The Freeze phase must include practical protections for civilians and the systems that keep society functioning. This chapter defines a minimal, verifiable package for humanitarian access and critical infrastructure protection.
Objectives
Enable safe movement for civilians and humanitarian actors.
Reduce civilian casualties and suffering during the Freeze.
Protect and repair essential services (power, water, health, transport).
Make violations measurable and actionable through monitoring.
Humanitarian Corridors
What a Corridor Is (Operational Definition)
A corridor is a designated route and access regime with:
mapped endpoints and checkpoints,
time windows (if needed),
verification/monitoring presence,
clear rules for permitted traffic (aid convoys, medical evac, civilians),
procedures for inspection that do not function as harassment.
Minimum Corridor Package
Corridor map annex (routes + alternates).
Access permissions and documentation rules.
Security commitments (no targeting; no military use).
Incident reporting + rapid dispute mechanism.
“Corridor uptime” metric (hours/days open vs closed).
Key Design Constraints
Corridors must be usable, not symbolic.
Rules must explicitly prohibit using corridors for:
forced displacement,
hostage-taking,
military repositioning (unless explicitly negotiated and monitored).
When closures occur, they must trigger:
recorded justification,
investigation within a time limit,
consequences for repeated obstruction.
Protected Infrastructure
What Qualifies as Protected Infrastructure
Define categories upfront. Typical examples:
Power generation and transmission.
Water and wastewater systems.
Hospitals, clinics, and medical supply depots.
Schools and shelters (where civilians are concentrated).
Rail and logistics nodes used for civilian supply chains.
Key bridges and repairable transport chokepoints.
Protection should be documented as a list:
Protected Infrastructure Register (PIR) — uniquely identified sites, with coordinates and facility metadata.
Protection Rules (Minimum)
Prohibition on targeting PIR sites.
Prohibition on placing offensive military assets on or adjacent to PIR sites (to reduce “human shield” arguments).
Monitored “repair windows” allowing engineers and crews access.
Safe passage rules for repair convoys and equipment.
Repair Windows and “Humanitarian Engineering”
A Freeze should include scheduled repair windows:
defined times/locations where repair work is permitted and protected,
monitored access for crews,
pre-notified movement of equipment and materials,
incident response procedures if work is disrupted.
Metrics to track:
Number of repair windows scheduled vs executed.
Downtime for power/water by region.
Mean time to repair for critical outages.
Attacks or interference incidents at repair sites.
Verification and Enforcement
Protected corridors and infrastructure only work if:
