A/RES/71/199 The right to privacy in the digital age Welcoming the work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the right to privacy in the digital age, noting with interest its report thereon, 9 and recalling the panel discussion on the right to privacy in the digital age held during the twenty-seventh session of the Human Rights Council, Noting that the rapid pace of technological development enables individuals all over the world to use new information and communications technologies and at the same time enhances the capacity of governments, companies and individuals to undertake surveillance, interception and data collection, which may violate or abuse human rights, in particular the right to privacy, as set out in article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and is therefore an issue of increasing concern, Noting also that violations and abuses of the right to privacy in the digital age may affect all individuals, including with particular effects on women, as well as children and those who are vulnerable or marginalized, Reaffirming the human right to privacy, according to which no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, and the right to the protection of the law against such interference, and recognizing that the exercise of the right to privacy is important for the realization of the right to freedom of expression and to hold opinions without interference and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and is one of the foundations of a democratic society, Noting with appreciation general comment No. 16 of the Human Rights Committee on article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the right to respect of privacy, family, home and correspondence, and protection of honour and reputation, 10 while also noting the vast technological leaps that have taken place since its adoption and the need to discuss the right to privacy in view of the challenges of the digital age, Recognizing the need to further discuss and analyse, based on international human rights law, issues relating to the promotion and protection of the right to privacy in the digital age, procedural safeguards, effective domestic oversight and remedies, the impact of surveillance on the right to privacy and other human rights, as well as the need to examine the principles of non-arbitrariness and lawfulness, and the relevance of necessity and proportionality assessments in relation to surveillance practices, Noting the holding of the Global Multi-stakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance (NETmundial) and the multi-stakeholder discussions that take place annually in the Internet Governance Forum, which is a multi -stakeholder forum for discussions of Internet governance issues and whose mandate was extended by the General Assembly in 2015 for another 10 years, 6 and recognizing that effectively addressing the challenges relating to the right to privacy in the context of modern communications technology requires an ongoing, concerted multi-stakeholder engagement, Affirming that this engagement is greatly facilitated by informal dialogues about the right to privacy among all relevant stakeholders, _______________ 9 A/HRC/27/37. Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-third Session, Supplement No. 40 (A/43/40), annex VI. 10 2/6