Israel launches global public diplomacy campaign amid UN sexual violence probe

Foreign Minister Israel Katz has directed all embassies within the State of Israel to begin a large-scale hasbara (public diplomacy) campaign immediately on Thursday morning, in light of the findings of the UN report on sexual violence in the Hamas massacre on October 7.

The report was published by the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, on Monday. The report expresses that she and her team of experts had found “clear and convincing information” of rape and sexualized torture being committed against hostages seized during the October 7 terror attacks.  

The campaign's objective is to keep the report in the public discourse so that people will not forget its findings.

The aim is to put pressure on the UN to define Hamas as a terrorist organization and to ensure an emergency meeting of the Security Council in order to discuss the findings of the report. 

The hasbara campaign will prioritize media interviews, distributing messages across social media platforms, and engaging in meetings with decision-makers across the world. 

Some key messages in the campaign include that the UN must define Hamas as a terrorist organization, especially in light of this report, the Security Council must be convened immediately to hold a special debate on the report and issue an explicit condemnation against Hamas for committing sexual crimes on a large scale, per the findings of the report. 

The final key message will be that the UN’s response towards Hamas has so far been weak, which has encouraged the terrorist organization and has sent the message that its actions have been acceptable. The United Nations has sent a message that the October 7 attacks will not result in sanctions against Hamas and, therefore, has encouraged Hamas to continue attacking civilians with impunity.  

The campaign also requests that world leaders, leaders of public opinion, the media, and other influencers address the report. 

Response from Pramilla Patten

The UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict has already called on Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release the hostages from Gaza and ensure their protection from sexual violence. 

She also called on all relevant entities to bring the perpetrators of sexual violence to justice, requested the media to operate under the highest standards of information integrity in reporting and handling sexual violence cases, and called for a humanitarian ceasefire.

She emphasized that any ceasefire agreement must acknowledge the importance of recognizing sexual violence as a key issue and allow those impacted to be heard. 

Finally, Patten reiterated her sympathy and solidarity with all civilians impacted by the “brutal violence in the region” since October 7.