{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/release/murkowski-joins-colleagues-in-bipartisan-push-condemning-united-nations-inaction-on-hamass-sexual-violence-against-women", "Murkowski Joins Colleagues in Bipartisan Push Condemning United Nations\u2019 Inaction on Hamas\u2019s Sexual Violence Against Women", "2023-12-13", "2023", "2023-12", "Republican", "Senate", "AK", "Lisa Murkowski", "M001153", "www.murkowski.senate.gov", "murkowski", "https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/press-releases?PageNum_rs=16", "scraper", "Senators Call For An Independent International Investigation Into Hamas\u2019s Use Of Rape And Sexual Assault As \u201cWeapons Of War\u201d\n\nU.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined 30 of Senate colleagues in a letter condemning the inaction of the United Nations (UN) regarding Hamas\u2019s widespread sexual violence, including mass rape and mutilation, against women in Israel on October 7, 2023. The Senators urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to open an independent investigation into Hamas\u2019s acts of sexual violence and to hold the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) -- the organization dedicated to ending gender-based violence -- accountable for its failure to immediately and unequivocally condemn Hamas\u2019s atrocities against women.\n\nSenator Murkowski was joined by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Susan Collins (R-ME), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ben Cardin (D-MD), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Katie Britt (R-AL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), James Risch (R-ID), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Bob Casey (D-PA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), John Fetterman (D-PA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), James Lankford (R-OK), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Rick Scott (R-FL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).\n\n\u201cWe write to express our profound disappointment with the United Nations\u2019 (UN) response to Hamas\u2019s widespread sexual violence, including rape and mutilation, as a weapon of war against women in Israel on October 7, 2023,\u201d wrote the senators. \u201cA growing body of evidence including the testimonies of survivors, witnesses, and first responders makes clear that as part of Hamas\u2019s terrorist attack that killed 1,200 men, women, and children on October 7, the terrorist organization intentionally used rape and sexual assault as weapons of war.\u201d\n\n\u201cSexual violence, particularly on this scale and of this level of brutality, must be condemned unequivocally and without qualification, which is why we were shocked that it took UN Women nearly two months to speak out against these atrocities,\u201d the senators also wrote. \u201c... we urge you to move swiftly to seek the establishment of an independent fact-finding effort through a separate mechanism, tasked with collecting testimonies from survivors and witnesses of Hamas\u2019s sexual violence. An independent investigation is a necessary step to hold perpetrators accountable, support survivors, and provide justice for victims.\u201d\n\nThe full text of the letter can be found HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:56:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/release/murkowski-joins-colleagues-in-bipartisan-push-condemning-united-nations-inaction-on-hamass-sexual-violence-against-women"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7652400527149439, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}