D.he United States, in cooperation with its allies, wants to restrict the export of surveillance technology that could be used for human rights abuses. As a representative of the White House said in Washington on Thursday, President Joe Biden wants to start an “export control and human rights initiative” at the democracy summit he has called next week. The representative pointed out that America has already taken appropriate measures against China.
According to the information, a “voluntary and informal” working group of “like-minded governments” will “develop a written, non-binding code of conduct or policy”. This should serve as a “guide for the application of human rights criteria to the policy and practice of export licenses”. This is necessary due to the “increasing misuse” of the technologies “by end users for human rights violations”. This abuse also takes place across national borders.
Suppression in Xinjiang
The representative did not say which allied countries would like to participate in the initiative. He indicated, however, that “many” signatories of the Wassenaar Agreement would participate. The agreement is an informal multilateral commitment to control the export of conventional arms and so-called dual-use goods and technologies. These are technologies that can be used for both civil and military purposes. 42 states belong to the agreement, including Germany.
The United States has accused China of using surveillance technology to suppress the Muslim Uyghurs living in Xinjiang Province. They have therefore banned the sale of such technologies to Chinese authorities. America has taken similar measures against the military junta in Myanmar, which uses violence against opposition activists and demonstrators. The American authorities have also blacklisted Israeli surveillance software providers, NSO and Candiru.
Surveillance technologies encompass a wide range of instruments – from surveillance cameras, facial recognition software, and drones to phone wiretapping and data tracking systems. The United States itself has come under fire for the mass surveillance exposed by Edward Snowden in the NSA scandal.
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