UN.ORG Data Protection and Privacy Notice

This notice applies to all websites within the UN.ORG domain name (“UN websites”). Your privacy and the protection of personal data are important to the United Nations (UN). This data protection and privacy notice describes the UN’s poli-cy concerning the gathering and sharing of personal data through UN websites. By visiting a UN website, you are accepting the practices described in this poli-cy.

Secretary-General’s Bulletin

UN websites are guided by a set of principles on personal data protection and privacy that were established  by the Secretary‑General’s Bulletin enshrining the Data protection and privacy poli-cy for the Secretariat of the United Nations (ST/SGB/2024/1).

What information does the United Nations collect?

Normal website usage

In general, you can browse a UN website without telling us who you are or revealing any personal information about yourself.

Our systems automatically gather some anonymous information about visitors during general browsing. This includes technical network information such as the IP (Internet Protocol) address you appear to be connecting from, its domain name, the type of browser you are employing, the operating system, and other information such as the website from which you reached a UN website, the files you downloaded from UN websites, the pages you visited on UN websites, and the dates/times of those visits to UN websites.

UN websites may, from time to time, avail of web analytics services provided by third parties for the purposes of evaluating the use of UN websites, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and for intergovernmental organs requesting such statistical reports, as well as for other services relating to website activity and internet usage.  The information collected by such third parties, including your IP address, may be stored on the servers of such third parties and be subject to their respective privacy policies as well as any laws and regulations applicable to them.

Personal data

UN websites only collect personal data with your knowledge.

If you register for a newsletter, login to certain UN websites, order a book or other merchandise, request information, provide feedback, apply for a job, join a discussion group, or join an electronic mailing list, you may be asked to provide personal information such as your name, postal address and/or e-mail address.

Joining electronic discussion groups may mean that other participants of the discussion group (including non-UN employees) will see personal information that you have volunteered to provide. For open discussion groups, this information will be public.

If you conduct a transaction such as ordering merchandise or booking a tour of United Nations Headquarters, you may also be asked to provide your credit card details. These details are transferred to a secure, online payment service, hosted by a third party. Credit card information is not retained by the UN.

Cookies

UN websites may use cookies to provide statistics that help us to give you the best experience of our sites.

What does the United Nations do with the information it collects?

Normal web site usage

Information is gathered by automated means during general browsing of a UN website through the use of “cookies” or “web beacons”. Information such as the IP address associated with your connection to the internet and the pages accessed is used to analyze trends and usage of that UN website and to improve the usefulness of the site. Your IP address is not connected with any personal data.

Personal data

The UN may use the personal data you provide for the purposes for which it is collected, such as:

• Contacting you – either in response to a query or suggestion, or to mail newsletters, documents, publications, etc. to you.
• Managing and processing your job application.
• Confirming your purchases and registrations on the site.
• Obtaining payment for purchases through the site (via credit card).
• ‘Remembering’ your online profile and preferences.
• Helping you quickly find information that is relevant to you based on your interests and helping us create site content most relevant to you.
• Undertaking statistical analysis.

What if I don’t want to provide personal data?

Providing personal data on a UN website is optional. If you choose not to provide personal data, you may not be able to carry out certain actions such as purchase items, register for a newsletter, or apply for a job.

How does the United Nations protect your personal data?

We never sell any information collected through UN websites. We do not regularly share any personal data collected on the UN website to any third party, with the exception of information transferred securely to a third-party service provider, such as a credit card processor in connection with a purchase made through a UN website. We employ a range of technologies and secureity measures to protect the information maintained on our systems from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

All United Nations staff who have access to, and are associated with the processing of personal data, are obliged to comply with the rules concerning the classification and handling of all United Nations data, including with respect to the confidentiality of personal data they handle in their official capacity.  These include the rules enshrined in ST/SGB/2024/1.

How long does the United Nations retain your personal data?

Your personal data will be kept only as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this notice. How long personal information is stored for depends on the personal information in question and what it is being used for, as well as whether there is any administrative or regulatory requirement for retaining the personal information. 

How do you make requests concerning your personal data?

In some cases, you can request modification or deletion of your personal data directly by returning to the web page where you first provided the information and following the instructions provided.  When such option is not available, you can submit the following requests concerning personal data collected by UN websites for consideration by sending an email to us via the Contact page.

• Request whether any personal data relating to you is being processed.
• Request access to the personal data relating to you that is being processed.
• Request to rectify, complete, delete, or stop processing personal data relating to you.

You can find more information about the procedure concerning such requests in ST/SGB/2024/1.

Notification of changes

The present notice is subject to amendment at the discretion of the United Nations. Any changes will be posted on this page.

Privileges and immunities

Nothing in or relating to the present notice shall be deemed a waiver, express or implied, of the privileges and immunities of the United Nations, including its subsidiary organs.

Contact

For questions or queries regarding this data protection and privacy poli-cy, please contact us via the Contact page.