Protecting individuals' personal data is an integral part of protecting their life, integrity and dignity. Therefore, personal data protection is of fundamental importance for humanitarian organizations.

In suggesting how data protection principles should be applied by humanitarian organizations, this handbook builds on existing guidelines, working procedures and practices that have been established in humanitarian action in the most volatile environments and for the benefit of the most vulnerable victims of armed conflicts, other situations of violence, natural disasters, pandemics and other humanitarian emergencies (together "humanitarian emergencies").

Some of these guidelines, procedures and practices pre-date the advent and development of data protection laws, but they all are based on the principle of human dignity and the same concept of protection which underpin data protection law.