Overview

• Verified reports documented at least 4,600 survivors in 2024, though the U.N. cautions that stigma and reporting barriers understate the true scale of abuse.
• For the first time, Israel’s military and Russian forces received formal warnings that they could be added to the U.N. blacklist next year if preventive measures are not taken.
• In North Kivu, healthcare providers treated more than 17,000 survivors between January and May 2024, and 22,000 cases were recorded in 2023 amid clashes involving state troops and M23 rebels.
• Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized that rape, gang rape and sexual slavery continue to be used deliberately as tools of war, predominantly targeting women and girls across 21 conflict zones.
• Humanitarian agencies report that funding shortfalls, food insecurity and narrowed peacekeeping mandates are leaving survivors without adequate medical, psychosocial and legal support.