Heated arguments between Israeli envoy, officer seen at UN public hearing on elimination of war-time sexual violence

New York: A heated verbal exchange was witnessed at a public hearing of the United Nations here on Friday, when the Israeli ambassador and the UN Secretary-General’s special representative for children and armed conflict were seen shouting furiously at each other.

According to news agencies, a meeting was called in the city on Friday to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, when Danny Danon, the Israeli envoy, accused Pramila Patten, who produced a report blacklisting his country for such abuse, of being biased and also demanded her resignation.

Further, Danon reportedly accused Patten of ‘caving in to the Secretary-General’s obsession with targeting Israel’, targeting Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The UN chief’s representative for children and armed conflict and compiler of a separate report that also blacklists Israel, Vanessa Frazier, is learned to have shouted a point of order, which only aggravated the tension at the meeting. She also reportedly directed the Israeli representative to not make personal attacks, adding that she could present ‘verified evidence’ on the blacklisting.

In retaliation, however, Danon demanded Frazier to be quiet, pointing out that while Israel was a member of the UN, Frazier was only working for the UN. He is learned to have told the representative, “You will be quiet,” calling the report she presented as ‘shameful’.

Frazier is learned to have brought out the said report on behalf of the Secretary-General this week, warning to add settler groups native to Israel to the global blacklist for violations against children in the backdrop of Guterres’ worry on the apparent hike in violations against children in Palestine.

While Israel was added to what is considered as the list of shame annexes for alleged violations in the report, Danon called it a ‘new low’, when Patten brought out the report last month. In addition, the Foreign Ministry of Israel said it would sever ties with Secretary-General Guterres.

Incidentally, Israel's arch enemy Hamas has also been blacklisted in both the said reports.