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.
In a letter, which was initially shared with NBC News, the 33 senators push U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres to open “an independent investigation” into the allegations, which they said “is a necessary step to hold perpetrators accountable, support survivors, and provide justice for victims.”
The senators who organized the letter include Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin, D-Md., as well as Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; and Susan Collins, R-Maine.
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.”
The senators also took issue with the U.N. for having a commission of inquiry investigate the allegations, a commission Israel has refused to cooperate with after accusing it of bias.
“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.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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