Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Permanent Representative of the UK to the UN attended the ‘Hear Our Voices: Sexual and gender-based violence in the October 7th Hamas terror attack’ event on 4 December at the UN headquarters; and if not, why.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Three representatives of the UK Permanent Representation to the United Nations attended this event. The UK unequivocally condemns the reports of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas against Israeli women and girls and other civilians; conflict-related sexual violence is an abuse of human rights and when perpetrated in the context of an armed conflict, can constitute a violation of international humanitarian law such as a war crime. We are regularly engaging with partners, including the UN, on this issue and call for these reports to be fully investigated to ensure justice for victims. The UK is committed to strengthening the global response to conflict-related sexual violence. Our Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) strategy, launched in 2022, sets out the work I am leading globally as the PMs Special Representative for PSVI, to prevent Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and strengthen justice and support for all survivors.