A United Nations women's rights official on Tuesday tried to escape responsibility when asked why she could not condemn Hamas's violence on Oct. 7, in the latest instance of the U.N. drawing controversy for its public statements on Israel's war against the terror group.
"U.N. Women always supports impartial, independent investigations into any serious allegations of gender-based or sexual violence, and, within the U.N. family, these investigations are led by the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights," U.N. Women executive director Sarah Hendriks told CNN's Bianna Golodryga.
Golodryga had asked Hendriks why she could not specifically condemn Hamas for its atrocities on Oct. 7, which included the rape of women, in light of the "mounting evidence now over seven weeks that Israeli investigators have collected."
"U.N. Women specifically provides and has extensive knowledge on gender-based violence and provides and supports investigations as we do with all U.N. investigations," Hendriks went on. "And so, consequently, in this context and within the U.N. system, it is the Independent International Commission of Inquiry which for us has the mandate to investigate all alleged violations."
U.N. Women came under fire last week for posting and then deleting an Instagram post that condemned Hamas's atrocities on Oct. 7 and called for the release of all hostages. It replaced the post with one that only called for the hostages' release. Later, it made another post saying it was "alarmed by reports of gender-based violence" on Oct. 7, but it did not mention Hamas.
The U.N. has repeatedly received criticism for its stance on Israel's war against Hamas. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres weeks after Oct. 7 faced backlash for saying it was "important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum," adding that Palestinians "have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation."