Spying on United Nations leaders by United States diplomats
Encyclopedia
Spying on United Nations leaders by United States diplomats refers to a 2009 confidential directive from the United States Department of State
instructing US diplomats to spy
on top officials of the United Nations
. The intelligence information to be gathered included biometric information and passwords and other authentication keys used in official communications. The directives were revealed as part of the United States diplomatic cables leak
in late 2010. While spying by the US on the UN was not new, the directive's aggressive goals for information gathering and desire for use of regular diplomats in the gathering was, and caused a strain in relations between the US and UN.
, and under US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
's name, ordered US diplomats to spy
on Ban Ki-moon
, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and other top UN officials. The intelligence information the diplomats were ordered to gather included biometric information (which apparently included DNA, fingerprints, and iris scans), passwords, and personal encryption keys used in private and commercial networks for official communications. It also included Internet and intranet usernames, e-mail addresses, web site URLs useful for identification, credit card numbers, frequent flier account numbers, and work schedules. The targeted human intelligence was requested in a process known as the National Humint Collection Directive, and was aimed at foreign diplomats of US allies as well.
The news of the cable and directive was revealed by website WikiLeaks
on 28 November 2010, as part of the overall United States diplomatic cables leak
.
The disclosed cables on the more aggressive intelligence gathering went back to 2008 when they went out under Condoleezza Rice
's name during her tenure as Secretary of State
.
US State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley
stated that Clinton had not drafted the directive and that the Secretary of State's name is systematically attached to the bottom of cables originating from Washington. In fact, further leaked material revealed that the guidance in the cables was actually written by the Central Intelligence Agency
before being sent out under Clinton's name, as the CIA cannot directly instruct State Department personnel. Specifically, the effort came from the National Clandestine Service
, a CIA service formed in the years following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with the goal of better coordinating human intelligence activities. According to former US officials, the instructions given in these cables may have been largely ignored by American diplomats as ill-advised.
, Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
, and international-law
professor Ben Saul
, publicly asked Julia Gillard
, Prime Minister of Australia
, to complain "to the U.S. about both Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton being in major breach of International law ie UN Covenants, by making orders to spy on UN personnel, including the Secretary General, to include theft of their credit card details and communication passwords. Perhaps the Attorney General should investigate this clear prima facie
evidence of crime (likely against Australian diplomats as well), rather than he attempts to prosecute the messenger of those crimes."
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
claimed that not only Secretary Clinton, but "the whole chain of command who was aware of this order, and approved it, must resign if the U.S. is to be seen to be a credible nation that obeys the rule of law." When asked whether US President
Barack Obama
was also responsible for the order and should resign, Assange added that "the order is so serious it may well have been put to the president for approval", and that "Obama must answer what he knew about this illegal order and when. If he refuses to answer or there is evidence he approved of these actions, he must resign." President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez
also said that Clinton should resign.
Responding to the call from Assange for Clinton's possible resignation, White House Press Secretary
Robert Gibbs
said, "I think that is absurd and ridiculous. I think Secretary of State Clinton is doing a wonderful job."
Staff at the UN privately expressed unhappiness at the scale of the apparent scale of the intelligence-gathering operation, and the UN sought an official explanation from the US. On 1 December, Clinton and Ban met at a summit of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
in Astana
, Kazakhstan
, where Clinton was doing damage control with world leaders regarding the embarrassing contents of the State Department cables overall. In an attempt to repair the strain for the Humint relevations, Clinton expressed regret for the disclosures, but did not make an apology per se. A UN statement relayed that Ban thanked Clinton "for clarifying the matter and for expressing her concern about the difficulties created."
Germany Ministry of the Interior
Thomas de Maizière
said he was "astounded" by the order, though he expressed regret that Wikileaks activity was being focused on "transparent and open Western democracies" instead of "the world's dictatorships and oppressive regimes" and thus lacked "genuine informative purpose". Former US official Carl Ford
called the order "unprecedented", although "other U.S. diplomats said such headquarters directives were a longtime and routine practice", albeit one which was "not always fully obeyed."
