Serbia implements nationwide system of tracking citizens from Huawei

In the middle of April, 2019 Serbia announced intention to use new technologies for increase in public security through the whole country. Implementation of the new project began in the capital — Belgrade.

The government of Serbia implements Huawei Safe City Solution – a video surveillance system with function of face recognition and car numbers which will include thousands of the cameras mounted in 800 points on all city.

The project is a part of the Agreement on strategic partnership which the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs signed with Huawei in February, 2017. In January, 2019 the Minister of Internal Affairs Nebojsa Stefanovic told the Serbian media that new cameras will monitor a status of all important streets of Belgrade, ensuring safety of his citizens and reducing crime.

Serbia implements through the whole country the system of tracking citizens from Huawei

However the international organization on protection of human rights already warned Serbia about the risk of violation of confidentiality created by a new system. According to SHARE fund which promotes digital rights and online freedoms, the lack of transparency in questions of use of a new system brings up a fundamental question of the human rights and civil liberties guaranteed by the law and the constitution of Serbia. Replies of the authorities of activists did not satisfy, and the case study of Huawei published on the website of the company in August, 2018 mysteriously disappeared shortly after SHARE submitted the analysis.

The organization states that citizens of Serbia have the right to know what equipment for observation was purchased and as their personal data are processed. For the last few years the USA and some European countries repeatedly accused Huawei of industrial and political espionage in cooperation with the Chinese authorities. However representatives of Huawei say that they cannot comment on projects of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic Serbia.^[1]

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