The United Nations has suspended two employees without pay in Israel, after a viral video surfaced showing them performing a sex act in their official vehicle last month.
The incident was captured in an 18-second footage, with a woman dressed in red seen straddling a man in the back of a clearly marked white UN vehicle in Tel Aviv.
In a statement released on Thursday, the UN said persons in the video have been identified as staff members of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), UN military observers based in Israel.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary general, said the two staff members have been suspended without pay until the investigation into the incident has been concluded.
“Their suspension was appropriate given the seriousness of the allegations of failing to observe the standards of conduct expected of international civil servants.
“UNTSO has re-engaged in a robust awareness-raising campaign to remind its personnel of their obligations to the UN Code of Conduct,” he told the BBC.
The UN maintains strict regulations barring sexual misconduct by staffers, and has come under fire for violations in recent years.
A report by the organisation confirmed 175 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by its employees in 2019.
Sixteen claims were substantiated, fifteen were found to be baseless, while the rest are still being investigated.
