Israeli first lady Michal Herzog on Friday condemned United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for placing the Jewish state on a list of parties suspected of committing sexual violence in conflict, calling the move another “stain on the record” of the world body.
“Outrage. Disgrace. Disappointment. I cannot choose the right word for how I feel when reading the U.N. secretary-general’s report on conflict-related sexual violence,” Herzog said.
“As someone who has met with and seen the pain and suffering of the hostages who returned home from unbearable captivity in the dungeons of Gaza, I ask: How can one accept a one-sided report that begins with a paragraph claiming that their accounts of sexual violence cannot be verified?
“If you cannot believe the victims at the start of your report, why should anyone believe the rest of it?” she continued.
“This shameful report is yet another stain on the record of the United Nations. To the brave hostages who endured the hell of sexual violence at the hands of terrorists and returned home: We believe you. We are here for you. And your voices will be heard,” she said.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon on Thursday condemned Guterres’s decision as a “political” move “disconnected from reality.”
