The victim was never charged and has since been released.
In late May 2026, the United Nations formally added Israel and Russia to its blacklist of parties credibly documented to have used sexual violence as a weapon of war — a designation that places both nations among the gravest violators of human dignity in active conflicts. Investigators verified 31 cases against Palestinians in Israeli custody and 310 cases against Ukrainians held by Russian forces, each number understood to represent only a fraction of what obstruction has kept hidden. That both governments denied the findings and blocked independent access speaks to a deeper crisis: not merely the violence itself, but the architecture of impunity that allows it to persist. The UN's act of naming is, in the absence of enforcement, one of the few instruments the international community retains.
- Verified evidence of rape, gang-rape, genital mutilation, and electric shocks used as interrogation tools has pushed the UN to formally name Israel and Russia as perpetrators of systematic conflict sexual violence.
- Both nations actively obstructed investigators — barring access to detention centers, blocking travel, and intimidating potential witnesses — ensuring the documented cases are almost certainly an undercount.
- Israel's prime minister publicly praised alleged perpetrators of a filmed rape, while Russia's forces deployed multiple simultaneous forms of sexual violence in what the UN describes as a near-universal practice across their detention network.
- International activists detained while attempting to deliver aid to Gaza reported sexual assault after their release, with footage of the abuse published by the very minister overseeing the prison system.
- Both governments have rejected the findings outright, Israel severed ties with the UN Secretary-General, and no perpetrators in either country face meaningful accountability — leaving the blacklisting as condemnation without consequence.
In late May 2026, the United Nations formally placed Israel and Russia on its blacklist of parties credibly documented to have committed systematic sexual violence during armed conflict. The designation, grounded in verified evidence rather than allegation, represents one of the most serious international condemnations either nation has faced regarding the treatment of detainees and civilians.
UN investigators confirmed 31 cases of sexual abuse against Palestinians — men, women, and children — held in Israeli detention or interrogated by Israeli security forces between 2023 and 2025. The abuses included gang-rape, rape with objects, forced nudity, and targeted genital violence. Investigators were explicit that these cases reflected patterns rather than totals, constrained by Israel's refusal to grant access to detention facilities and its intimidation of potential witnesses. In one verified incident, a rape filmed on security cameras was reported by Israeli medics to police; Prime Minister Netanyahu later described the alleged perpetrators as heroic and called the failed prosecution attempt criminal.
Russia's documented record was considerably larger in scale. UN monitors verified 310 cases of sexual violence against Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war, including rape, gang-rape, genital mutilation, and electric shocks applied to genitals. In two-thirds of cases, multiple forms of abuse were used simultaneously. Most victims were men, though women and girls were also among those harmed. The UN had previously found that systematic sexual torture occurred in nearly all detention centers where Ukrainians were held.
Both governments denied the findings. Israel's UN ambassador announced the severance of ties with Secretary-General Guterres in response to the blacklisting. Neither nation has permitted independent monitors meaningful access to detention facilities. Rights organizations have described Israeli detention sites as torture camps, a characterization reinforced when a senior minister published footage of security forces abusing international aid activists — at least 15 of whom later reported sexual assault in custody.
The broader UN report found conflict-related sexual violence surging globally since 2024, overwhelmingly targeting women and girls. Israel and Russia are notable for also systematically targeting men. Hamas remains on the blacklist for abuses during the October 7 attacks and mistreatment of hostages, while Ukraine — with 31 verified cases of its own — has allowed independent access and taken legislative steps toward accountability. The UN described the situation in both Israel and Russia as defined by a systemic lack of accountability that has entrenched impunity for perpetrators.
The United Nations has formally added Israel and Russia to its list of governments and armed groups credibly documented to have perpetrated systematic sexual violence during armed conflict. The designation, released in late May, represents one of the starkest international condemnations of both nations' conduct toward detainees and civilians, backed by verified evidence of rape, gang-rape, genital mutilation, and torture deployed as interrogation methods.
UN investigators verified 31 cases of sexual abuse against Palestinians—men, women, and children—held in Israeli detention or interrogated by Israeli security forces between 2023 and 2025. The documented abuses included repeated gang-rapes, rape with objects, targeted shooting of genitals, forced nudity, and threats of sexual assault. Investigators found these cases to be "indicative of incidents and patterns" rather than exhaustive, constrained by Israel's refusal to grant UN experts access to detention facilities, its blocking of travel to Gaza, and its intimidation of Palestinian detainees who might report abuse after release. One verified case involved the rape of a detainee filmed on security cameras and reported to police by Israeli medics; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently described the alleged perpetrators as "heroic" and called a failed prosecution attempt "criminal." The victim was never charged and has since been released.
