UN GATE, June 28 – The United Nations claims to have a zero tolerance for sexual exploitation by its staff and peacekeepers, but routinely covers up their abuses including the rape of children, withholding basic information which was provided to the Press under Ban Ki-moon but not now under Antonio Guterres.
Inner City Press, which Guterres has banned from the UN for 724 days as it asks about these and his abuses, on June 23 received from outraged UN whistleblowers video of sexual exploitation, they said, in a white UN-marked vehicle, here. Now Instagram, Facebook.
And this, more closely reported than BBC: "The video, released by Inner City Press on Tuesday, shows a woman in a red dress straddling a man in the back seat of a vehicle with U.N. marking as it drives away. Inner City Press, an outlet that has reported and shined a light on corruption at the world body for years and was banned from reporting on U.N. grounds in New York in 2018, reports that the vehicle was part of a U.N. Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) mission in Tel Aviv, Israel."
Inner City Press had been informed in detail by UNTSO and Tel Aviv sources of the history of prostitution - which the UN calls sexual exploitation and claims it has zero tolerance for - at work here. HaYarkon Street is well known for prostitution, and now hotels are closed by COVID-19. There is also a history of those in the UN vehicle.
On June 25 Inner City Press asked more than a dozen UN officials in New York in writing, "June 25-1: As I asked each of you in writing yesterday, "This is a formal request for UNSG Guterres' comment and action on the video Inner City Press has uploaded of UN sexual exploitation in a UN marked vehicle here (as of noon June 26 with more than 10,000 views on Twitter, more on other platforms) NOW - today - before SG Guterres "press" conference - Inner City Press is informed by UN whistleblower is is UNTSO Plate 205 in Jerusalem, the man in the back from Trinidad, front from Puerto Rico. WHAT HAS GUTERRES DONE?"
They never answered. On June 28 Inner City Press asked Guterres, Melissa Fleming and UNTSO: "confirm or deny that Michael Antoine, whose past promotions and transfers out of UNTSO including to the UN-OPCW mission in Syria Inner City Press has previously asked the UN spokesmen about without answer, is with UNTSO (and his role in this). Same question regarding Ray Milan." No answer.
We now report - Milan is, as Inner City Press asked and reported, from Puerto Rico. And in the back, Michael Antoine has both Trinidadian and US citizenship - and quite a history. Inner City Press previously asked the UN about him and his sponsor / Godfather Fadil Abdullah, since promoted out to UNICEF in Sudan. UN cover ups.
Whistleblowers exclusively tell Inner City Press this is being covered up: Antoine is "protected." He is known in all the bars of Jerusalem. The military observers know him as the jackass. That is his nickname. Military observers were told not to place complaints about his antics, that nothing would be done. They would see his UN vehicle out late in the bars in Jerusalem. He would drive with Ray to Haifa Russian bars. Ray Milan and Antoine would also use prostitutes regularly. Senior management refuse to address the misdeeds of civilian staff. Antoine is part of culture of civilian UN staff who are undisciplined and there is no accountability. Antoine had many Palestinian girlfriends and this would also cause problems for UN. Guterres is to blame for this.
Inner City Press has been encouraged by UN staff to publish this now to try to ensure that Guterres doesn't once again cover up for a "whoremonger." They say Guterres should resign.
Inner City Press has written to UNTSO and Guterres and Melissa Fleming about Antoine and... no response.
Inner City Press formally requested the code to ask questions at the June 26 UN noon briefing, including to a UN Peacekeeping official who spoke there, misleading, about COVID-19 - and Inner City Press will continue to demand re-accreditation.
On June 26, despite the story now being reported from Austria to Israel to Switzerland, those let in from Al Jazeera and other publications asked nothing. We'll have more on this. Watch this site.
