As per the report issued by Pramela Patten, it contains the findings of the mission of Special Representative, Ms. Pramila Patten to Israel, aimed at gathering, analyzing, and verifying information on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in the context of the attacks on 7 October 2023 and their aftermath, and for its potential inclusion in reporting to the Security Council , given the absence of relevant United Nations entities operating in Israel. The visit which was carried out at the invitation of the Government of Israel, also included a visit to the occupied West Bank. The report describes findings on incidents and patterns of CRSV (i) during the 7 October attacks; and (ii) in the context of abduction and hostage-taking. It also covers the engagement of the mission team with the Palestinian Authority and other stakeholders and sets out information it received regarding allegations of CRSV by Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank.
Mission report
Official visit of the Office of the SRSG-SVC to Israel and the occupied West Bank
29 January – 14 February 2024
The report:
While the report says there is ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ that violence occurred, here is what it also says:
1- Ms. Patten was there at the invitation of Israel and was accompanied by members of Zaka group who had spread lies before about rape and murder.
2- Ms. Patten was unable to meet with any witnesses or any of the allegedly ‘abused and raped’ women.
3- There were, according to the report, limited survivor and witness testimony, limited forensic evidence due to the large number of casualties and dispersed crime scenes in a context of persistent hostilities; the loss of potentially valuable evidence due to the interventions of some inadequately trained volunteer first responders; the prioritization of rescue operations and the recovery, identification, and burial of the deceased in accordance with religious practices, over the collection of forensic evidence.
4- The recovered bodies had suffered destructive burn damage, which made the identification of
potential crimes of sexual violence impossible.
5- Told that they were experiencing ‘trauma’, the UN team says they were confronted with a limited number of and access to survivors/victims of sexual violence, and to survivors and witnesses of the 7 October attacks. While the mission team was able to meet with some released hostages as well as with some survivors and witnesses of the attacks, it did not meet with any survivor/victim of sexual violence from 7 October despite concerted efforts encouraging them to come forward.
6- The team was also told there was a lack of trust by survivors of the 7 October attacks and families of hostages in
national institutions and international organizations, such as the United Nations, as well as the national and international media scrutiny of those who made their accounts public, hindered access to survivors of the attacks, including potential survivors/victims of sexual violence.
7- There was an absence of comprehensive forensic evidence limited the mission team’s ability to
draw definitive forensic conclusions in many instances.
8- The report concludes “The mission was neither intended to, and nor could the mission team, in such a short
period of time, establish the prevalence of conflict-related sexual violence during and after the 7 October attacks. The overall magnitude, scope, and specific attribution of these violations would require a comprehensive investigation by competent bodies.”
9- The report -states many sources retracted testimony previously given to media, and notes several “unfounded” assertions, and also finds an Israeli bomb team altered a crime scene by moving bodies.
And yet Ms. Patten chose to say there was ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ in her press release!!
Below are the sections where the report clearly states there is no evidence or that they were unable to verify:










