UN report recognizes hostage families as victims of Hamas

Family members of hostages held in Gaza attend an event at the United Nations in Geneva marking the presentation of a UN report that recognizes hostage families as victims of Hamas psychological terror.

The event — “Prohibition of Torture: The Need to Recognize Hostages and Their Families as Direct Victims” — is attended by Rebecca Bohbot, wife of current hostage Elkana Bohbot, and Lishay Miran-Lavi, whose husband Omri is still held in Gaza.

The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists organized the event and played a key role in the legal aspects of the report.

UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Edwards, who presented her report to the UN Human Rights Council yesterday, visited Gaza and met with families of the hostages in December, before detailing the torture that captives faced in a report published in February.

“Armed and terrorist groups continue to violently abduct civilians, in mass hostage-takings,” Edwards warned the UN on Tuesday, citing “the 7 October 2023 abductions by Hamas and other armed groups in Israel” as evidence.

At the event, Edwards calls for the UN to appoint a special representative who deals solely with hostages.

The recognition gives the families greater ability to pursue legal action against Hamas and other groups that took hostages. According to Daniel Meron, Ambassador of Israel to the UN in Geneva, one of the goals of the event is to create legal tools with which to hold hostage-takers accountable.