A U.N. General Assembly committee called for an end to excessive electronic surveillance.
The committee adopted the German and Brazilian-drafted resolution by consensus, and is expected to be voted on next month.
Brazil's Ambassador to the United Nations, Antonio Patriota:
(SOUNDBITE) (English) ANTONIO DE AGUIAR PATRIOTA, BRAZIL'S AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS, SAYING:
"Mr. Chair, through this resolution, the General Assembly establishes for the first time that human rights should prevail irrespective of the medium and therefore need to be protected both off-line and online. It also reiterates that human rights are universal."
The draft text does not name specific countries but North Korea's deputy U.N. envoy, Ri Tong-il, did mention names.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) RI TONG IL, DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA'S DEPUTY AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS, SAYING:
"It is not a secret that since 2007 the United States has been operating the code