'Normalizing taking hostages and rape': Hostage families slam UNHRC sexual violence report

Meirav Leshem Gonen, the mother of 23-year-old hostage Romi Gonen, spoke at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday during discussions on the conclusions of last week’s UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) report.

The report accused Israel, among other things, of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in its military operation in the Gaza Strip.

Leshem Gonen said the report compiled by the COI “has failed to properly address” the accounts of “sexual violence that occurred on the day of the attack [October 7] and during captivity.”

The report “trivializes the severity of sexual violence experienced by women in captivity by reducing their suffering to mere ‘parading of women as trophies,’” she said.

“This oversimplification and dismissive attitude are not only deeply insensitive but also indicative of a broader problem: the unwillingness to confront uncomfortable truths and the shocking decision to look away and not reach out to help the helpless ones,” Leshem Gonen said.

The report omitted the testimonies of released hostages Amit Sossana, Agam Goldstein-Almog, and Aviva Segal, she said.

Calling for the release of the hostages 

“The international community must not allow political considerations to override our core human values,” she said, adding that resources must be utilized for the release of the hostages.

“Mr. President, we should be on the same side – the side fighting hostage-taking, never accepting the use of young women as tools for trade,” Leshem Gonen said.

“Please, help me hug my daughter again,” she said.

In addition to Leshem Gonen, Ashley Waxman Bakshi, a cousin of 19-year-old hostage Agam Berger, also addressed the council.

She said the report completely neglected both the evidence and testimonies of the horrors the hostages underwent, including rape.

“By neglecting the realities of sexual violence in captivity, the protections that international law presumes to grant women is completely undermined,” Waxman Bakshi said.

“The Human Rights Council is trusted with the protection of women’s rights, and this report does not reflect such values... We should all be very concerned about normalizing taking people hostage and rape,” she said.

“In my baby cousin’s name, who obviously can’t be heard today, I beg the council to reject the report,” Waxman Bakshi said.