INTRODUCTION
Confidentiality is of fundamental importance in humanitarian settings, as it is an essential precondition for carrying out humanitarian operations. For example, humanitarian action is often dependent upon the maintenance of confidential dialogue with parties to a conflict or key actors in other humanitarian environments. This dialogue may be necessary to gain access to affected populations, facilitate movement through territory controlled by non-state actors or negotiate in support of planning and executing humanitarian programming. In some cases, it may also be necessary to maintain a confidential dialogue with affected populations to ensure they can access humanitarian services in ways that do not expose them to harm. Similarly, confidential communications between humanitarian partners, as well as among humanitarian partners and affected populations, are critical to humanitarian action.
Maintaining the confidentiality, integrity and authenticity of communications is essential in these situations. Humanitarian actors will have often spent many years establishing and building the trust of interlocutors. Breaches of confidentiality could undermine these relationships, with potentially harmful consequences for affected populations. Were the breach to present — or be perceived to present — an advantage to opposing parties to an armed conflict or adversaries in other situations of violence, it could also pose a very real threat to the safety of humanitarian workers and the continued provision of humanitarian services. Such events could also threaten the perception of neutrality and impartiality of humanitarian actors.
Many interlocutors are already well aware of the risks of surveillance and intelligence-gathering and have developed working methods to maintain confidentiality. In-person meetings with authorities or affected people have traditionally allowed organizations to obtain and protect confidential information or sensitive personal data. The current COVID-19 health crisis, with its movement restrictions and social distancing rules, makes in-person meetings difficult to arrange. Maintaining contact with affected populations, other humanitarian partners, parties to a conflict and other interlocutors is increasingly reliant on digital communications, e.g. instant messaging, videoconferencing and email. More generally, with digital communications becoming more common in humanitarian work, confidentiality and the secure transfer of information and data via digital means is essential.
This tip sheet offers:
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an overview of the threats to confidentiality associated with digital communications in higher risk humanitarian contexts, including physical and covert surveillance, metadata, interception and hacking
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recommendations to mitigate those threats, including communication protocols, countermeasures, digital security, choice of application and digital hygiene
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a set of resources that can be used to help identify suitable communications tools.
