Ukraine has found itself at the center of discussions surrounding a new draft law on video surveillance in public places. Political experts and human rights activists express serious concerns about the possible consequences of this law for citizens' privacy and the protection of their rights. In particular, political expert Volodymyr Yavorskyi claims that this draft law more closely resembles the standards of China and Russia, where mass surveillance of the population is part of the state control policy.
We will never get into the EU like this. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, through the people's deputies, submitted draft law No. 11031 on video surveillance in public places. It embodies all the standards of China and the Russian Federation and no standards for the protection of human rights, referring to general norms.
It's actually very rare lately for a draft law to not take human rights standards into account at all. Usually, at least something is taken into account. And here - absolutely zero. Even the most basic standards.
The project creates a system of total surveillance of all citizens, as it allows not only video surveillance, but also identification of individuals by biometric data, automatic verification of data with other registers. In fact, it is possible to collect information about the movement of any person in public spaces in a short time and review all this when necessary. This can be used against political opponents, business competitors, the search for compromising material, etc.
Conclusion of the Parliamentary Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the European Union: the draft law contradicts the objectives of the Association Agreement and Ukraine's international legal obligations, as well as the acquis (legal system. - F.) of the EU.
There is no financial justification at all. But this is a separate story, I highly recommend it for investigation by journalists. A few years before the war, the Ministry of Internal Affairs launched an experimental project, under which it purchased Chinese video surveillance equipment for many millions of dollars. The journalists of “Schemes” previously mentioned that Russian equipment was also used. That is, they purchase Chinese cameras and equipment, which, for example, are prohibited from being purchased in the USA due to the threat to national security. I am sure that in these procedures regarding equipment you can find a lot of interesting and, perhaps, even corrupt things, it does not contribute to national security. And every next year we will pay millions to implement this system.
Despite all this, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Leonid Tymchenko is speaking out publicly and promoting the bill. In my opinion, there are big questions about the professional suitability of the people who not only developed it, but also registered it in parliament, and are now promoting it, because this existence is on a completely different planet and in a different system of values.
