WASHINGTON DC – Last week, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) led a bipartisan group of 28 colleagues in a letter condemning the inaction of the United Nations (UN) regarding Hamas’s widespread sexual violence, including mass rape and mutilation, against women in Israel on October 7, 2023. The Senators urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to open an independent investigation into Hamas’s acts of sexual violence and to hold the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) — the organization dedicated to ending gender-based violence — accountable for its failure to immediately and unequivocally condemn Hamas’s atrocities against women.
NBC News: Senators call for U.N. to open independent probe into Hamas and sexual violence
By Julie Tsirkin and Zoë Richards
Key Points:
- A bipartisan group of almost three dozen senators is urging the United Nations to open an independent investigation into what it called a “growing body of evidence” that Hamas engaged in sexual violence during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
- In a letter first shared with NBC News, 33 senators pressed U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres to establish “an independent fact-finding effort” that would collect survivors’ and witnesses’ testimonies.
- “An independent investigation is a necessary step to hold perpetrators accountable, support survivors, and provide justice for victims,” the senators wrote in the letter, led by Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md.
- Rosen, a prominent supporter of Israel, said in a statement that more action is needed from the U.N.
- “Too many prominent international organizations and leaders have chosen to dismiss, downplay, or outright deny Hamas’s widespread use of sexual violence and rape,” she said. “The UN must acknowledge, forcefully denounce, and independently investigate Hamas’s atrocities.”
The Messenger: Bipartisan Group of Senators Calls on UN to Open Probe Into Hamas Sexual Violence
By Mariana Labbate
Key Points:
- A bipartisan group of Senators is sending a letter to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday to call for an investigation into Hamas and sexual violence in the war.
- The effort is led by Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md.
- In the letter, the group also accuses the UN commission of inquiry of having “a history of bias and unfairly singling out Israel.”
Jewish Insider: Senators condemn U.N. response to sexual violence in Hamas attack
By Marc Rod
Key Points:
- More than 30 senators wrote to the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday to condemn the body, and its UN Women agency, for their failure to promptly respond to and condemn sexual violence by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
- The lawmakers call on the U.N. to launch an independent investigation into sexual violence by Hamas, as well as to hold UN Women “accountable for its failure to immediately and unequivocally condemn Hamas’s brutal use of sexual violence.”
- The letter was led by Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ben Cardin (D-MD).
The Hill: Senators press UN to investigate Hamas sexual violence
By Lauren Irwin
Key Points:
- A bipartisan group of senators wrote a letter urging the United Nations to open an investigation into a “growing body of evidence” that during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Hamas engaged in sexual violence.
- An investigation “is a necessary step to hold perpetrators accountable, support survivors, and provide justice for victims,” the letter, led by Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), reads.
- The prevalence of sexual violence during Hamas’s initial attack has been well documented, and reports since the attack revealed the gruesome acts of rape used as a weapon of war.
- The bipartisan letter said the Israeli police have gathered more than 1,500 testimonies and forensic evidence that shows rape and sexual assault occurred. One testimony included a witness describing a gang rape at the Nova music festival site where video footage showed mutilated bodies that exhibited signs of sexual violence before they were executed.
Newsmax: Senators Push UN to Investigate Hamas Sexual Violence
By Theodore Bunker
Key Points:
- A bipartisan group of more than two dozen senators is calling on the United Nations to open “an independent fact-finding effort” to investigate reports that Hamas used sexual violence during its attack on Israel in October.
- Rosen added in a statement that “too many prominent international organizations and leaders have chosen to dismiss, downplay, or outright deny Hamas’s widespread use of sexual violence and rape. The UN must acknowledge, forcefully denounce, and independently investigate Hamas’s atrocities.”
- “Tasking the one-sided [commission of inquiry] to investigate these atrocities undermines the effort’s credibility, creates the strong potential for biased outcomes, and provides no measure of justice for the victims and survivors,” the letter reads, which goes on to claim that the commission has “a history of bias and unfairly singling out Israel.”
KOLO Reno: Rosen joins group urging UN action on Hamas sexual violence against women
By Kevin Sheridan
Key Points:
- U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen is joining a number of other Senators in condemning what they say is a lack of action on the part of the United Nations to prevent sexual violence against women at the hands of Hamas.
- She joins a group that includes Joni Ernst(R-IA), Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY), Susan Collins(R-ME) and Ben Cardin(D-MD) in writing a letter to the UN condemning them for not dealing with Hamas’s actions, which Rosen says includes mass rape and mutilation.
- They urged UN Secretary General Antonio-Guterres to open an independent investigation into the acts and to condemn UN Women for failing to condemn Hamas for these actions.
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