“The lady in red is dancing with me, cheek to cheek. There’s nobody here, it’s just you and me.”
Or at least that’s what they thought!
The United Nations claims to have a zero-tolerance policy for sexual exploitation by its staff and peacekeepers, but continues to routinely cover up their abuses including the rape of children.
The UN is stumbling after a video surfaced of what appears to be a sex act in an official UN car in Israel – a video that has left the head of the UN “shocked and deeply disturbed,” according to Fox News. The video, released by Inner City Press, reveals a woman in a red dress straddling a man in the back seat of an official UN vehicle.
Inner City Press, an outlet that has reported and covered corruption at the world body for years, was banned from reporting on U.N. grounds in New York in 2018. The vehicle was part of a U.N. Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) mission in Tel Aviv, Israel. The UNTSO was set up in 1948 to monitor ceasefires in the region. According to the UNTSO website, observers “remain in the Middle East to monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating and assist other United Nations peacekeeping operations in the region.”
Exclusive: "UN Sexploitation in UN Vehicle" video leaked to Inner City Press. What'll UN of rape cover-up Sec-Gen @AntonioGuterres, who has banned Inner City Press for 721 days & counting for asking about his financial links to UN briber CEFC China Energy, do? pic.twitter.com/GRnyKEFxcv
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) June 23, 2020
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was “shocked and deeply disturbed by what is seen in the video” and “goes against everything that we stand for and have been working to achieve in terms of fighting misconduct by U.N. Staff,” a spokesman for Guterres told reporters on Friday.
Stephane Dujarric, his spokesman, said that an investigation has been activated and is moving “very quickly.” He said that they know the location of the incident, that it was a UNTSO vehicle and that it is likely that the people in the video are UNTSO staff members. “We expect the process to be concluded very quickly and intend to take prompt appropriate action,” he said
According to Fox News, Police in Tel Aviv claims that no report of misconduct has been filed.
UNTSO made similar remarks and said that it stands by the UN’s “zero-tolerance policy against any kind of misconduct, including sexual exploitation and abuse, and reminds its personnel of their obligations to the UN Code of Conduct.”
This is just one of the numerous sexual exploitation by UN staff and peacekeepers in the past year that has been attempted to be brushed under the rug. What will the UN hide next?
