This month the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten will present her annual report to the United Nations Security Council.

Her work and that of her team made headlines in March, after the release of the United Nations report into the use of sexual violence during the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The report states there are “reasonable grounds to believe” Hamas and militants from Gaza perpetrated acts of sexual violence including rape and gang rape during the October 7 attack on Israel.

Patten and her team also visited the occupied West Bank, where she said she received “disturbing” information from recently released Palestinian detainees and civil society organisations about “threats of rape and prolonged forced nudity” in detention settings.

We caught up with Patten during an international meeting of prosecutors taking place at the Peace Palace in The Hague. The focus of the conference was on accountability for conflict-related sexual violence and the challenges with prosecuting these crimes.

We discussed a range of topics related to CRSV, including how she investigated the crimes in Israel and Palestine, and areas globally where she believes the issues of CRSV are not getting the attention they deserve.

The subject of sexual violence in conflict is not a light one, but Patten ended our conversation on an optimistic note. Focusing on the need for solutions, like sanctions, political will and financial resources with the hope that one day she “can deliver on this mandate, and look at survivors and tell them that international law is not a vain promise.”

This podcast has been produced as part of a partnership with JusticeInfo.net, an independent website in French and English covering justice initiatives in countries dealing with serious violence. It is a media outlet of Fondation Hirondelle, based in Lausanne, Switzerland