New York : A public hearing at the United Nations on Friday turned into a heated argument between an Israeli diplomat and senior UN officials. The dispute began when Israel’s UN Ambassador, Danny Danon, called for the resignation of Pramila Patten, a senior UN official who deals with sexual violence in conflict zones. He made the demand during the meeting at the UN headquarters in New York.
Recently, Pramila Patten prepared a report that led to Israel being placed on a UN blacklist for alleged conflict-related sexual violence violations for the first time. When Patten and Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon met at a UN event marking the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, tensions quickly rose. Danon accused Patten of being biased against Israel. He said, “You gave in to the secretary-general’s obsession with targeting Israel,” referring to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Danon’s comments prompted a response from Vanessa Frazier, who interrupted the meeting and said he was making “personal attacks.” Frazier defended her office’s findings, saying they were based on verified evidence and facts. She rejected the criticism and stressed that the conclusions were reached after a careful review of the available information.
The Israeli envoy became more aggressive during the exchange. He told Vanessa Frazier that Israel is a UN member state and demanded that she stop interrupting him. He criticised her report, calling it “shameful,” and accused her of taking a biased position against Israel. Danon said Israel would not allow her to be part of what he described as a campaign against the country. As Frazier continued to object and meeting organisers tried to restore order, Danon insisted that he be allowed to finish his remarks.
The heated argument and unusual breakdown in diplomatic behaviour showed Israel’s growing frustration with several UN reports that accuse its forces of violations during the Gaza war. A report released this week by Vanessa Frazier on behalf of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Israeli settler groups could also be added to a global UN blacklist for serious violations against children. The report said there had been a sharp rise in violations affecting Palestinian children. Guterres described the increase as “staggering” and called attention to the growing impact of the conflict on children.
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