Key Points
- The UN has added Israel and Russia to its conflict-related sexual violence blacklist for the first time
- UN Secretary-General Guterres had warned both nations in August 2024 before taking this step
- Israel is accused of sexual violence against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israeli detention centers
- Russia is accused of sexual violence against prisoners of war in occupied Ukraine and within Russia
- 310 cases involving Russian forces have been documented, with male prisoners of war as the primary victims
- Ukraine was not blacklisted but faces criticism over 31 alleged cases involving its own security forces
The United Nations has taken a significant step by formally adding Israel and Russia to its annual blacklist of parties credibly accused of committing systematic sexual violence during armed conflict. The development was first reported by AFP, citing members of the UN Security Council.
The UN publishes this list each year, naming both state and non-state actors found to have engaged in persistent and widespread sexual violence in war zones. The list already includes groups from Sudan, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Syria, and Mali. The addition of two major powers, one a Western-aligned democracy and the other a permanent Security Council member, marks a notable escalation in the UN’s willingness to name and publicly censure influential governments.
Warnings Were Issued, but Violations Continued
In August 2024, Secretary-General António Guterres formally warned both Israel and Russia that they risked being added to the list if allegations against their forces did not improve. Despite those warnings, documented reports of sexual violence continued to emerge from the conflict in Ukraine and from the occupied Palestinian territories. Both governments also refused to grant UN investigators full and unobstructed access to affected areas, limiting the scope of the inquiry and preventing a complete accounting of many individual cases.
Israel’s Actions in Gaza and the West Bank
The UN report states that acts of sexual violence were committed by Israeli forces during 2025 against Palestinians in both the occupied Palestinian territories and Israeli detention facilities. The UN has corroborated multiple cases dating back to 2023 involving 14 men, seven women, nine boys, and one girl across Gaza and the West Bank.
Documented abuses include rape, gang rape, attacks on genitals, forced nudity, and invasive body searches conducted without clear security justification. In several documented instances, the report concludes that the Israeli military used sexual violence as a deliberate method of torture.
Israel has strongly rejected the UN’s decision, calling it erroneous and describing Secretary-General Guterres’s move as shameful and absurd. Israeli officials argue the listing creates a false moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas, a designated terrorist organization that is itself already included on the same blacklist.
Russia’s Conduct in Ukraine and Beyond
The report’s findings on Russia are equally serious. The UN documents significant incidents of sexual violence in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories and within Russia itself, with the primary victims being Ukrainian prisoners of war. Several released prisoners have provided firsthand testimony about their experiences.
Drawing on data from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, the report cites 310 documented cases. These include rape, genital mutilation, and torture involving electric shocks. The majority of victims were male.
Ukraine Also Faces Scrutiny
While Ukraine has not been added to the blacklist, the report is not without criticism of Kyiv. It notes 31 reported cases of sexual violence allegedly committed by Ukrainian security forces against prisoners of war, a detail that underscores the UN’s stated commitment to documenting abuses regardless of which side of a conflict is responsible.
