On December 19, 2013, the United Nations General Assembly adopted draft resolution A/C.3/68/L.45/Rev.1 [3] as recommended by its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) on cyberspace privacy.   According to the press release [4], the resolution “underscore[ed] that the right to privacy is a human right and affirm[ed], for the first time, that the same rights people have offline must also be protected online. It called on States to ‘respect and protect the right to privacy, including in the context of digital communication.’”

The UNGA was reportedly concerned that electronic surveillance, interception of digital communications, and collection of personal data may negatively impact human rights. The resolution calls on States to “establish or maintain existing independent, effective domestic oversight capable of ensuring transparency, as appropriate, and accountability for surveillance and/or interception of communications and the collection of personal data.” It also requests that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights submit a report on the protection and promotion of the right to privacy within the context of domestic and extraterritorial surveillance to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council at its 27th session and to the Assembly at its 69th session.