UN Says Nations Are Barred From Spying On It

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations says international treaties protect its office and all diplomatic missions from interference, spying and eavesdropping, but it is not directly commenting on reports that the U.S. hacked U.N. internal communications.

The German magazine Der Spiegel says documents it obtained from American leaker Edward Snowden show the National Security Agency secretly monitored the U.N.'s internal video conferencing system by decrypting it last year.

U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said Monday that "the inviolability of diplomatic missions, including the United Nations and other international organizations, whose functions are protected by the relevant international conventions like the Vienna Convention, has been well-established international law."

Haq added, "Therefore, member-states are expected to act accordingly to protect the inviolability of diplomatic missions."

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