Serbia introduces cameras from companies on America's blacklist into Kosovo

Serbia, through parallel institutions it has in Kosovo, has purchased a video surveillance system from a Chinese company that is under sanctions by the United States of America (US), dedicated to schools in 12 municipalities in Kosovo, Radio Free Europe (REL) has learned.

As can be seen from the documentation, the video-surveillance systems of the Chinese brand Dahua, which Serbia buys for schools in Kosovo, also have the option of recognizing faces.

According to the US Department of Commerce, Dahua Technology is a Chinese company that has been on the US blacklist since 2019 due to its links to human rights violations and the Chinese campaign of repression against Uyghurs in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.

On December 16, the temporary body of the Municipality of Gjilan in Kosovo, this institution managed by Serbian structures and recognized as a parallel institution by the Kosovo authorities, concluded a contract for the procurement of this video surveillance system with Neva Company 2020 DOO, with headquarters in Ranilluga, also a municipality inhabited by a majority of Serbs in Kosovo.

According to the contract, the company has undertaken to deliver, install and commission the video surveillance equipment within 30 days.

As can be seen from the documentation, the tools were provided by decision of the Office for Kosovo of the Government of Serbia. The value of the signed contract is around 39 thousand euros (4.587.480 dinars).

What is being procured?

As can be seen from the procurement specification document, which is part of a wider package published on the official public procurement portal in Serbia, the temporary body of the Municipality of Gjilan is procuring 30 pieces of eight-channel Dahua DVR recorders.

In the characteristics of this system, among others, "face recognition" is emphasized.

As explained, this is a "typical technology", which is used in various applications and enables the search or identification of individuals.

Also, the object of public procurement are 196 pieces of Dahua Bullet Camera, with five megapixel resolution, 30 hard drives and 9 thousand meters of cable.

As can be seen there, equipment is also being purchased for a total of 30 facilities, which include pre-school institutions, primary and secondary schools in 12 municipalities of Kosovo.

Until the publication of this text, the Office for Kosovo of the Government of Serbia has not answered the questions of Radio Free Europe if it has notified the Kosovo authorities about the procurement, where exactly the monitoring devices will be placed and for what purpose they will be used.

Serbia continues to allocate tens of millions of euros per year from its budget for the financing of parallel institutions and for the realization of its activities in Kosovo.

Kosovo declared its independence in 2008, but authorities in Serbia refuse to recognize it as a state.

Why is the procurement contestable?

China's Dahua Technology is among the companies under US sanctions.

As it is said, the American authorities have declared in 2019 that Dahua is among the companies on the list that is prohibited from doing business with American companies.

"Specifically, these entities are involved in human rights violations and abuses in China's campaign of repression, arbitrary mass detention and high-tech surveillance of Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other members of Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang," the Department said. of the US Trade, in October 2019, Bloomberg reported.

Kosovo maintains strong diplomatic relations with the United States of America, which were among the first to recognize the country's independence.

What do the authorities in Kosovo say?

The institutions of Kosovo are mostly silent in response to Radio Free Europe's questions about the import of Dahua brand video surveillance cameras, which is on the American blacklist.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo (MIB) responded briefly, saying that "at the moment, we do not have any information on this matter".

The Government and the Police of Kosovo have not responded regarding this matter, until the publication of this text.

Radio Free Europe has also addressed the Kosovo Customs with questions about whether Dahua cameras are on the black list, what is the procedure for importing this type of video surveillance and whether Kosovo follows the US black list in terms of technology. However, the answer did not come.

From the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the Government of Kosovo, they say that most educational institutions in Kosovo are equipped with video surveillance, but that there is no special law that regulates this issue.

Who dares to put cameras in institutions in Kosovo?

On the other hand, the Information and Privacy Agency (AIP) of Kosovo emphasizes that video surveillance, which identifies individuals, cannot be placed in any institution and that only the police have the right to use them "in special cases". .

This is an independent agency responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Personal Data Protection Law, with the aim of protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons.

From this agency they say that they have issued permission for the installation of CCTV cameras in Kosovo schools, but they emphasize that such cameras are safe, because the image cannot be transmitted to the phone or any other device.

"They are installed only for security and only in the corridors (of schools) and in front of them", say the AIP.

However, as they say, they do not know if and which cameras are used in schools in areas inhabited by Serbs, which work according to the Serbian system, because until now they have not had staff to monitor this issue.

"The Assembly of Kosovo, at the end of July, appointed a commissioner (for the Serbian community) within the Agency, while we go for inspection only if we receive any complaints", they said, adding that a regular inspection is also planned. all institutions throughout Kosovo.

