German, Brazilian UN draft urges halt to excessive spying

Germany and Brazil circulated a draft resolution to a United Nations General Assembly committee that calls for an end to excessive electronic surveillance, data collection and other gross invasions of privacy. The draft resolution, which both Germany and Brazil made public, does not name any specific countries, though UN diplomats said it was clearly aimed at the United States, which has been embarrassed by revelations of a massive international surveillance program from a former US intelligence contractor.

The German-Brazilian draft would have the 193-nation assembly declare that it is "deeply concerned at human rights violations and abuses that may result from the conduct of any surveillance of communications, including extraterritorial surveillance of communications." General Assembly resolutions are non-binding, unlike resolutions of the 15-nation Security Council. But assembly resolutions that enjoy broad international support can carry significant moral and political weight.