Data Protection in Humanitarian Action: Responding to Crises in a Data-Driven World

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 organizations, 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.

Ana Beduschi is a Full Professor of Law with a Personal Chair at the University of Exeter. Her research and teaching focus on international human rights law, technology (including big data and artificial intelligence), data protection and international migration and refugee law.

Massimo Marelli is the Head of the Data Protection Office at the International Committee of the Red Cross. He is also a member of the Advisory Board and a Fellow at the European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity at the University of Maastricht, where he co-leads the Humanitarian Action Programme.

Aaron Martin is an Assistant Professor of Media Studies and Data Science at the University of Virginia, United States. His research interests include data governance in development and humanitarian contexts, critical infrastructure protection, surveillance, and biometrics.