Data Protection in Humanitarian Action
Responding to Crises in a Data-Driven World
1st Edition
Published on 27. October 2025
418 pages
978-1-040-59880-1 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
"In our changing world, knowledge production is key to understanding where we stand in the digital age. This timely publication makes a valuable contribution by placing data protection at the center, as an enabler of rights and a vital tool to strengthen humanitarian action."- Beatriz de Anchorena, Chair of the Committee of Convention 108 and Head of the AAIP, the Data Protection Authority in Argentina.
"A timely and thoughtful reflection on a decade of progress in data protection across the humanitarian sector, and a vital guide as we navigate our increasingly data-driven world."
- Carmen Casado, DPO and Director of the Global Privacy Office, UN World Food Programme.
"Data protection has become a crucial topic in the humanitarian space. This new book examining the interface between data protection regulatory frameworks and humanitarian action will be mandatory reading for anyone working in either field."
- Christopher Kuner (Dr), University of Copenhagen and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Brussels.
"This timely publication captures a decade of critical reflection on data protection as a cornerstone of principled and effective humanitarian action. Bridging theory and practice, it reaffirms our collective commitment to dignity, trust, and accountability in a digital age - and equips us to face emerging challenges with integrity."
- Lucie Laplante, Under Secretary General for Legal, Governance and Accountability, ad interim, IFRC.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
3 Tables, black and white
File size
5,10 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-040-59880-1 (9781040598801)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Ana Beduschi | Massimo Marelli | Aaron Martin
Data Protection in Humanitarian Action
Responding to Crises in a Data-Driven World
Book
10/2025
1st Edition
Routledge
€208.90
Shipment within 15-20 days
Ana Beduschi | Massimo Marelli | Aaron Martin
Data Protection in Humanitarian Action
Responding to Crises in a Data-Driven World
Book
10/2025
1st Edition
Routledge
€68.90
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
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.
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.
Content
Foreword (Wojciech Wiewiorowski). Introduction: Data Protection in Humanitarian Action: Responding to Crises in a Data-Driven World (Ana Beduschi, Massimo Marelli and Aaron Martin) Section 1: Setting the Scene 1. The Contribution of Data Protection to Humanitarian Action: 10 Years of Data Protection in Humanitarian Action (Massimo Marelli) Section 2: Humanitarian Action in the Digital Age Section 2.1 An Evolving Humanitarian Space 2. From Disconnected to Connected: How 10 Years of Increasing Connectivity for Crisis-Affected Communities Has Increased the Importance of Personal Data Protection (Betty (Jia Li) Wang and John Warnes) 3. The Challenges of Building RedSafe, a Secure Digital Humanitarian Platform: An Unsafe Journey? (Romain Bircher) 4. The Logic of Biometrics and Organisational Accountability (Quito Tsui) Section 2.2 Understanding the Digital Transformation of the Humanitarian Space through Data Protection 5. Digital Transformation and the Humanitarian-Development Transition: The Role of Digital Public Infrastructure and Data Protection (Emrys Schoemaker and Aaron Martin) 6. Data Protection and Independence in an Age of Hyperconnectivity (Martin Searle) 7. Data Protection as a Foundational Pillar and Key Enabler of Trusted Digital Transformation (Charlotte Lindsey Curtet) Section 3: Data Protection at the Crossroads Section 3.1 Evolution of Data Protection and Humanitarian Action in International Law and Diplomacy 8. Data Protection Regulation and International Humanitarian Organisations: Revisiting the Origins, Nature and Significance of the UN Guidelines on Personal Data Regulation (1990) (David Erdos) 9. Legal Tensions: Insights from UN-EU Correspondence on EU Data Protection Law and the Role of Privileges and Immunities in Enhancing Personal Data Protection (Christina Vasala Kokkinaki) 10. The Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data (Convention 108+) and International Organisations (Jean-Philippe Walter and Sophie Kwasny) 11. Data Protection, Humanitarian Action, and Global Regulatory Cooperation: The Role of the Global Privacy Assembly (Catherine Lennman and Florence Dubosc) Section 3.2 Data Protection Law in Humanitarian Practice 12. Data Protection in the Framework of Restoring Family Links Humanitarian Activities: Code of Conduct and Resolutions (Emily Knox) 13. By the Book, Beyond, and Backwards? Ethical Considerations on the 2022 Data Breach Affecting the Family Links Network of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Natalie Klein-Kelly) 14. Growing Data Protection Maturity in Humanitarian Action: Changes in the Understanding of Key Concepts (Dogu Han Buyukyagcioglu) 15. Data Sharing Between Humanitarian Organisations and Donors: Accountability, Transparency, and Data Protection in Principled Humanitarian Action (Larissa Fast, Stuart Campo and Gilles Cerutti) Section 4: Regional and Local Perspectives on Data Protection 16. "Withdraw Your Data": How Data Protection Legislation Can Reshape Humanitarian Action (Timothy Charlton and Cassie Jiun Seo) 17. Context Matters: Towards a Framework for Understanding Perceptions of Data Protection in Humanitarian Aid (Timothy Charlton, Julia Feigen, and Silvia Pelucchi) 18. Data Protection and the Asia-Pacific Region: Zooming into Humanitarian Action (Hiroshi Miyashita) Section 5: Building Capacity and Addressing Challenges Ahead 19. Teaching Data Protection as Trust-Building (Cosimo Monda and Cristina Teleki) 20. Data Protection in the Times of Artificial Intelligence: Towards a Digital Humanism (Wojciech Wiewiorowski (with contributions from Olivier Matter and Michele Dubrocard)