Russia's documented abuses were far more extensive. UN monitors verified 310 cases of sexual violence against Ukrainians—both civilians and prisoners of war—despite systematic obstruction by Russian authorities who barred access to detention centers and prevented independent monitoring. The abuse included rape, gang-rape, genital mutilation, and electric shocks applied to genitals. In two-thirds of cases, Russian forces deployed multiple forms of sexual violence simultaneously; more than half of survivors endured repeated attacks. Most victims were men, though 26 women and four girls were also abused. The UN had previously documented that Russian forces deployed systematic sexual torture in "almost all" detention centers where Ukrainians were held.
Both nations have denied the allegations outright. Israel's UN ambassador, Danny Danon, stated that Israel had "submitted evidence, documents, and detailed responses to every claim" but released no evidence publicly. He announced that Israel had severed ties with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in response to the blacklisting. Israel has not permitted the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit detainees since October 2023. Russia similarly rejected the findings.
The broader UN report, which examined 77 countries and armed groups, found that conflict-related sexual violence had surged sharply from 2024 onward, marked by extreme brutality and overwhelmingly targeting women and girls globally. Israel and Russia diverge from this pattern by also systematically targeting men. The report identified perpetrators including Israeli soldiers, prison officers, and members of an elite police counter-terrorism unit. One assault occurred in a police station in the Gush Etzion settlement in the occupied West Bank.
Rights organizations have characterized Israeli detention facilities as "torture camps," noting that violence, rape, extreme hunger, and humiliation have become normalized over the past three years. This normalization was underscored when far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has publicly celebrated a "prison revolution," published footage of Israeli security forces abusing international activists detained while attempting to deliver aid to Gaza. After their release, at least 15 of those activists reported sexual assault in custody, including rape. The same forms of abuse captured in that video have been routinely inflicted on Palestinian prisoners.
The UN had previously added Hamas to the sexual violence blacklist for abuses during the October 7 attacks and for mistreatment of hostages in Gaza. The militant group has not acknowledged any cases of sexual violence or held alleged perpetrators accountable. Ukrainian forces have also committed documented sexual violence—31 verified incidents since 2022, including genital beating, electric shocks, and forced nudity—though the Ukrainian government has allowed independent monitors and lawyers access to detention facilities and has taken steps to strengthen laws addressing such abuse.
The designation of Israel and Russia reflects a pattern of obstruction that has prevented comprehensive documentation. A UN official noted that the verified cases represent only what investigators could confirm despite systematic barriers to access. Details of the report were shared by Israeli diplomats at the UN before its official release, and the full document was subsequently posted online by the news site PassBlue. The blacklisting underscores what the UN describes as a "systemic lack of accountability" that has fostered impunity for perpetrators in both nations.
Citas Notables
Israel submitted evidence, documents, and detailed responses to every claim— Danny Danon, Israeli UN ambassador
A systemic lack of accountability for sexual violence helped create a culture of impunity— UN report findings
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does the UN distinguish between these cases and the broader pattern of sexual violence in conflict?
Because the obstruction itself is the story. In most conflicts, investigators can access detention centers, interview survivors, build a record. Here, Israel and Russia actively prevented that. The 31 and 310 cases aren't the full picture—they're what got through despite the walls.
What makes sexual violence in detention different from sexual violence in combat?
Detention is custody. It's control. You're not fighting back. The person holding you has absolute power over your body and what happens next. That's why it becomes a tool—interrogation, humiliation, breaking will. It's not incidental to conflict; it's weaponized.
Both nations deny everything. Does the blacklist actually change anything?
Not immediately. But it creates a record that can't be unsaid. It's documentation for future accountability. Right now there's impunity—Netanyahu called the perpetrators heroic. But that statement is now part of the official record alongside the verified cases.
Why are men being targeted in these two conflicts when the global trend is women and girls?
That's the question the report raises without fully answering. In Gaza and Ukraine, men are detained at higher rates. They're interrogated. Sexual violence becomes an interrogation method. It's not about sexual desire; it's about domination and extraction of information.
The activists who were abused—they were international observers. Does that change the significance?
It makes it visible. Palestinians in detention have limited ability to report. But when international activists are filmed being abused, and then 15 of them report sexual assault, suddenly there's testimony that can't be dismissed as propaganda. It corroborates what Palestinians have been saying.
What happens to the victims now?
Most are released, but they carry trauma. The report notes there's no accountability—the perpetrators aren't prosecuted. In Israel, the victim whose rape was filmed is free but never got justice. In Ukraine, at least the government is cooperating with monitors. That's the difference between obstruction and accountability.