Yesterday, Dr. Alice Jill Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, presented her report "Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment: hostage-taking as torture" to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
This document recognizes the suffering of the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and follows Dr. Edwards' visit to Israel and affected kibbutzim, where she witnessed firsthand the impact on families of those taken hostage. The Special Rapporteur has formally called upon the UN to acknowledge these families as victims of torture and inhumane treatment.
The report specifically documents how Hamas has employed deliberate strategies of coercion and psychological warfare against hostage families, inflicting severe psychological and physical torture and other ill-treatment suffered by hostages, which have lasting impacts on hostages’ families, communities, and countries.
Dr. Edwards stated that she considers that the rising number of incidents of hostage-taking worldwide demands collective international attention, and calls on the international community to condemn all forms of hostage-taking and to fully implement, inter alia, the International Convention on the Taking of Hostages. The report concludes with a set of recommendations to States, non-State actors, and entities and bodies of the United Nations.
The report states, "Hostage-taking for any purpose is an abhorrent and inhuman act, which is 'incompatible with universally accepted standards of human conduct.' It is an internationally unlawful act that is perpetrated by State and non-State actors. This practice was integral to foreign affairs in the ancient world and has taken place for millenniums. It continues unabated to this day, in total disregard of international law and our collective humanity."
Addressing the hostage crisis in Gaza, it states, "Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, as part of their lethal attack of 7 October 2023, abducted 251 people inside Israel, taking them to the Gaza Strip. At the time of writing, 100 hostages, including two infant children, women and older persons, remained unaccounted for. The Special Rapporteur is on record repeatedly calling for their immediate and unconditional release. She has also called for accountability for all international crimes committed by Hamas and other armed groups and Israel in the context of the war in Gaza. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel has reported that abductions by Hamas are war crimes. The Commission noted that, in most cases, there have also been outrages upon personal dignity and inhumane treatment, as well as sexual and gender-based violence. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights found that the holding of hostages under the current conditions in Gaza, including underground for months, might amount to the war crime of torture or other ill-treatment. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict documented 'clear and convincing information,' based on first-hand accounts of released hostages, of rape and sexualized torture against female hostages."