Privacy law sets minimum requirements, but humanitarian work often demands additional discretion. Information about survivors, children, whistleblowers, aid workers, movements, partners and locations can create harm if exposed.
Information principles
- Have a clear purpose and lawful basis before collecting personal data.
- Collect the minimum necessary and keep it accurate.
- Limit access according to role and operational need.
- Use secure storage, transfer and deletion practices.
- Set retention periods and dispose of information safely.
- Respect data rights and report qualifying breaches appropriately.
Discretion and transparency
Public accountability does not require publishing every operational detail. AidWorkers may aggregate, delay or withhold information where disclosure could identify or endanger people, compromise safeguarding, reveal security arrangements or breach a legal duty.
Applications and enquiries
Information submitted through forms is used to assess and respond to the enquiry, kept only as long as needed and shared only with people involved in that process, unless law or safeguarding duties require otherwise.