Data Protection in Humanitarian Action

Responding to Crises in a Data-Driven World

Through practitioner perspectives, empirical research, and conceptual reflections, this book examines how data protection underpins trust, accountability, and respect for affected populations, serving as a crucial enabler for ethical and effective humanitarian action in the digital age.

This book is the product of a collaboration between the data protection offices of the ICRC and UNHCR, alongside the Global Privacy Assembly, to reflect on a decade of progress in data protection in humanitarian contexts. Through practitioner perspectives, empirical research, and conceptual reflections, it examines how data protection underpins trust, accountability, and respect for affected populations, serving as a crucial enabler for ethical and effective humanitarian action in the digital age.

The volume explores critical topics including digital transformation, operational complexities such as those linked to data breaches and data sharing, regulatory developments and international cooperation, legal frameworks and capacity-building. At the same time, it looks ahead, addressing the challenges and opportunities posed by emerging technologies and considering how the humanitarian sector may anticipate and prepare for them.

This book is intended for policymakers, practitioners, authorities, academics, and other experts working in data protection, international organisations, and humanitarian action and adjacent fields. It offers a compass to help navigate complex operational and legal challenges in an increasingly digital and data-driven landscape. By positioning data protection as a foundational element of humanitarian action, the book provides timely, forward-looking insights into the sector’s preparedness for technological and regulatory change, with the aim of helping those most in need.

The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International license.

Contributor: Ana Beduschi (Edited by), Massimo Marelli (Edited by), Aaron Martin (Edited by)

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.