe UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict said current ongoing conflicts meant more people were experiencing sexual violence.

Patten investigated the allegations by visiting Israel and the occupied West Bank earlier this year. sexual assault During the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 and accusations of harassment against Palestinian men and women Israeli officials In the occupied West Bank.

According to the UN State of Palestine sent on Thursday.

The statement, read aloud in English, described how the prisoner was stripped naked by two guards and pushed onto other naked prisoners who were “lying on top of each other, bleeding from them, and falling to the ground”.

“Some were crying and screaming,” the statement said.

Soldiers forced an object into the individual’s anus and He filmed the incident. According to the statement, on the phones.

“While I was crying and screaming in terror,” he added.

Account is one of several accounts reports It details the horrific abuse and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees by Israeli forces. Since the start of the war in Gaza, hundreds of men from the area have been detained and taken to Israeli military camps. The UN condemned Israel’s use of “non-contact detention” in cases where Palestinians have effectively disappeared and cannot contact lawyers or family members.

The testimony of one person was also heard at the UN event. israeli woman She said that she was sexually abused at the hands of her kidnappers, who was held hostage in Gaza for 55 days at the beginning of the war after the October 7 attacks.

Participants included former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said that “the pursuit of peace must be our top priority” in combating wartime sexual violence.

More than 170 conflicts were recorded last year, and global military spending surpassed a record $2.2 trillion, Patten said.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said people around the world were still exposed to violence.

“From Gaza to Ukraine, Sudan to Myanmar, Colombia to the Democratic Republic of Congo, survivors face not only isolation but also social and economic deprivation,” Mohammed said. he said.

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, Palestinian rights groups and the UN have recorded numerous cases of ill-treatment by Israeli authorities in prisons.

Israel’s notorious Sde Teiman detention center has been repeatedly highlighted by Israeli and Palestinian rights groups for the widespread use of torture and the alarming conditions in which Palestinians are held.

It is claimed that a leaked video shared by Sde Teiman in the Israeli press in August shows Israeli soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian man. After the arrest of many soldiers due to the incident, Israel faced political and religious tensions. figures He attempted to defend the use of sexual assault against Palestinians.

One investigation by US media outlet CNN found that men were placed in stress positions. limbs amputated and we were forced to wear diapers.

According to Palestinian rights groups, at least 36 Palestinians have died at the facility since October 7, 2023, due to abuse and denial of vital medical attention.

For months, Palestinian officials have been calling on the international community to intervene over reports of mistreatment, including several detainees who appeared emaciated and were released.