Officials in St. Petersburg are about to equip surveillance cameras with ‘ethnic recognition’ technology
Officials in St. Petersburg plan to use surveillance cameras to identify individuals’ ethnic backgrounds in an effort to “monitor” migrants. The move has drawn criticism from human rights advocates, who warn it will fuel xenophobia and discrimination. But beyond the backlash, authorities may face another problem: it’s unclear how this technology is even supposed to work.
Officials in St. Petersburg plan to program the city’s surveillance cameras to recognize individuals’ ethnic backgrounds as part of an effort to “monitor” migrants, Oleg Kapitanov, head of the city administration’s Committee on Interethnic Relations, said on Tuesday, according to Kommersant.
Kapitanov claimed the new technology would help prevent the formation of “ethnic enclaves” and allow officials to take “preventive measures to avoid social tensions in the region.”
He added that his committee had already signed a contract to purchase software licenses for “ethnic recognition technology,” which will be installed on 8,000 cameras. According to Kommersant, the contract is worth more than 38 million rubles ($430,000).
Russia's Presidential Human Rights Council criticized the initiative, calling it degrading. “In Russia, nationality is not even listed in passports. And now, surveillance cameras will supposedly determine a person’s ethnic background?” said Valery Fadeev, the council’s chairman.
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Exactly how the cameras are supposed to work remains unclear. Konstantin Zatulin, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, told RTVI that while he believes law enforcement should have “complete information about offenders,” including their nationality, he’s unsure how cameras could distinguish between people of different ethnicities or how this could be considered sufficient to establish nationality. “It’s not very clear how this could be determined purely through a recording, without direct communication with individuals. That’s where my questions lie,” he said.
“This initiative is a mistake — it only fuels tensions and interethnic discord,” said Alexandra Dokuchaeva, deputy director of the Institute of CIS Countries, as quoted by Kommersant. “Ethically, it raises serious questions about the competence of those in government positions.”
Xenophobic sentiment toward migrants has intensified in Russia following last year’s deadly terrorist attack at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall concert venue, which authorities blamed on Tajikistani nationals, notes Radio Svoboda. Law enforcement agencies across the country have since conducted raids on migrants’ homes and workplaces, and in some cases, individuals have been forcibly registered at military enlistment offices.
The Russian authorities have also tightened migration laws, while nationalist groups have staged demonstrations demanding that migrants be fired from their jobs and that women remove their headscarves.