Mentor Vrajolli, executive director of the Kosovo Center for Security Studies, says for Radio Free Europe that it is difficult at this moment to assess what impact the Chinese Dahua cameras can have on Kosovo. He considers that Kosovo should now identify the channel of communication between Serbs from Kosovo and other countries whose products are sanctioned by the USA.

He emphasizes that Serbia, through the Serbian List, is realizing its goals in Kosovo and estimates that this leading party of the Kosovo Serbs least cares for the interests of its community.

The Serbian List was formed with the support of Belgrade and is close to the Serbian Progressive Party of the current president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić.

Vrajolli considers that Kosovo should definitely follow the American blacklist and adds that such lists "are not always a bad thing for the region".

"The people who are on the black list pose a threat to the rule of law, are linked to corruption and organized crime. In some cases, they also promote political instability", says Vrajolli, adding that the US fights against such persons and states, precisely by imposing sanctions.

The chairman of the temporary municipal body of Gjilan, which is financed by Belgrade, Sasha Milosevic, has not been available for a statement on the procurement of video surveillance of the Chinese brand Dahua.

Davor Petkovic, the head of the Anamorava District of Kosovo, also a parallel institution that includes the municipality of Gjilan and that operates in the Serbian system, has not given an answer either.

Company registered in Serbia, not in Kosovo

Neva Company 2020 DOO, with which the contract for the procurement and installation of video surveillance systems was concluded, was registered with the Business Registration Agency of Serbia on September 10, 2021, just three months before the work was awarded through public procurement.

The Agency's website states that its headquarters are in Ranillug, Kosovo.

However, this company is not registered in Kosovo.

Radio Free Europe has contacted Milosh Gjorgjevic from Ranillugu, who confirmed that he is the owner of this company, although the registry in Serbia states that the owner is Millena Gjorgjevic.

Milosh Gjorgjevic did not want to provide any additional information, saying that he is busy and that questions will be answered through the email address. Until the publication of this text, he has not responded.

On the website of the Kosovo Business Registration Agency, it can be seen that Milosh Gjorgjevic is also the owner of the PTP company "DZNET" in Ranillug, which deals with the repair and sale of technology.

The Agency for Business Registration operates within the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Kosovo and is the only institution responsible for the registration of business entities in Kosovo.

Department of State for REL: For Responsible Use of Technology

The State Department, in response to Radio Free Europe's question, said it is working to develop principles for the responsible use of surveillance technology, in cooperation with partners and allies.

"The United States is working with allies and partners on the initiative to develop principles for the responsible use of surveillance technology by government, consistent with our shared democratic values ​​and respect for human rights," it said in a written response. for Radio Free Europe.

The State Department states that the United States "remains committed to promoting respect for the human rights of members of minority groups."

Long relations between Serbia and China

Unlike the countries of the European Union (EU), which condemn China for violating the human rights of the Uyghurs, Serbia has stood close to the official Beijing on the international stage, which denies the accusations of torture against the Uyghurs.

Xinjiang is China's largest autonomous province, home to 25 million people and more than half of whom are predominantly Muslim ethnic minority groups. The largest group is the Turkic Uighur population.

Chinese persecution of the Uighur minority in Xinjiang has escalated in recent years. More than a million people are thought to have been detained in labor camps, and there is growing evidence of re-education programs, restrictions on religious and cultural freedoms, forced labor programs, mass surveillance, and forced sterilization of women.

International reports also revealed that thousands of Uyghurs were transferred to work in factories across China, in conditions that "strongly suggest forced labor."

Serbia is part of the Chinese state initiative "Belt and Road" with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (17 + 1) to reopen the western trade channels that follow the ancient Silk Road in order for China to supply its economy.

Serbia's close relations with China and Russia have often been criticized by EU and US officials, sending a clear message that Serbia will have to harmonize its foreign policy with the other 27 member states in the European integration process.

These relationships also include "Smart Cities", a project of the Chinese government based on the extensive use of modern information and telecommunication technologies that detect, analyze and then integrate all the key information related to the functioning of a city.

However, “Smart Cities” include a problematic system of “enhancing” public safety, which provides surveillance with facial recognition cameras.

Realization of the development of "Smart Cities" began in Belgrade in the first half of 2019 and predicts that by 2021, more than 800 surveillance cameras equipped with facial recognition technology will be installed in 1000 locations.

The cameras were purchased by the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs – as part of the project called "Secure City" – from the Chinese company Huawei, also under US sanctions.