Diplomats from the two countries, which have both been targeted by the NSA, are leading efforts by a coalition of nations to draft a UN general assembly resolution calling for the right to privacy on the internet.
While general assembly resolutions are non-binding, unlike resolutions of the 15-nation security council, those that enjoy broad international support carry significant moral and political weight.
At the highpoint of media attention last year, the UN was quick to blame the policy on a general assembly resolution banning the payment of interns.
Less than three months after his death, as the war of 1948 ground to a close, and nearly three-quarters of the entire indigenous Palestinian population had been displaced by Israeli forces, the UN passed general assembly resolution 194, calling for the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes and to be awarded compensation for their losses.
The declaration, passed by a UN general assembly resolution in 2000, contains a comprehensive vision of development underpinned by human rights, and is the source document of the MDGs.
Take the growing campaign for a UN general assembly resolution on universal health coverage, something Sarah Boseley wrote about earlier this week.
Ahmad Fawzi, a UN spokesman, told reporters during a weekly UN briefing that a general assembly resolution barred the organisation from paying interns.
Russia's two other partners in the so-called Brics group – Brazil and South Africa – both abstained on the UN general assembly resolution criticising the Crimea referendum.