The Guardian quoted Carne Ross, "a former British diplomat at the UN who now runs the Independent Diplomat advisory group", as saying that "The fact that the US is spying on the UN can't be a surprise. Lots of countries do it, including our own." Christopher Meyer, a former British ambassador to the United States, said that it would be a "serious misinterpretation" to conclude that the cables were asking diplomats to spy, adding that "In reality this is the usual vast bureaucratic laundry list dumped by the US intelligence establishment on diplomats around the world asking them to do a number of things".
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
instructing US diplomats to spy
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
on top officials of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. The intelligence information to be gathered included biometric information and passwords and other authentication keys used in official communications. The directives were revealed as part of the United States diplomatic cables leak
United States diplomatic cables leak
The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010 when WikiLeaks—a non-profit organization that publishes submissions from anonymous whistleblowers—began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates,...
in late 2010. While spying by the US on the UN was not new, the directive's aggressive goals for information gathering and desire for use of regular diplomats in the gathering was, and caused a strain in relations between the US and UN.
The directive
In July 2009, a confidential cable originating from the United States Department of StateUnited States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, and under US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
's name, ordered US diplomats to spy
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
on Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and other top UN officials. The intelligence information the diplomats were ordered to gather included biometric information (which apparently included DNA, fingerprints, and iris scans), passwords, and personal encryption keys used in private and commercial networks for official communications. It also included Internet and intranet usernames, e-mail addresses, web site URLs useful for identification, credit card numbers, frequent flier account numbers, and work schedules. The targeted human intelligence was requested in a process known as the National Humint Collection Directive, and was aimed at foreign diplomats of US allies as well.
The news of the cable and directive was revealed by website WikiLeaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
on 28 November 2010, as part of the overall United States diplomatic cables leak
United States diplomatic cables leak
The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010 when WikiLeaks—a non-profit organization that publishes submissions from anonymous whistleblowers—began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates,...
.
The disclosed cables on the more aggressive intelligence gathering went back to 2008 when they went out under Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
's name during her tenure as Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice's tenure as Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice served as United States Secretary of State under George W. Bush. She was preceded by Colin Powell and followed by Hillary Rodham Clinton. As secretary of state she traveled widely and initiated many diplomatic efforts on behalf of the Bush administration.-Confirmation hearings:On...
.
US State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley
Philip J. Crowley
Philip J. “P.J.” Crowley is the former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, having been sworn into office on May 26, 2009. He resigned on March 13, 2011, following comments he made about the treatment of Bradley Manning. Crowley was named the 2011-2012 recipient of the...
stated that Clinton had not drafted the directive and that the Secretary of State's name is systematically attached to the bottom of cables originating from Washington. In fact, further leaked material revealed that the guidance in the cables was actually written by the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
before being sent out under Clinton's name, as the CIA cannot directly instruct State Department personnel. Specifically, the effort came from the National Clandestine Service
National Clandestine Service
The National Clandestine Service is one of the four main components of the Central Intelligence Agency...
, a CIA service formed in the years following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with the goal of better coordinating human intelligence activities. According to former US officials, the instructions given in these cables may have been largely ignored by American diplomats as ill-advised.
Breach of international laws
The UN had previously declared that spying on the secretary-general was illegal, as a breach of the 1946 UN convention. Peter KempPeter Kemp
Peter Kemp was a British swimmer who competed in the late 19th century and early 20th centuries. He participated in water polo and swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris and won a bronze medal in the 200 m obstacle event and a gold medal in water polo....
, Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales...
, and international-law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
professor Ben Saul
Ben Saul
Ben Saul is associate professor of the University of Sydney and Co-Director of the Sydney Centre for International Law. His research interests include international law, in particular, international aspects of anti-terrorism law, humanitarian law, human rights law, among others.Ben Saul publishes...
