UN privacy expert to visit Argentina to assess oversight of intelligence and data protection

GENEVA (3 May 2019) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, Joseph Cannataci, will visit Argentina from 6 to 17 May to examine oversight of intelligence agencies and data protection and how they might be improved.

“I will also review the use of personal data by corporations and the protection of private medical data during my visit,” Cannataci said.

The Special Rapporteur, who has been invited by the Government, will travel to Buenos Aires and Chubut province, and meet representatives of the Government, national institutions, civil society organisations and individuals working on the right to privacy.

“I will look into good practices and gaps in the protection of the right to privacy, in order to provide the Government with useful recommendations and also learn more about practices that can be exported to other countries,” said the independent expert. He will report his findings and recommendations to the Human Rights Council in March 2020.

The expert will also promote his initiative for the protection of children’s right to privacy.

A news conference to present preliminary findings will be held at 15:00 local time on Friday, 17 May, at the Hotel Pestana, Carlos Pellegrini 877 in Buenos Aires. 

ENDS

Mr. Joseph Cannataci (Malta) was appointed as the first Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy by the Human Rights Council in July 2015. He is an academic who has had a pioneering role in the development on data protection, privacy law and technology law. A UK Chartered Information Technology Professional & Fellow of the British Computer Society, he also continues to act as Expert Consultant to a number of international organisations.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, Country Page –Argentina

For more information and press inquiries, please contact: 

During the visit: Mr. Jon Izagirre Garcia (+41 79 444 5401;
Press contact in Argentina: Mr. Gustavo Poch: (+54 011 4803 7671 / poch@un.org);

In Geneva (before and after the visit): Mr. Jon Izagirre Garcia (+41 22 917 97 15 / jizagirre@ohchr.org) or srprivacy@ohchr.org;

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:  Jeremy Laurence – Media Unit (+41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)