Human rights expert: U.N. Security Council refused to hold meeting on Israeli hostages

"Professor Anne Bayefsky, the Director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and President of Human Rights Voices, spoke to Arutz Sheva - Israel National News about the meeting that was held at the United Nations last week on the issue of the Israeli hostages held by the Hamas terrorist organization.

Prof. Bayefsky stated that contrary to reports that this was the first meeting of the UN Security Council devoted to the hostages, the meeting was not in fact an official gathering of the Security Council.

‘The UN remains fast at work covering up its appalling treatment of the hostages and ongoing Palestinian sexual atrocities against Jews. Contrary to the misinformation that the UN Security Council held its first-ever meeting devoted to the hostages, the Council refused to hold a meeting devoted to the hostages. It was precisely because of that refusal that a Council member sponsored a so-called Arria formula meeting of interested states on the subject. It was not an official meeting. It was not even held in the Council's official chamber. And to top it all off, not a single UN official appeared,’ she said.

‘None of this is accidental. The Security Council has never condemned Hamas and October 7th. And UN chief Secretary-General Guterres is leading the campaign to divert attention from the terrible reality of Israeli victims as part of an overall strategy to deny Israel its fundamental right - its duty - of self-defense,’ Bayefsky said.

UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict and Under-Secretary-General Pramila Patten was originally supposed to attend Thursday's meeting but pulled out several days beforehand..."