The United Nations official whose report placed Israel on a global blacklist of sexual violence perpetrators, alongside Hamas, ISIS, and other terror groups, has admitted she never personally examined the underlying evidence before making the accusation. The revelation raises serious questions about the integrity of a process that has prompted Israel to sever all working ties with the office of Secretary-General António Guterres.
Pramila Patten, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, made the admission at a press conference following the publication of Guterres’s 2026 annual report, which added Israel to the same blacklist that includes the perpetrators of the October 7 massacre. “I am a recipient. I compile that information, and I present it to the Secretary-General,” Patten said. When pressed by journalists on whether she had personally seen the evidence cited against Israel, she replied flatly: “No, because it’s not my job.” She added: “I made it clear to Israel I would not visit any detention facility, even if offered. It’s not the responsibility of my office to do any verification.”
Guterres’s report alleges that Israeli armed forces, security personnel, and the Israeli Prison Service committed sexual abuse and torture against Palestinian detainees. Israel has categorically rejected the allegations. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon announced his mission would halt all contact with Guterres’s office. “This is a moral disgrace that proves Guterres has lost all credibility,” Danon said, calling the decision to place Israel on the blacklist “outrageous, dangerous, and morally indefensible.” Benny Gantz called the report “antisemitic and hypocritical,” while Gilad Erdan labeled the United Nations “corrupt and distorted.”
The blacklist now places Israel alongside Hamas, the same Hamas that Patten’s own office reported in March 2024 had committed rape and sexual violence during the October 7 attack and during the captivity of hostages held in Gaza. Israeli officials cited by Ynet reported that political pressure mounted on Guterres to add Israel to the list, specifically after Hamas was included, was a calculated move to create a false moral equivalence between a democratic state and a designated terrorist organization. Turkish media reported that Patten claimed her office repeatedly requested information and documentation from Israel and received nothing, though Israel disputes that characterization.
The UN long ago ceased to be an honest broker in the Middle East. What Patten’s admission makes clear is that it is not even an honest accuser.
