Operational Guidance on Data Responsibility in Humanitarian Action

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) presents the Operational Guidance on Data Responsibility in Humanitarian Action, aimed at ensuring the ethical and effective management of data in humanitarian contexts. This document provides a framework for data responsibility, emphasizing the protection of individuals’ privacy and the security of sensitive information. 

Data responsibility in humanitarian action involves the safe, ethical, and effective management of both personal and non-personal data to support operational responses, in line with established personal data protection frameworks. To ensure that we ‘do no harm’ while maximizing the benefits of data, collective action is required across all levels of the humanitarian system. Humanitarians must exercise caution when handling data to prevent placing already vulnerable individuals and communities at further risk.