Their statement was clearly issued reluctantly nd only because of the pressure. They would never have issued it otherwise.
How can I be so sure? Because another UN office I mentioned last week - whose only mission is to combat this exact crime - has remained mute.
The Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, whose X handle is @EndRapeInWar, has been actively tweeting since October 7.
But not a word condemning Hamas or expressing the least bit of empathy to victims of rape and horrific violence in Israel.
This UN office has one job. It knows that UN Women issued its late condemnation. Even though it often retweets UN Women, it didn't bother retweeting that.
EndRapeInWar's silence cannot be seen as anything but complicity and as condoning Hamas war crimes.
The Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, has had a choice every day fo reight weeks. She chooses not to condemn perhaps the most disgusting sexual attack on civilians in recent decades.
