The Security Council Demeans Itself Once Again  

The United Nations has added Israel to its list of countries accused of using sexual violence as a weapon in conflict, placing it alongside Hamas and other armed groups, according to a report by The Jerusalem Post. An updated list of counties blacklisted for this reason will be posted shortly and the Israeli Prison Service will be added to this list.

The group within the United Nations that decides on who appears on the list (Hamas was added last year) is the Security Council, most of whose members could also qualify to be listed if the standards were applied equally, which they are not.

Following are brief profiles of the prison conditions in members countries of the UN’s Security Council.

Prison abuse in China involves systematic torture, forced labor, and mass incarceration, particularly targeting ethnic minorities, religious groups, and political dissidents.  Reports from human rights organizations detail widespread physical abuse, including severe beatings, electric shocks, sleep deprivation, and being forced into stress positions for extended periods

The French prison system is experiencing a severe crisis marked by extreme overcrowding—often reaching over 136% capacity—severe staff shortages, and systemic degradation. The Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee (CPT) has warned that many of these facilities operate as “human warehouses” rather than environments for rehabilitation.  While most inmates report not facing deliberate ill-treatment, human rights organizations and the CPT have documented and received credible allegations of physical violence and excessive force inflicted by some prison officers, as well as incidents of deliberate violence in police and gendarmerie holding cells.

Widespread and systemic human rights abuses characterize the Russian prison system, including torture, sexual violence, and inhumane living conditions, according to extensive reports from whistleblowers and international observers. These practices are often used to extort confessions, discipline inmates, or exert psychological control. Former inmates and leaked videos have documented severe physical violence, including the use of electric shocks, beatings with mop handles or truncheons, and daily forced physical drills. As for sexual violence, damning footage leaked from a prison hospital in Saratov revealed hundreds of cases of organized rape and sexual humiliation used as a tool of terror by prison officials.

Prison abuse in England is primarily defined by dangerously high levels of violence, chronic understaffing, and the smuggling of illicit contraband. With record-high rates of assaults and self-harm, the system faces severe systemic challenges exacerbated by overcrowding and under-resourced staff.   Chronic understaffing has left officers demoralized, leading to higher turnover rates and an environment where over a third of assaults on staff are inadequately investigated. Additionally, systemic reviews have identified issues with a minority of staff engaging in inappropriate relationships and misconduct.

Denmark’s prison system generally focuses on rehabilitation, but it faces severe challenges with overcrowding, staff shortages, and increased solitary confinement. While physical brutality is rare, critics highlight systemic abuses such as prolonged pre-trial isolation, degrading conditions in migrant centers, and human rights concerns over outsourcing inmates abroad.  Denmark has a high rate of pre-trial detention. Inmates presumed innocent are routinely held in isolation for extended periods, drawing criticism from international human rights bodies who warn of resulting psychological damage.

Greek prisons and detention centers face persistent human rights challenges, including severe overcrowding, poor hygiene, and understaffing, which frequently result in inter-prisoner violence and inadequate healthcare. Reports from the Council of Europe have continuously called on Greece to improve these conditions, highlighting degrading environments and systemic issues across various facilities.

Systemic abuse, severe overcrowding, and torture remain endemic in Pakistan’s prison system. Detainees face rampant human rights violations including physical violence by prison staff, inadequate medical care leading to the spread of infectious diseases, and exploitation of vulnerable populations.   Despite Pakistan being a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture, custodial violence remains widespread. Authorities frequently utilize severe abuse during interrogations to extract forced confessions due to a systemic reliance on high conviction rates.

Prison abuse and systemic human rights violations remain significant concerns in Somalia. Detainees, including children, face arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention, and physical torture, often to coerce confessions in state security investigations.  Human rights groups have frequently documented abuses within facilities run by the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA). Interrogations are known to rely on forced confessions, with reports of suspects subjected to beatings and severe psychological pressure.

Prison abuse in Colombia is a severe systemic crisis characterized by rampant overcrowding, understaffed guard forces (INPEC), and poor living conditions. Because the state struggles to maintain full control, a power vacuum inside facilities like La Modelo and La Picota has been filled by corruption, drug trafficking, and internal violence. Colombian prisons and local holding cells routinely operate well beyond capacity. In many facilities, occupancy rates surpass (182%), forcing inmates to sleep in makeshift shanties or cramped, deteriorating corridors.  Internal wings are heavily influenced by criminal organizations, paramilitaries, and guerrilla groups. Drug debts, extortion, and gang violence are common, with limited protection for vulnerable or awaiting-trial detainees.

Prison conditions and abuse in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) involve extreme overcrowding, systematic sexual violence, forced labor, and a general lack of basic necessities. DRC facilities like Makala Central Prison face severe, life-threatening overcrowding. Female inmates are at an exceptionally high risk of sexual assault. Between 2020 and 2025, human rights organizations reported hundreds of women subjected to rape in DRC detention facilities. Human rights monitors frequently report the use of torture in both official prisons and secret detention centers. This is often carried out by prison guards or armed factions controlling the facilities, with little to no accountability for the perpetrators.

Prison abuse in Latvia centers primarily on a pervasive “caste” or informal hierarchy system among inmates that fosters inter-prisoner violence. Human rights groups have continually cited the Latvian state for failing to protect vulnerable inmates from beatings, sexual assault, and exploitation by fellow prisoners.  The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found Latvia in violation of human rights for failing to dismantle systemic caste hierarchies. Under this system, “bottom-feeder” inmates face psychological abuse, extortion, and violence. Although direct physical abuse by guards has decreased, monitoring bodies still receive complaints regarding intimidation, verbal abuse, and abuse of office by staff.

Liberia’s prison system suffers from severe human rights abuses, primarily driven by extreme overcrowding, systemic underfunding, prolonged pre-trial detentions, and poor sanitation. These conditions consistently fall far below international standards.

While I don’t often quote the words of Jesus, his admonition “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone” found in John 8:7 and based on Torah-itic principles, is something with which the members of the Security Council would do well to become familiar.  It is the height of chutzpah for countries whose own prison record is constantly criticized as abusive of human rights to single out Israel for censure when they themselves could not pass a similar test.

Historically UN Secretary-General António Guterres has not been a friend of Israel, but making this recommendation in order to yield to political pressure is an obnoxious position exceeded only by the votes of those who supported his position

UN policy provides that the name of the Israel Prison Service will remain on the list for at least one year with the possibility that it could remain there for a longer period of time as well.

In 63 BCE, Cicero, during his first speech against Cataline in the Roman Senate uttered the famous four Latin words:  “O tempora, o mores!”  It translates to “Oh, the times! Oh, the customs!”, and expresses his despair or disbelief over the declining morals, shifting cultural values, or political corruption of the era.  Cicero was appalled that the Senate was aware of the treasonous plots of Cataline but allowed him to continue walking free in spite of that knowledge.

The community of nations should be equally appalled by the discriminatory decision of the UN Security Council whose members themselves also stand accused if the standards were to be equally applied to their countries as well.   Shame on the times and their customs indeed.