GCHQ, NSA spied on EU officials, UN: Snowden leaks

American whistleblower Edward Snowden has revealed documents showing that the US and British intelligence agencies have spied on the United Nations bodies, as well as a number of European officials.

The collection of documents, seen by the Guardian, New York Times and German magazine Der Spiegel, showed that Britain’s spy agency, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), and its American counterpart, the NSA, had targeted senior European Union officials, charitable arms of the United Nations (UN) and some non-governmental organizations.

The secret documents revealed that the GCHQ and NSA had monitored more than 1,000 targets in at least 60 countries between 2008 and 2011 by secretly accessing cable networks carrying the world’s phone calls and internet traffic.

According to the classified documents, UN agencies like the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), as well as a large number of diplomatic missions to the UN in Geneva were on the target list.

Other targets included former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, European Commission Vice President Joaquin Almunia, German government buildings, and French Defense contractor Thales Group.

According to the documents, several unnamed African heads of state were also monitored by the US and British spy agencies.

The US and British agencies had also spied on non-governmental organizations, including Médecins du Monde – a French organization that provides doctors and medical volunteers to conflict zones – and a representative of the Swiss consulting firm IDEAS Centre.

Individual companies in the fields of telecommunications and banking have been special targets of the NSA and GCHQ.

“The latest disclosures will add to Washington’s embarrassment following the heavy criticism of the NSA when it emerged that it had been tapping the mobile telephone of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel,” the James Ball and Nick Hopkins wrote for the Guardian.
The disclosures have also incensed the EU Commission and others on the list with Almunia, who has said that this is not the type of behavior that the EU expects from a state member of its own.