UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ annual report on conflict-related sexual violence has listed Israeli and Russian armed and security forces for the first time among parties suspected of patterns of sexual violence — the most significant new additions to the so-called blacklist in years.
The report, presented Thursday by Special Representative Pramila Patten, names 77 parties in its annex, including 62 non-state actors and several state forces. Both Israel and Russia had been “put on notice for potential listing” in last year’s edition.
31 Palestinian cases verified
The report verified 31 cases of conflict-related sexual violence committed against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank between 2023 and 2025, with 13 of those occurring in 2025. The cases include rape, sexual torture, forced nudity and threats of rape. The UN noted that access restrictions in affected areas meant the documented cases may not reflect the full scale of abuse.
“The figures contained in this report should be understood not as the full picture, but as an indication of a much broader pattern of violations that remain largely unseen and underreported,” Ms Patten said.
The report documents rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, trafficking and abductions across 21 conflict-affected countries. Women and girls remained the primary targets, but men, boys and LGBTQI+ individuals were also subjected to sexual violence, often in detention and as a form of torture. Victims ranged in age from one to 70.
Israel rejects, freezes UN cooperation
Israel rejected the findings, with officials calling the listing politically motivated and announcing a freeze in cooperation with the office of the UN Secretary-General. Three new non-state armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — the Wazalendo, the Forces nationales de libération and a Mai-Mai faction — were also added.
The blacklist forms the operative annex of the UN’s annual CRSV report and is used by the Security Council to track patterns of abuse during armed conflicts. The listing comes after the UN’s genocide-prevention framing on Gaza earlier this month and a seven-nation Western statement on West Bank settlements, continuing a pattern of escalating multilateral pressure on Israel.
