Paper details

Paper authors	Claudia Meier
In panel on	Responsible Data Sharing with Donors in Humanitarian Action
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

Humanitarian organizations are collecting and sharing an increasing amount of personal and sensitive data from the people they assist in order to improve programs, coordinate with others and ensure accountability to donors. This creates many potential risks. Individuals can be identified based on disaggregated data that is not adequately secured. Whether intentional or accidental, such violations of privacy are not only problematic in their own right, but can also put people at risk. In the worst case, states and non-state actors could use such data to control or discriminate against particular individuals and groups. In addition, trust in humanitarian organizations is undermined when people suspect that data is used for non-humanitarian purposes – which in turn reduces organizations’ acceptance and ability to operate. How do these risks materialize in operational practice? This paper presents the results of an independent study GPPi conducted for the Humanitarian Data and Trust Initiative, commissioned by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It draws on 45 confidential interviews with humanitarian and donor government staff working in or on Bangladesh (response to the Rohingya refugee crisis), Nigeria, and Syria.

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