POSTED BY Allison Kearns on October 4, 2013
The global interest in locating Eric Snowden appears to have waned. The importance of his revelations has not. As a direct result of Snowden’s disclosures regarding of the scope of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) spy programs, European Union (EU) countries are seeking to update a United Nations international human rights treaty – the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) – to further protect citizens’ right to privacy.
The ICCPR is a 1966 multinational treaty that is part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Of the 167 parties to the treaty, Germany is at the forefront of the countries seeking to add a provision to Article 17 that would specifically address the conduct of spy agencies. As it currently stands, Article 17 lays the foundation to protect communication among citizens by mandating that “[n]o one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence . . .” International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Dec. 16, 1966, 999 U.N.T.S. 171. The German government seeks to broaden the breadth of this provision and is advocating for a global standard for the collection and storage of information in the digital age.
In late September, data and privacy protection chiefs from across the globe met at the 35th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners (the “Conference”) in Warsaw, Poland, to promote international data protection and privacy rights. The Conference is comprised of accredited members and has no legal status, but serves as a platform to promote the development of international standards in the field of the protection of personal data. There, the proposal to amend Article 17 gained significant momentum. During a closed session at the Conference, members overwhelmingly voted to support the resolution. Tellingly, the only country that abstained from voting was the United States.
Unfortunately, even if the proposal to Article 17 is put forth and approved at the United Nations, its provisions are recommendations without teeth. Because the United Nation’s Human Rights Commission enforces the ICCPR, the treaty serves as more of a moral standard than a legally binding agreement. Nonetheless, the proposal highlights the international community’s growing disdain for mass surveillance programs that seemingly trump citizens’ fundamental rights to privacy. For example, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff recently canceled her high-profile visit to the United States as result of the NSA’s interception of communications from Brazilian officials and citizens. Thus far, global efforts to address the privacy violations have been largely symbolic. However, the United States must reform the scope of the NSA’s surveillance tactics before the international community responds with more tangible sanctions.
