Wow! eBook
Data Protection in Humanitarian Action
Author(s): Ana Beduschi (Editor), Massimo Marelli (Editor), Aaron Martin (Editor)
- Publisher: Routledge
- Publication Date: October 27, 2025
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 418 pages
- ISBN-10: 1041094582
- ISBN-13: 9781041094586
Book 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.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“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.
About the Author
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.