, publicly asked Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
, Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
, to complain "to the U.S. about both Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton being in major breach of International law ie UN Covenants, by making orders to spy on UN personnel, including the Secretary General, to include theft of their credit card details and communication passwords. Perhaps the Attorney General should investigate this clear prima facie
Prima facie
Prima facie is a Latin expression meaning on its first encounter, first blush, or at first sight. The literal translation would be "at first face", from the feminine form of primus and facies , both in the ablative case. It is used in modern legal English to signify that on first examination, a...
evidence of crime (likely against Australian diplomats as well), rather than he attempts to prosecute the messenger of those crimes."
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange is an Australian publisher, journalist, writer, computer programmer and Internet activist. He is the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks with the stated purpose of creating open governments.WikiLeaks has published material...
claimed that not only Secretary Clinton, but "the whole chain of command who was aware of this order, and approved it, must resign if the U.S. is to be seen to be a credible nation that obeys the rule of law." When asked whether US President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
was also responsible for the order and should resign, Assange added that "the order is so serious it may well have been put to the president for approval", and that "Obama must answer what he knew about this illegal order and when. If he refuses to answer or there is evidence he approved of these actions, he must resign." President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
also said that Clinton should resign.
International reactions
The practice of the US and the State Department gathering intelligence on the UN was not new. Former UN diplomats commented that UN officials already work under the assumption that they are spied on and are used to getting around it, but the surprise in this case was that it was done by other diplomats rather than intelligence agencies. The Guardian wrote that the directive "appears to blur the line between diplomacy and spying". Another surprise was the specific types of information being asked for, including the biometric information and credit card and frequent flyer numbers, which went beyond past practice and was not the kind of information diplomats would normally be expected to gather.Responding to the call from Assange for Clinton's possible resignation, White House Press Secretary
White House Press Secretary
The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the government administration....
Robert Gibbs
Robert Gibbs
Robert Lane Gibbs was the 28th White House Press Secretary. Gibbs was the communications director for then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama and Obama's 2008 presidential campaign...
said, "I think that is absurd and ridiculous. I think Secretary of State Clinton is doing a wonderful job."
Staff at the UN privately expressed unhappiness at the scale of the apparent scale of the intelligence-gathering operation, and the UN sought an official explanation from the US. On 1 December, Clinton and Ban met at a summit of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
in Astana
Astana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, where Clinton was doing damage control with world leaders regarding the embarrassing contents of the State Department cables overall. In an attempt to repair the strain for the Humint relevations, Clinton expressed regret for the disclosures, but did not make an apology per se. A UN statement relayed that Ban thanked Clinton "for clarifying the matter and for expressing her concern about the difficulties created."
Germany Ministry of the Interior
Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany)
The Federal Ministry of the Interior is a ministry of the German federal government. Its main office is in Berlin, with a secondary seat in Bonn. The current minister of the interior is Dr...
Thomas de Maizière
Thomas de Maizière
Karl Ernst Thomas de Maizière is a German politician , currently serving as the Minister of Defence in the Second Cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel....
said he was "astounded" by the order, though he expressed regret that Wikileaks activity was being focused on "transparent and open Western democracies" instead of "the world's dictatorships and oppressive regimes" and thus lacked "genuine informative purpose". Former US official Carl Ford
Carl Ford
Carl W. Ford Jr. is an American from Arkansas. As Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research, he was head the Bureau of Intelligence and Research in the United States State Department from 2001 until 2003, reporting directly to the Secretary of State, Colin Powell.-Biography:Carl...
called the order "unprecedented", although "other U.S. diplomats said such headquarters directives were a longtime and routine practice", albeit one which was "not always fully obeyed."
The Guardian quoted Carne Ross, "a former British diplomat at the UN who now runs the Independent Diplomat advisory group", as saying that "The fact that the US is spying on the UN can't be a surprise. Lots of countries do it, including our own." Christopher Meyer, a former British ambassador to the United States, said that it would be a "serious misinterpretation" to conclude that the cables were asking diplomats to spy, adding that "In reality this is the usual vast bureaucratic laundry list dumped by the US intelligence establishment on diplomats around the world asking them to do a number of things".