The United Nations says it is “shocked and deeply disturbed” by footage of an apparent sex act in one of its official cars in Israel.
The clip shows a woman in a red dress straddling a man in the back seat of a white 4×4 with UN markings.
The video, shared widely on social media, was apparently filmed on a main street by Tel Aviv’s seafront.
The UN said it was investigating the incident and was close to identifying the individuals seen in the video.
Those involved are believed to be staff members of a peacekeeping organisation in Israel, the UN said.
Another passenger can be seen slumped in the front, but the driver can’t be seen as the car moves away.
Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesman for the UN’s Secretary General, António Guterres, described the behaviour seen in the 18-second video as “abhorrent”.
That kind of behaviour “goes against everything we stand for and having been working to achieve in terms of fighting misconduct by UN staff”, Mr Dujarric told the BBC on Friday.
When asked if the apparent sex act was consensual or involved payment, Mr Dujarric said those questions were part of the ongoing investigation.
The UN has strict policies against sexual misconduct by its staff members.
What is the UN’s track record on sexual misconduct?
Heather Barr, co-director of Human Rights Watch’s women’s rights division, said she was “not surprised” by the video from Israel.
Ms Barr, who worked for the UN in Burundi and Afghanistan, said it was “good they’re investigating it”, but added that the UN “has a bigger problem than this one video”.
“That problem is about allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse committed by staff members of the UN,” Ms Barr said.
In 2019, there were 175 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse against UN staff members, a report said. Of those allegations, 16 were substantiated, 15 were unsubstantiated and all others were still being investigated.
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BBC
