SRL Swiss – Security Studies and Rule of Law Association – is committed to protecting the privacy, personal data and security of individuals who contact us, participate in our activities or provide information and documentation concerning human rights violations.
We process personal data in accordance with applicable Swiss data protection law, including the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), and seek to apply the principles of transparency, purpose limitation, proportionality, data minimisation, confidentiality and data security.
1. Data Controller and Contact Details
The organisation responsible for processing personal data is:
Security Studies and Rule of Law Association (SRL Swiss)
Geneva, Switzerland
General enquiries:
info@srlswiss.com
Human rights violations, confidential reports and supporting documentation:
reports@srlswiss.com
Individuals wishing to report a human rights violation should use reports@srlswiss.com rather than the Association’s general information address.
Questions concerning privacy, data protection or the exercise of data protection rights may be sent to info@srlswiss.com.
2. What Information May We Process?
Depending on the nature of your interaction with SRL Swiss, we may process:
- your name and contact information;
- information submitted by email or through our website;
- information concerning an alleged human rights violation;
- documents, correspondence, photographs or other supporting material voluntarily provided;
- information concerning individuals involved in a reported incident or case;
- information relating to participation in SRL Swiss activities;
- basic technical information generated through the use of our website.
Human rights communications may contain sensitive personal data. We therefore seek to collect only information that is relevant and necessary for the specific purpose concerned.
If you provide information about another person, please avoid submitting unnecessary personal data and provide only information that is relevant to the matter being reported.
3. Why Do We Process Personal Data?
Personal data may be processed in order to:
- receive and assess reports concerning alleged human rights violations;
- document and research human rights concerns;
- communicate with persons providing information;
- clarify or verify information received;
- prepare reports, legal assessments and institutional submissions;
- where appropriate, bring human rights concerns to the attention of relevant national or international mechanisms;
- respond to general enquiries;
- organise SRL Swiss activities and events;
- conduct institutional communications;
- maintain the security and proper functioning of our website and communication systems;
- comply with applicable legal obligations.
Personal data is not used for unrelated commercial purposes.
4. Human Rights Reports and Confidential Communications
Information submitted to reports@srlswiss.com may be handled as human rights documentation and may contain particularly sensitive information.
Submitting information to SRL Swiss does not automatically mean that the information will be published or shared with another institution.
Where identifying information may be used or disclosed, we seek, as appropriate, to consider:
- the purpose of the documentation or processing;
- the safety and privacy of the individual concerned;
- the sensitivity of the information;
- whether anonymisation or removal of identifying details is appropriate;
- whether disclosure is necessary for the relevant human rights or institutional purpose.
Where appropriate, names and other identifying details may be removed or anonymised in public reports.
5. Sharing Information with Institutions or Third Parties
Personal information submitted to SRL Swiss is not automatically shared with third parties.
Where necessary and appropriate for a legitimate human rights, legal or institutional purpose, relevant information may, depending on the circumstances, be shared with:
- United Nations human rights mechanisms;
- Swiss public authorities;
- international or regional human rights institutions;
- legal or professional advisers;
- service providers necessary for the operation of our website, email or data-storage systems.
We seek to limit information shared to what is necessary for the relevant purpose.
The fact that an individual can be identified from information submitted to SRL Swiss does not mean that the information will be made public.
6. Data Security
SRL Swiss takes reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.
Access to sensitive human rights documentation is, as far as practicable, limited to persons who require access for the relevant work.
However, ordinary email communication cannot be guaranteed to be completely secure. Individuals intending to submit highly sensitive documents or significant amounts of sensitive personal information are encouraged to contact reports@srlswiss.com first to discuss an appropriate method of transmission.
7. Data Retention
Personal data is retained only for as long as it remains necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.
Relevant factors in determining retention periods may include:
- whether human rights documentation or research remains ongoing;
- whether institutional or legal follow-up remains necessary;
- applicable legal retention requirements;
- the sensitivity of the information;
- risks to the privacy or safety of the persons concerned;
- legitimate organisational and archival requirements.
Information that is no longer required may, as appropriate, be deleted, anonymised or securely archived.
Sensitive case information should be periodically reviewed so that it is not retained longer than necessary.
8. Your Rights
Subject to applicable Swiss law, individuals may request:
- information as to whether SRL Swiss processes personal data relating to them;
- access to their personal data;
- correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
- deletion of personal data where applicable;
- restriction of or objection to certain processing where applicable;
- information about how their data has been used or disclosed.
Requests may be sent to:
info@srlswiss.com
We may need to verify the identity of the person making a request before disclosing, modifying or deleting personal data.
9. Children and Vulnerable Persons
Particular care is taken where information concerns children, victims of serious human rights violations or other persons in vulnerable situations.
We seek to minimise the collection and publication of unnecessary identifying information and to take account of the safety, dignity and privacy of the persons concerned.
10. Website and Technical Data
The SRL Swiss website may use technical cookies and similar technologies necessary for website functionality and security.
Where third-party content or services are integrated into the website, those service providers may process certain technical data. Third-party services and related data transfers are considered in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.
Where non-essential analytics or tracking tools are used, we seek to provide the information and user-choice mechanisms required under applicable data protection rules.
11. International Data Transfers
SRL Swiss works with international human rights mechanisms and institutions. In some circumstances, information may therefore need to be transmitted to an institution outside Switzerland.
In such cases, we seek to avoid transferring personal data that is not necessary for the relevant purpose and to apply applicable data protection requirements.
12. Changes to This Notice
This Privacy & Data Protection Notice may be updated where SRL Swiss’s activities, data-processing practices, technical services or applicable legal requirements change.
The current version published on the SRL Swiss website applies.
Last updated: September 2026
Security Studies and Rule of Law Association – SRL Swiss
Geneva, Switzerland
General enquiries: info@srlswiss.com
Human rights violation reports: reports@srlswiss.com