Policy

About

Civilians of Iran ("Civilians") is an independent, non-profit, volunteer-driven initiative dedicated to the documentation of war crimes perpetuated in the contexts of the illegal acts of aggression committed by Israel and the United States against Iran in June 2025 (the "12-Day War") and February-March 2026 (the "Ramadan War").

Civilians operates to serve as a public-interest database and commentary platform grounded on principles of independence and operational neutrality. Content published by Civilians is guided by the principles of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), evidence-based analysis, and victim-centered storytelling presented on the basis of investigative methodology. Civilians is not affiliated with any government, political entity, military organization, or corporate interest.

The mission of Civilians is to record eye-witness testimonies, to document verified reports of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to contribute evidence to legal action that may be taken to prosecute possible war crimes. The objective behind Civilians is to act as a database of information relating to possible war crimes in order to contribute to the promotion of justice and reparations for the victims of the illegal acts of aggression perpetuated by Israel and the United States.

Policy Statement

• Editorial Independence, Anonymity and Non-Affiliation Policy

  • –The editorial and research processes followed by Civilians strictly avoid external influence. Under no circumstances may donors, sponsors, partners, or contributors interfere with research direction, case selection, evidence verification, legal analysis, or narrative framing. Financial or institutional support may be accepted under the condition of zero editorial control. Any attempt to influence editorial guidelines will result in immediate termination of the cooperation.

  • –In order to safeguard the security of its core editorial team, Civilians operates under an anonymity policy. This measure is adopted to mitigate risks including, but not limited to, doxxing, harassment, intimidation, and other forms of potential harm in digital or physical environments. Accordingly, the identities of the editorial team, researchers, and core contributors shall not be publicly disclosed under any circumstances, and Civilians refrains from publishing information or commenting on the identity of individuals associated with its internal operations.

  • –No individual, organization, or third party is authorized to claim official representation of Civilians of Iran without explicit and verifiable authorization issued by Civilians. Any unauthorized representation of Civilians, whether explicit or implied, is considered invalid and holds no legitimacy. The proper and only recognized form of reference is: "Civilians of Iran" (initiative/project).

  • –For the purposes of operational necessity, including, but not limited to, entering into contracts, financial transactions (including payments, donations, or sponsorship management), or securing permits or permissions for field-related activities, a designated representative of the initiative may, on a strictly need-to-know basis, engage using their real identity. Such disclosures are limited. Civilians formally requests that all partners, institutions, media platforms, and individuals respect and preserve the anonymity of its team by refraining from any attempt to identify, expose, or infer internal personnel, and avoid publishing or circulating any information that may compromise the safety of its contributors.

• Funding Model, Financial Ethics & Sponsorship Policy

  • –Civilians of Iran is funded through voluntary public support. Funding sources may include individual donations, civil society organizations, foundations, and research institutions. Civilians will not accept funding that compromises its independence. Civilians will not accept conditional funding tied to any single entity, narrative or outcome.

  • –Donor and sponsor identities will be kept confidential by default, unless explicit consent is provided by the donor or sponsor for disclosure. Full sponsorship terms may be made available upon request at: civiliansofiran at gmail dot com.

  • –Civilians prioritizes support from eligible sponsors (priority alignment), such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), human rights and legal advocacy groups, independent media institutions, academic and research bodies, and charitable and humanitarian organizations.

  • –Civilians will not accept funding from governments or state-affiliated entities, military organizations or security institutions, political parties or ideological groups, companies involved in weapons production, surveillance, or armed conflict, and any entity seeking influence over content, analysis, or positioning.

  • –Civilians stands ready to offer structured support tiers (e.g., Supporter, Partner, Major Sponsor), which may include:

    • ◦Public acknowledgment (optional / anonymous available)

    • ◦Inclusion in transparency reports

    • ◦Invitations to briefings and research updates

    • ◦Opportunities for dissemination (events, exhibitions, academic use)

  • –Through the publication of periodic financial summaries, Civilians is committed to the presentation the allocation of resources, maintaining internal audit practices, and ensuring alignment with our mission in all expenditures.

• Participation, Contribution Model & Intellectual Property

  • –Civilians of Iran operates as an open, collaborative platform. Third-party contributors may participate in data collection, analysis and verification, and/or translation and dissemination. Civilians may publish reports which includes names of contributors. However, no contributor may represent themselves as part of the core team, and participation does not grant authority over editorial output. All contributions are subject to internal validation processes.

  • –All content is published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0), which shall mean:

    • ◦Free use, reproduction, translation, and adaptation is allowed

    • ◦Commercial and non-commercial use is permitted

    • ◦Prior permission for dissemination is not required

    • ◦Proper attribution to "Civilians of Iran" is mandatory

    • ◦Content must not be distorted, misrepresented, or used out of context

  • –Media, researchers, and institutions are encouraged to freely use and redistribute content and material published by Civilians. Civilians will not claim exclusive ownership over any data as its goal is maximum dissemination with integrity.

• Security, Data Integrity, & Privacy Considerations

  • –Content published by Civlians may rely on publicly available information that is based on structured verification methodologies and multi-source validation. Civilians is committed to avoiding exaggeration, speculation, or premature judgment; clearly labeling uncertainty when present; correcting errors transparently and promptly; and maintaining versioned updates for all corrected material.

  • –Civilians prioritizes the protection of the dignity, privacy, and security of victims, sources, and contributors. Civilians may avoid publishing identifiable information where it may endanger individuals, violate privacy rights, or cause secondary harm.

  • –Civilians will not reveal, expose, or publish previously undisclosed identities. Its field research is therefore limited in scope to profiling victims already publicly identified; expanding and deepening existing information; contextualizing reports covering victims' lives, identities, testimonies, and impact; and preserving victim dignity through structured narrative.

