United Nations Responds To Viral Video Of Couple Having Sex In Official Vehicle

The United Nations said it was “shocked and deeply disturbed” by a video, which went viral, showing a couple apparently having sex in one of its official cars in Israel. According to a report, the video was shot in Tel Aviv.

In the video, a woman in a red dress straddling a man in the back seat of a white SUV with UN markings, the BBC reported Friday. The UN said it was investigating the incident. Officials told BBC that the people caught on camera are believed to be staff members of a peacekeeping organization in Israel, but they are yet to be identified.

“We are shocked and deeply disturbed by what is seen on this video,” Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesman for the UN’s Secretary-General, said, calling the behavior "abhorrent." “[It] goes against everything we stand for and having been working to achieve in terms of fighting misconduct by UN staff.

“We expect the process to be concluded very quickly and intend to promptly take the appropriate action,” Dujarric said.

The UN has strict policies against sexual misconduct by its staff members. If workers breach rule, they can be disciplined or possibly be banned from peacekeeping operations, BBC reported.

Secretary General Guterres pledged to take a "zero-tolerance" approach to sexual misconduct with the UN's ranks. In recent years, there have been frequent allegations of sexual misconduct involving UN's peacekeepers and other staff.

In 2019, there were a total of 175 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse against UN staff members, according to the BBC. Sixteen of the cases were substantiated while 15 others were unsubstantiated. The rest of the cases are still being investigated.