Towards a Principled Approach to Humanitarian Information and Communication Technology

Abstract

e humanitarian sector is entering in the network age. e explosion in access to new information and communication technology (ICT) like mobile phones, the internet, and social media, is changing the way people communicate in emergency situations. However, the use of new ICT has not yet been adequately accompanied by an analysis of the challenges it represents for the application of the four humanitarian principles, namely humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. ese principles provide the foundations for humanitarian action and are central to establishing and maintaining access to a ected people. is article addresses that issue and provides a design framework to guide humanitarian agencies towards a principled approach to ICT. CCS CONCEPTS•Human-centered computing →Contextual design; •Security and privacy →Human and societal aspects of security and privacy;

Food Aid Technology

“…Furthermore, the experiences reported by participants in which shop owners abused the food aid system may be viewed to be in breach of the humanitarian principles that guide and shape humanitarian policies and action [30]. The principle of humanity explicitly states that "all human beings are equal in dignity and rights, thus all human life should be respected and protected and human suffering reduced" [9,30]. However, the experiences of exploitation by the shop owners indicate that this principle is not upheld.…”

“…However, the experiences of exploitation by the shop owners indicate that this principle is not upheld. Cardia et al 's framework [9] provides guidance for how to integrate the four humanitarian principles into humanitarian technologies. Such frameworks and humanitarian innovation guidance should be expanded so that we can design technologies in a manner that supports multiple stakeholders (e.g.…”

Humanitarian organizations' information practices: Procedures and privacy concerns for serving the undocumented

“…Next are two articles that stress the continued importance of human interactions, real or virtual, in protecting the undocumented, and situations where low‐tech methods of information management might actually be more secure. Both of these articles also stress the importance of training volunteers on the necessity of maintaining the privacy of the vulnerable populations they are trying to help (Cardia, Holzer, Xu, Maitland, & Gillet, ; Newell, Gomez, & Guajardo, ). Finally, a 2016 survey of immigrant rights organizations' information technology practices reveals several common weaknesses, particularly in the areas of data backup and password protocols (Immigration Advocates Network & Idealware, ).…”

A Call For Embedding Dignity In Humanitarian Technologies

“…Academics have highlighted the need to embed values in humanitarian technologies that move away from consumer centered design of digital services and account for socio-cultural and political environments in which humanitarian technologies would be deployed [19,20]. Several scholars have responded to this call for critical reflections on the role of technologies in humanitarian response by discussing how best to embed humanitarian principles within the design, development and deployment of humanitarian technologies [10]. However, such academic rhetoric [10,19,20] has been situated in designing technologies from the perspective of humanitarian organizations rather than the perspective of refugees themselves.…”

“…Several scholars have responded to this call for critical reflections on the role of technologies in humanitarian response by discussing how best to embed humanitarian principles within the design, development and deployment of humanitarian technologies [10]. However, such academic rhetoric [10,19,20] has been situated in designing technologies from the perspective of humanitarian organizations rather than the perspective of refugees themselves.…”