Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 26th Jan. UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Ms. Pramila Patten on Thursday has announced that she has been invited to Israel by the Government to gather information on sexual violence reportedly committed during and after the 7 October attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas on southern Israel.
Ms. Pramila Patten will also visit the occupied West Bank, where she will meet with the Palestinian Authority, civil society organizations, recently released detainees and other relevant actors, according to a press release issued in New York.
The visit is set to start on Monday and will conclude in early February, according to news media reports.
“The mission of the Special Representative aims to give voice to survivors, witnesses, recently released hostages and those affected, to identify avenues for support, including justice and accountability, and to gather, analyze and verify information to inform reporting to the Security Council in the exercise of her mandate,” her office said in a statement on Thursday.
It is “neither intended nor mandated to be investigative in nature, a mandate which is vested in other entities of the United Nations system, which have expressed their willingness and availability to investigate.”
The mission will include a technical component to gather, analyze and verify relevant information regarding allegations of conflict related sexual violence, the office added.
Ms. Patten will be accompanied by technical experts with expertise in safe and ethical interviewing of victims and witnesses of sexual violence, on the interpretation of medical and forensic information and on the analysis of open source and digital information.
“The scope and parameters of the visit have been discussed with the relevant authorities with an understanding reached that such a visit is contingent on the ability to operate impartially and independently, which includes unimpeded and confidential access to relevant interlocutors and information,” the statement said.
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