Wikimedia Foundation/Legal/Community Resilience and Sustainability/Human Rights/CEE Statement

Human Rights

Communities impacted by external conflict

The Wikimedia Foundation continues to be deeply concerned about ongoing armed conflicts over the globe, which are deeply impacting our communities and their ability to share in and contribute to the sum of all human knowledge.

The team can be reached through talktohumanrights@wikimedia.org for resources on digital safety, personal security and human rights support networks.
For general T&S inquiries and reports of abuse please use ca@wikimedia.org.
If you are facing imminent threats of physical harm or persecution you are encouraged to alert emergency@wikimedia.org which is monitored 24/7/365.

The WMF’s Human Rights Team continues to provide support to Wikimedians who require assistance. We greatly appreciate the ongoing close collaboration with many functionaries through such channels and conversations.

We urge everyone impacted by external conflicts to be cautious and to surface safety and human rights concerns through private channels to avoid putting our fellow Wikimedians at risk.

Wikimedia digital security best practices

Please see here for an extended best practice.

Limit exposing any personal information such as real name, used usernames, email, photos and IP addresses.
If you wish to change your username, please follow these instructions.
Make sure your password is strong, unique and not saved on your browser.
If you have pictures of yourself on Commons you would like deleted or edits suppressed, under very strict limits you can ask for the “suppression (formerly oversight)” of certain information on the platform.
Have a look at the suppression policy here and see here to learn how to request suppression. If there is an urgency to such a request due concerns around your safety please reach out to ca@wikimedia.org.
See our Internet Outages Guide for resources and support in case you lose Internet access.

Wikimedia physical security best practices

Situations on the ground can evolve rapidly and pose grave risks to individuals’ safety and security. The Foundation recommends that all Wikimedians located in areas impacted by external conflict observe the physical safety precautions as recommended by their governments—where such guidance is available and practical. For example, the U.S. Department of State (as of November 2023) recommends:

Maintain a high degree of situational awareness and exercise caution at all times, especially at checkpoints and other areas with a significant presence of security forces;
Avoid demonstrations and crowds;
Follow the instructions of security and emergency response officials;
Beware of and report suspicious activities, including unattended items, to local police; and
Learn the location of the nearest bomb shelter or other hardened shelter.

You might find some more useful informational resources on our armed conflict information and resources on meta-wiki.