Freeze–Vote–Rebuild is a mechanism design framework, but its decisions have significant moral weight. This chapter highlights ethical risks and the safeguards needed to prevent the process from producing outcomes that are operationally “successful” but ethically unacceptable.
This chapter does not resolve contested moral questions. Instead, it identifies where ethical constraints must be made explicit and enforced through gates and remedies.
Core Ethical Tensions
1. Stability vs. Justice
The Tension: Freezing violence reduces immediate loss of life but can create pressure to defer legal accountability for war crimes.
The Risk: Deferral can be perceived as impunity, undermining long-term legitimacy and survivor trust.
Safeguard: Minimum baseline commitments (evidence preservation, witness protection, independent documentation) and explicit accountability triggers rather than "silent deferral."
The Tension: Voting under conditions of fear, recent displacement, or unequal access risks producing coerced “consent.”
The Risk: A result that is technically verified but morally hollow.
Safeguard: Mandatory anti-coercion measures and comprehensive observation. Verification gates must fail if coercion is systemic; remedies must include re-runs or invalidations.
The Tension: Excluding displaced people effectively legitimizes displacement as a political tool (demographic engineering).
The Risk: Including them raises massive logistical and security challenges that could slow the process.
Safeguard: Explicit displaced eligibility categories, accessible registration, and published inclusion metrics. Exclusion is treated as a material gate-failure risk.
4. Civilian Protection and Infrastructure Targeting
The Tension: Corridors and protected infrastructure are essential for life, but monitoring them is complex.
The Risk: Without consequences, these protections become "performative" while civilian systems continue to be degraded.
Safeguard: Protected infrastructure registers with automated high-severity classification for violations and mandatory gate-consequences for repeated strikes.
The Tension: Transparency increases accountability but can create targeting risks for individuals or sites.
The Risk: Privacy failures can harm vulnerable populations and delegitimize the mission.
Safeguard: Role-based access, data minimization, and secure "audit rooms." The framework prioritizes publishing aggregate integrity evidence over tactical or personal data.