• Corrections, Takedown Requests & Right to Response

  • –Civilians of Iran is committed to accuracy, accountability, and responsible documentation. If any published information is found to be inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete, it will be corrected, clarified, and/or removed upon notification or request.

  • –Requests for correction, clarification or removal (takedown) may be submitted to the following e-mail, to: civiliansofiran at gmail dot com, together with:

    • ◦A clear reference to the content in question

    • ◦A description of the concern or inaccuracy

    • ◦Supporting documentation or verifiable evidence

  • –All such requests will be addressed with seriousness and respect, while ensuring that any changes remain consistent with principles of accuracy, integrity, and evidence-based reporting.

• Non-Violence, Non-Sanitization, and Non-Exploitation Policy

  • –Civilians of Iran acknowledges the ethical responsibility of documenting violence without sensationalizing or exploiting human suffering. It will not publish graphic images or footage unless they serve a clear and necessary evidentiary or contextual purpose. Civilians will avoid sensationalism, shock-driven presentation, or aestheticization of violence, and it prioritizes the dignity of victims over visual impact. At the same time, Civilians will not artificially sanitize or soften the reality of war.

  • –The work undertaken by Civilians aims to reflect the full human cost of war, preserve the complexity and gravity of events, and resist both propaganda and emotional manipulation. Truth, even when uncomfortable, is central to its mission.

  • –Civilians will not treat victims as content assets. It is committed to avoiding emotional exploitation or trauma-driven storytelling for engagement, and respects the agency and dignity of individuals and families. Civilians will refrain from intrusive or harmful narrative practices. Whenever possible, content will center identity over victimhood, and life stories over moment-of-death framing.

• Scope Definition: Civilian Status

  • –All documentation, classification, and content is grounded in established international legal frameworks, including but not limited to the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property.

  • –Civilians of Iran recognizes that while international humanitarian law provides formal definitions of "civilian" and "combatant," realities on the ground often complicate these classifications. Civilians operates pursuant to the following understanding:

    • ◦The targeted killing of military or political figures within civilian environments (including private residences) may constitute a violation of the principles of distinction and proportionality, and may amount to war crimes

    • ◦In systems where military service is compulsory, many individuals present in military locations (including barracks, checkpoints, or police stations) are not voluntary combatants, but conscripts with no active role in hostilities.

  • –From a substantive and human-centered perspective, persons killed in so-called "targeted killings" may reasonably be understood as civilians at the time of harm, particularly where they are not directly participating in hostilities. However, for the purpose of this initiative-and to maintain maximum clarity, credibility, and global communicability-Civilians of Iran adopts a deliberately focused operational scope. At this stage, our documentation prioritizes:

    • ◦Persons whose civilian status is clear, visible, and uncontested

    • ◦Persons killed in civilian settings

  • –This focus is not a concession, but a strategic choice allowing Civilians to establish an unambiguous record of harm, to eliminate space for denial, relativization, or narrative dispute, as well as to present cases where the violation of civilian protection is self-evident and uncontested.

  • –The aforementioned approach does not negate the civilian character of other victims, including conscripts or individuals killed in structurally coercive military contexts. Rather, it reflects a deliberate sequencing strategy: beginning with the most indisputable cases in order to construct a credible, defensible, and scalable database. As this initiative develops, the scope may expand to more complex classifications in alignment with legal analysis, evidentiary standards, and operational capacity.

• Position on the Normalization of Civilian Harm

  • –Civilians of Iran was birthed out of a deep concern over the increasing normalization of patterns of warfare that result in widespread dehumanization and harm to civilian populations affected by consecutive conflicts in West Asia. Civilians seeks to raise concern over any practice that blurs the distinction between civilian and military targets-through strikes in densely populated areas, attacks impacting civilian infrastructure, and cascading effects on everyday life-which has, over time, become more frequent across different conflicts.

  • –While these patterns have emerged in multiple contexts over recent years, their expansion into new territories underscores a broader global risk: the gradual erosion of established norms designed to protect civilians in times of conflict. Unchecked, these patterns risk setting precedents that may extend far beyond any single country or conflict, with implications for global stability, humanitarian norms, and the future of warfare itself. Civilians aims to contribute toward the protection of civilian life as a universal principle, not a selective standard.

Last update: March 30, 2026

Policy Update: Collaboration with the Iranian Red Crescent Society

In furtherance of its ongoing commitment to reinforcing the credibility, ethical integrity, and humanitarian alignment of its operations, the “Civilians of Iran” has amended this policy to formalize a collaborative relationship with the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

This collaboration is predicated upon a shared foundation of humanitarian principles, operational independence, and a common model rooted in volunteer‑based engagement, decentralized participation, and responsiveness within crisis contexts. Both initiatives rely upon structured yet adaptable networks of contributors, thereby enabling the collection, verification, and handling of sensitive civilian‑related information in a manner that safeguards accuracy, dignity, and ethical accountability. The convergence of organizational values and methodologies facilitates coherent coordination in areas including documentation standards, data sensitivity protocols, and the responsible representation of affected individuals.

This amendment reaffirms the obligation to ensure that all documentation activities are conducted in conformity with recognized humanitarian norms. It further enhances the initiative's capacity to maintain rigorous standards of verification, transparency, and accountability, while preserving a consistent and unambiguous focus on the protection of civilians.

The incorporation of this collaboration into the policy framework constitutes an intentional and measured step toward aligning independent documentation practices with established humanitarian structures, thereby ensuring that the organization's work remains both credible and ethically grounded.

Last update: April 30, 2026