The United Nations (UN) has officially expressed its concern to the United States over reports that Washington spied on UN Secretary-General António Guterres, according to statements by UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric. The UN noted that these actions are incompatible with US obligations under the UN Charter and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.
The UN sent a letter to the US expressing concern over the spying reports. The recent leak of secret US documents reveals that Washington spied on Guterres and his deputy, focusing on their views on the Ukrainian conflict and on various African leaders, among other topics.
The leaked documents contain descriptions of Guterres’ private communications, including his willingness to pander to Russia’s interests in preserving the agreement on grain shipments from Black Sea ports brokered by Turkey and the UN when the deal was at risk of breaking down. The BBC reported that one of the documents suggests that Guterres was all too willing to pander to Russia on the issue.
The UN has pointed out that spying is incompatible with its role and expressed concern about the implications of these actions on the privacy and security of senior international officials. These leaks and spying actions may have serious consequences for US-UN relations.