Foreign Affairs

Chinese Surveillance Firm Tied To Beijing’s Uyghur Persecution Effort Joins UN ‘Human Rights’ Initiative

BEIJING, CHINA - MARCH 1: (CHINA OUT) Security guard walk past the Chinese national flag at the Military Museum of Chinese People's Revolution on March 1, 2008 in Beijing, China. From March 1, the Military Museum of Chinese People's Revolution becomes the first national level museum which opens to the public for free in Beijing. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

A Chinese-state company that provides surveillance equipment to track down persecuted religious minorities in China has joined a massive United Nations human rights initiative, according to multiple reports.

Hikvision, a Chinese company selling security cameras and surveillance equipment, has joined the U.N. Global Compact, an enterprise with a focus on “human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption,” according to the organization’s website and an announcement. Hikvision reports to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through its largest shareholder and provides Beijing with equipment used to surveil detained Uyghur Muslims, a prosecuted religious minority in China, or track them down abroad, according to The Washington Free Beacon.

The CCP has been accused of committing “genocide” against the Uyghur population; roughly 100,000 Uyghurs have been forced into labor camps in Xinjiang, according to the Department of Labor. Over a million Uyghurs have been detained in internment camps in Xinjiang.

We are thrilled to announce that we are joining forces with @globalcompact 💚

Want to dive deeper into our journey of sustainability and responsibility?

Click the link to read more: https://t.co/peUgh7Mv7g pic.twitter.com/Rw6O06YmtM

— HikvisionHQ (@HikvisionHQ) February 6, 2024

Hikvision entered into government contracts with the CCP through its majority shareholder — the China Electronics Technology Group — to aid in the surveillance effort of Uyghurs, according to the Beacon. The CCP uses Hikvision-provided security cameras to track Uyghurs detained in camps in Xinjiang and flag them for traveling abroad, the outlet reported.

Hikvision marketed a camera in 2019 that utilized artificial intelligence to automatically detect Uyghurs, but quickly removed the product from its site after receiving media inquiries about it, according to IPVM, a research group in the surveillance industry. Hikvision is blacklisted by the U.S. government over its ties to the Chinese government.

Though the exact figure isn’t known, China is estimated to have hundreds of millions of cameras across the mainland, and are constantly tracking Chinese citizens with artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology, according to The New York Times.

Hikvision joined the U.N. Global Compact on Jan. 29, according to the organization’s website. The company sent a letter to the U.N. Secretary-General prior to joining and promised to uphold the compact’s principles, including ensuring “that they are not complicit in human rights abuses,” according to the organization’s website,” according to the Beacon.

Hikvision vehemently denies its involvement in China’s effort to persecute and detain Uyghurs, according to Axios.

Hikvision and the U.N. Global Compact did not immediately respond to a request for comment.