The United Nations officially expressed concern over recent reports of the US government spying on its top officials, including Secretary General António Guterres, and attempting to interfere in their work. The statement came from UN Secretary General’s official spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric on Tuesday, April 18.
Dujarric said that the “UN officially expressed to the host country its concern regarding recent reports that the communications of the secretary general and other senior UN officials have been the subject of surveillance and interference by the US government.”
He also asserted that the said US actions violate its obligations to the UN Charter and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN.
Dujarric’s comments came after the Washington Post reported on Monday, quoting recently leaked documents of the US Department of Defense, on how US officials were monitoring and eavesdropping on private conversations between Guterres and other senior UN officials. These documents had not been reported earlier.
According to the report, on February 17, Guterres expressed anger after the Ethiopian foreign minister denied him the opportunity to visit the violence-affected Tigray region in the country during the peace negotiations last year.
After fighting for over two years, the government and the rebels in Tigray signed a peace deal in November. The government was forced to give concessions to the rebels, reportedly due to US pressure.
In another document quoted by the Washington Post, Guterres expresses his displeasure over a planned visit to war-affected Ukrainian capital Kiev and a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in March.
In a later conversation, Guterres expressed his unawareness and unhappiness over Zelensky’s plan to take him to a ceremony where Ukrainian troops were decorated for their efforts in the fight against Russian troops. According to the leaked documents, Guterres had told his colleagues that he went to Ukraine to help but “they do everything to liquidate us.”
According to the contents of some of the leaked documents reported earlier, the US had the impression that Guterres was trying to accommodate Russian concerns. US officials had privately expressed apprehensions about Guterres being opposed to some of the anti-Russia measures taken by the US and its allies following the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
The confidential documents were leaked on social media site Discord earlier this month, which revealed how the US has been supporting the Ukrainian war effort against Russia and spying on countries around the world.
The leaked documents also show that the US has been spying on some of its close allies, such as South Korea, Israel, and Ukraine, and undermining their sovereignty.
The US government has arrested Jack Teixeira, a member of the country’s Air National Guard, for the leaks.
