UN ignored 251 hostages, ex-rapporteur claims

Fifty communications regarding Israel have been issued since October 2023, according to former UN special rapporteur on torture Alice Jill Edwards. She notes that only about ten similar documents addressed the war in Sudan. Edwards served in the role from 2022 to 2026 and now argues the organization’s focus was unbalanced.

Edwards visited the kibbutzim affected by the October 7, 2023, attack in December 2024. She described the scene as eerie, noting that flowers were growing from the rubble more than a year after the violence. She pointed to bullet holes in civilian homes, including microwaves and refrigerators that had been shot apart.

Her primary concern is the lack of documentation regarding the 251 people taken hostage that day. She states that two specific UN colleagues, the special rapporteurs on violence against women and the occupied Palestinian territories, failed to investigate the event adequately. Edwards believes this omission was deliberate rather than an oversight.

When asked about the reasoning behind the gap, she cites the argument that Israel did not provide access. She disputes this, noting she was previously criticized for using Israeli information while her own findings relied on independent sources. She calls that reasoning contradictory.

Edwards compares the attention given to Israel with other global conflicts. She points to 90,000 documented rapes in the Democratic Republic of Congo last year. She also references the mid-teens number of communications related to the Russia-Ukraine war. She argues that these figures show a disparity in how the UN allocates its scrutiny.

The former official describes an atmosphere of intimidation within the organization. She claims colleagues attempted to weaken the language of reports concerning October 7. She says there were efforts to stop other officials from endorsing those reports. She notes that some staff members have left the UN because they felt they could not work fairly.

Edwards does not blame Secretary-General António Guterres entirely. She acknowledges his limited influence over individual rapporteurs but says stronger leadership would have helped. She suggests the next secretary-general prioritize peacemaking and conflict prevention.

She also advises Israel to improve its international standing. She suggests allowing international judges to participate in domestic proceedings without moving cases to an international court. She believes this would help restore confidence in the UN’s ability to mediate in the Middle East.