Right to Privacy in International Documents

Leila Mohaghegh

Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.

2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 16 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

1. No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.

2. The child has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 10 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

Protection of Privacy

No child shall be subject to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, or to the attacks upon his honour or reputation, provided that parents or legal guardians shall have the right to exercise reasonable supervision over the conduct of their children. The child has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 14 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

No migrant worker or member of his or her family shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, correspondence or other communications, or to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation. Each migrant worker and member of his or her family shall have the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Principle 37 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa

5. States shall adopt laws, policies and other measures to promote affordable access to the internet for children that equips them with digital literacy skills for online education and safety, protects them from online harm and safeguards their privacy and identity.

Principle 40 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa

Privacy and the protection of personal information

1. Everyone has the right to privacy, including the confidentiality of their communications and the protection of their personal information.

2. Everyone has the right to communicate anonymously or use pseudonyms on the internet and to secure the confidentiality of their communications and personal information from access by third parties through the aid of digital technologies.

3. States shall not adopt laws or other measures prohibiting or weakening encryption, including backdoors, key escrows and data localisation requirements, unless such measures are justifiable and compatible with international human rights law and standards.

Principle 41 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa

Privacy and communication surveillance

1. States shall not engage in or condone acts of indiscriminate and untargeted collection, storage, analysis or sharing of a person’s communications.

2. States shall only engage in targeted communication surveillance that is authorised by law, that conforms with international human rights law and standards, and that is premised on specific and reasonable suspicion that a serious crime has been or is being carried out or for any other legitimate aim.

3. States shall ensure that any law authorising targeted communication surveillance provides adequate safeguards for the right to privacy, including:

a. the prior authorisation of an independent and impartial judicial authority;

b. due process safeguards;

c. specific limitation on the time, manner, place and scope of the surveillance;

d. notification of the decision authorising surveillance within a reasonable time of the conclusion of such surveillance;

e. proactive transparency on the nature and scope of its use; and

f. effective monitoring and regular review by an independent oversight mechanism.

Principle 42 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa

7. Every individual shall have legal recourse to effective remedies in relation to the violation of their privacy and the unlawful processing of their personal information.

Article 11 of the American Convention on Human Rights

Right to Privacy

1. Everyone has the right to have his honor respected and his dignity recognized.

2. No one may be the object of arbitrary or abusive interference with his private life, his family, his home, or his correspondence, or of unlawful attacks on his honor or reputation.

3. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 5 of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man

Right to protection of honor, personal reputation, and private and family life

Every person has the right to the protection of the law against abusive attacks upon his honor, his reputation, and his private and family life.

Article 17 of the Arab Charter on Human Rights

Private life is sacred, and violation of that sanctity is a crime. Private life includes family privacy, the sanctity of the home, and the secrecy of correspondence and other forms of private communication.

Article 21 of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration

Every person has the right to be free from arbitrary interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence including personal data, or to attacks upon that person’s honour and reputation. Every person has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights

1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.

2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

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