German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, US senator Chris Murphy, left, and congressman Gregory Meeks, right, before a meeting in Berlin on the NSA. (Photo: Imago/Barcroft Media)
Nov 26, 2013
The human rights committee of the United Nations General Assembly advanced a resolution on Tuesday initially aimed at reigning in unlawful spying.
Yet the language that passed was significantly weakened at the behest of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand--the so-called "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance.
Drafted by the Brazil and Germany, the provision is a non-binding, symbolic affirmation of privacy rights following high-profile scandals that have rippled through the international community, including U.S. spying on Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Associated Press explains.
The Guardianreports:
The main sticking point was over language stating that foreign nationals should have the same rights to privacy as the citizens of countries carrying out mass surveillance. US law currently gives citizens far greater protection than foreigners from NSA operations.
The Five-Eyes members argued that the legal right to privacy was an internal matter for states alone.
At the same time, countries including Cuba and Venezuela had pushed for more explicit language on alleged extraterritorial human rights violations during the negotiations.
After its successful bid to weaken the resolution, the United States consented to its passage through the human rights committee.
It is next headed to the 193-member General Assembly, which will put it to a vote next month.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The human rights committee of the United Nations General Assembly advanced a resolution on Tuesday initially aimed at reigning in unlawful spying.
Yet the language that passed was significantly weakened at the behest of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand--the so-called "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance.
Drafted by the Brazil and Germany, the provision is a non-binding, symbolic affirmation of privacy rights following high-profile scandals that have rippled through the international community, including U.S. spying on Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Associated Press explains.
The Guardianreports:
The main sticking point was over language stating that foreign nationals should have the same rights to privacy as the citizens of countries carrying out mass surveillance. US law currently gives citizens far greater protection than foreigners from NSA operations.
The Five-Eyes members argued that the legal right to privacy was an internal matter for states alone.
At the same time, countries including Cuba and Venezuela had pushed for more explicit language on alleged extraterritorial human rights violations during the negotiations.
After its successful bid to weaken the resolution, the United States consented to its passage through the human rights committee.
It is next headed to the 193-member General Assembly, which will put it to a vote next month.
The human rights committee of the United Nations General Assembly advanced a resolution on Tuesday initially aimed at reigning in unlawful spying.
Yet the language that passed was significantly weakened at the behest of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand--the so-called "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance.
Drafted by the Brazil and Germany, the provision is a non-binding, symbolic affirmation of privacy rights following high-profile scandals that have rippled through the international community, including U.S. spying on Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Associated Press explains.
The Guardianreports:
The main sticking point was over language stating that foreign nationals should have the same rights to privacy as the citizens of countries carrying out mass surveillance. US law currently gives citizens far greater protection than foreigners from NSA operations.
The Five-Eyes members argued that the legal right to privacy was an internal matter for states alone.
At the same time, countries including Cuba and Venezuela had pushed for more explicit language on alleged extraterritorial human rights violations during the negotiations.
After its successful bid to weaken the resolution, the United States consented to its passage through the human rights committee.
It is next headed to the 193-member General Assembly, which will put it to a vote next month.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.