The Alliance UA SCO held the first event within the Ukrainian Humanitarian Research Hub — a workshop focused on ethical challenges in humanitarian research.
🧩 The Ukrainian Humanitarian Research Hub was created as a space where science meets practice to foster a research culture grounded in trust, safety, and accountability. Humanitarian research is not “humanities” — it is research conducted in humanitarian settings, where every question can affect a person’s experience, dignity, and well-being.
We were honored to engage leading global experts in humanitarian ethics whose work shapes international standards in research and humanitarian response.
During the workshop, we explored key themes that define ethical foundations for research in crisis contexts:
✅ Moral responsibility of researchers in times of war and humanitarian crises
💬 Dr. Hugo Slim (University of Oxford), one of the most influential theorists in humanitarian ethics, emphasized:
“Truth is a real challenge, especially during war. We are forced to balance between truth and secrecy. Sometimes discretion and restraint in sharing information can be just as important as openness and transparency.”
✅ Global standards of research ethics, FAIR and CARE principles, and responsible data governance
💬 Dr. Susan Murphy (Trinity College Dublin), expert in research ethics and data governance, highlighted:
“It’s crucial to collect only the data that is truly needed — and to clearly explain to participants how and why that data is being used.”
✅ Protection of respondents and researchers in conflict settings
💬 Rafael Van den Bergh (Protect Humanitarians), researcher on the safety and well-being of humanitarian workers, stressed:
“The safety of researchers and respondents must be a priority — both physical and psychological. We must honestly acknowledge risks, mitigate them, and be transparent about the expected benefits. That’s the essence of ethical decision-making.”
In the second part of the workshop, Ukrainian organizations — Girls NGO, Open Space Works Ukraine, East-SOS, and Caritas Ukraine — presented their approaches to working with adolescents, documenting war crimes, and integrating ethical principles into organizational policies.
Strong feedback from participants confirmed: ethics is not a formality — it is the foundation of trust.
How we collect, store, and publish data defines not only the quality of research but also the level of trust in the humanitarian sector.
“Final research products become more than reports — they become tools for decision-making, advocacy, and program improvement,” participants noted.
This workshop marked the first step toward developing an Ethical Code for Humanitarian Researchers in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Humanitarian Research Hub is coordinated by Olha Shevchuk-Klyuzheva, Head of Advocacy Projects at the UKR CSO Alliance.
💛 We thank all speakers and participants for their openness, sincerity, and trust.
Together, we are shaping a space where ethics becomes an integral part of humanitarian response culture in Ukraine.
📅 Coming this December: the Hub’s next event — on Artificial Intelligence in Humanitarian Research, exploring data collection, analysis, and ethical boundaries in the digital age.
📺 Watch the full workshop on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/PtS44bqWPfw?si=3S00_Pf0sBqWSXuh
