I'm part of the zkSafeZones [1] founding team and we're excited to share a new humanitarian solution to the tragic problem of civilian casualties in conflict areas. Every year, thousands of innocent lives are lost in wars. The United Nations (UN) estimates that 90% of war-time casualties are civilians & non-combatants [2]. Current approaches to protection have shown to be ineffective. So we asked - what if we could leverage Web3 tech for good?
At the time, we were working on our first deliverable of zkLocus [3] - a funded project which enables private & authenticated geolocation sharing both, off & on-chain, by turning geolocation into a real-world asset (RWA). We realized the applicability of our solution to leverage transparency and accountability for the reduction of civilian casualties. zkSafeZones is an open-source protocol that enables civilians to securely and privately share their geolocation on-chain, creating an immutable record of presence. Key features:
* Sybil-resistant, authenticated geolocation proofs using zkLocus [4]
* Built on Mina Protocol, a layer 1 based on recursive zkSNARKs
* Offline-first design for network & resource constrained environments
* Decentralized, authenticated, transparent - no central control
* Privacy-preserving: civilians prove presence without revealing exact location
* Integration with arbitrary Digital Identity (DID) & Geolocation Authentication sources/systems
* Easy integration with existing infrastructure, including legacy
* $ZKL token incentivizes proof submission & enables self-sustainability
zkSafeZones provides a verifiable "don't shoot! civilians present!" message. This represents a major leap forward from current centralized, biased, non-private approaches used today by Non-Government Organizations (NGO) and militaries. By creating a neutral record of locations, we believe it can significantly reduce harm and hold militaries accountable. No more "fog of war" excuses. Militant groups can also use zkSafeZones to provably demonstrate that they're outside of certain areas.
We've done extensive legal research to ensure alignment with international humanitarian law (IHL) and data protection standards. zkSafeZones upholds core IHL principles and enables unprecedented adherence through verifiable data. Our privacy model complies with GDPR and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action.
Beyond civilian protection, zkSafeZones is a blueprint for an on-chain legal system enforceable by smart contracts. Imagine:
* Automated detection of IHL violations based on zkSafeZones data
* Smart contracts that freeze violator's collateral for judicial review
* Decentralized, authenticated, integrity-assured & transparent - no central authority controls the data
* Civic & NGO engagement via $ZKL token to adjudicate cases
By encoding IHL in self-executing code, we can create a neutral, participatory system of accountability.
The whitepaper [5] dives into the legal, humanitarian and technical foundation. We would love the HN community's feedback to help us achieve our mission. zkSafeZones is fully open-source [4] [5] - join our movement to safeguard innocent lives, ensure accountability & legal enforcement.
Our near-term vision involves partnering with NGOs, such as UN, Red Cross to make zkSafeZones a practical application in conflict zones. We're proposing it as a solution to UN and ICRC to facilitate real-world adoption.
We believe Web3 can be a powerful tool for social good. If you're excited too, check out our website [1], join our community, and let's build a safer world for civilians.
You can e-mail us at [email protected]
Thank you!
[1] https://zklocus.dev/zkSafeZones/
[2] https://press.un.org/en/2022/sc14904.doc.htm