Video of sex act in UN car in Israel goes viral, Guterres shocked

United Nations: The UN said that it was “shocked and deeply disturbed” by a footage of an alleged sex act in one of its official cars in Israel.

“We are shocked and deeply disturbed by what is seen on this video,” Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told the BBC on Friday.

Describing the behaviour seen in the 18-second video as “abhorrent”, he said an investigation led by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services was “moving very quickly”.

That kind of behaviour “goes against everything we stand for and having been working to achieve in terms of fighting misconduct by UN staff”, Dujarric told the BBC.

A UN staff member was filmed conducting sexual acts in the back of an official car in Israel. The man is allegedly a UN delegation member and the woman a sex worker.

The video, shared widely on social media, was allegedly 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.

The UN has strict policies against sexual misconduct by its staff members.

Dujarric said the identification of the individuals seen in the video was “close to being completed”.

“We expect the process to be concluded very quickly and intend to promptly take the appropriate action,” he told the BBC.

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.