Right to Privacy

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Privacy is a qualified, fundamental human right. The right to privacy is articulated in all the major international and regional human rights instruments, including:

• United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948, Article 12:

  No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 1966, Article 17:

  1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honor or reputation
  2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks

• The right to privacy is also included in:

  • Article 14 of the United Nations Convention on Migrant Workers
  • Article 16 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Article 10 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
  • Article 4 of the African Union Principles on Freedom of Expression (the right of access to information)
  • Article 11 of the American Convention on Human Rights
  • Article 5 of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man
  • Articles 16 and 21 of the Arab Charter on Human Rights
  • Article 21 of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration
  • Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights

• In addition, over 130 countries have constitutional statements regarding the protection of privacy, in every region of the world.

Source: https://privacyinternational.org/explainer/56/what-privacy