Outcome document of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society A/RES/70/125 subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy, in accordance with their human rights obligations. 45. We reaffirm our commitment to article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in which it is stated that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and that this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. We also recall the commitments made under article 19 by States that are party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 8 We underscore the need to respect the independence of media. We believe that communication is a fundamental social process, a basic human need and the foundation of all social organization, and is therefore central to the information society. Everyone, everywhere should have the opportunity to participate, and no one should be excluded from the benefits that the information society offers. 46. We recall General Assembly resolution 69/166 and, in this context, emphasize that no person shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, consistent with countries’ obligations under international human rights law. Accordingly, we call upon all States to review their procedures, practices and legislation regarding the surveillance of communications, as well as their interception and collection of personal data, including mass surveillance, with a view to upholding the right to privacy as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights for States that are party to the Covenant, by ensuring the full and effective implementation of all their obligations under international human rights law. 47. We reaffirm our commitment to the provisions in article 29 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his or her personality is possible and that, in the exercise of his or her rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. In this way, we shall promote an information society in which human dignity is respected. 3. Building confidence and security in the use of information and communications technologies 48. We affirm that strengthening confidence and security in the use of information and communications technologies for the development of information societies and the success of such technologies is a driver for economic and social innovation. 49. We welcome the significant efforts by Governments, the private sector, civil society, the technical community and academia to build confidence and security in the use of information and communications technologies, including by the International Telecommunication Union, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the openended intergovernmental expert group to conduct a comprehensive study of the _______________ 8 10/14 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.

Select target paragraph3