UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned Russia that it could be added to the list of countries and entities that have committed sexual violence during armed conflicts.

Source: Ukrinform, citing the UN secretary-general’s annual report on conflict-related sexual violence; Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on X (Twitter)

Quote from Guterres: “I am gravely concerned about credible information of violations by Russian armed and security forces and affiliated armed groups, perpetrated primarily against Ukrainian prisoners of war, in 50 official and 22 unofficial detention facilities in Ukraine and the Russian Federation.”

Details: Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric said a list had been compiled of parties notified about possible inclusion in the next report due to “the consistent denial of access to UN monitors… that made it challenging to verify and definitively determine the patterns, the trends and the systematicity of sexual violence in these contexts.”

Russia and Israel are included on this list.

Quote from Sybiha: “The 2024 annual report of the UN Secretary General on conflict-related sexual violence confirms: Russia uses conflict-related sexual violence as a method of war in the temporarily occupied territories and in places of detention.”

Details: Sybiha added that “the scale and brutality are shocking”, which is why Russia must be included on the list of egregious violators and face strengthened sanctions.

Quote from Sybiha: “The world must act jointly to stop Russia’s aggressive war and ensure justice for the victims.”

Background: Earlier, Guterres once again included the Russian Armed Forces in the list of shame for widespread and systematic violations of children’s rights during its armed aggression against Ukraine.

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