A/HRC/RES/54/21
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
16 October 2023
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Fifty-fourth session
11 September–13 October 2023
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 12 October 2023
54/21.
Right to privacy in the digital age
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Reaffirming the human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other relevant
international human rights instruments,
Recalling all previous General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions on
the right to privacy in the digital age, as well as other relevant resolutions,
Welcoming the work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights on the right to privacy in the digital age, and welcoming also the work of
various special procedure mandate holders of the Human Rights Council on the right to
privacy and their contributions to the promotion and protection of the right to privacy,
Reaffirming the human right to privacy, according to which no one shall be subjected
to arbitrary or unlawful interference with their privacy, family, home or correspondence, and
the right to the protection of the law against such interference, and recognizing that the
exercise of the right to privacy is important for the realization of other human rights,
including the right to freedom of expression and to hold opinions without interference, and
the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and is one of the foundations of a
democratic society,
Recognizing that the right to privacy is intrinsically linked to the effective protection
of every individual’s personal data,
Recognizing also that the right to privacy can enable the enjoyment of other rights,
the free development of an individual’s personality and identity and an individual’s ability to
participate in political, economic, social and cultural life,
Reaffirming that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online,
including the right to privacy, and noting that the accelerated synchronization of online and
offline spaces can affect individuals, including their right to privacy,
GE.23-19808(E)