Spying on the United Nations refers to acts of espionage committed by state against the United Nations.
The UN claims that acts of espionage on it are illegal under a number of international treaties, including the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, the 1947 agreement between the United Nations and the United States, and the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.[1]
In one notable incident, the US and other Western countries were found to be spying on the UN in March 2003, in the run-up to the Iraq War,[2] and actual bugging devices were found inside the UN.[3][4][5] In 2010, leaked diplomatic cables revealed that US diplomats had been spying on UN leaders. On 25 August 2013, Der Spiegel revealed US National Security Agency secretly monitored the U.N.'s internal video conferencing system via decryption in 2012.[6]
- ^ United Nations Information Service in Geneva (27 February 2004). "United Nations press briefing". United Nations. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
- ^ Mark Forbes (19 June 2004). "Australia 'party to bugging of UN'". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
- ^ "New bugging device found in UN offices - CBC News".
- ^ "Technical analysis of the bug". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
- ^ Bugging device found at UN offices, Brian Whitaker, 18 December 2004, The Guardian
- ^ "German magazine: NSA spied on United Nations". CBS News.