Activists say the human rights movement is failing - Toosi, Nahal (POLITICO, 2023)
At the Oslo Freedom Forum, dissidents and rights defenders seek solidarity as their movements struggle.
Worldwide
Keywords: 2023-06 June

African delegation tells Putin 'war must' end, Russia says 'open to dialogue' - News Wires (France 24, 2023)
A delegation of African leaders including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg on Saturday as part of its mission to try to broker peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv. The meeting comes a day after the delegation met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and as Putin confirmed that he has deployed tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. Read our live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded.
Africa
Keywords: 2023-06 June

Nine out of 10 people are biased against women, UN report finds - Woodyatt, Amy (CNN, 2023)
Almost nine out of 10 people hold “fundamental biases” against women, a new UN report has found, decrying a “decade of stagnation” that has led to a dismantling of women’s rights in many parts of the world.
Worldwide
Keywords: 2023-06 June

EU: European Parliament adopts ban on facial recognition but leaves migrants, refugees and asylum seekers at risk - Amnesty International (Amnesty International, 2023)
EU: European Parliament adopts ban on facial recognition but leaves migrants, refugees and asylum seekers at risk. Responding to the European Parliament’s decision to ban invasive mass surveillance technologies in its Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), Mher Hakobyan, Advocacy Advisor on AI Regulation said: “We welcome the European Parliament’s decision to adopt a ban on abusive mass surveillance technology in today’s landmark vote. However, it is essential the Parliament and EU Member States ensure that development, sale, use and export of facial recognition and other mass surveillance technologies are banned in the final AI Act during upcoming negotiations.
Europe
Keywords: 2023-06 June

UNHCR calls for concerted action as forced displacement hits new high of 110 million | UN News - United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) (UN News, 2023)
The full-scale war in Ukraine, alongside other conflict and climate-driven upheaval, meant more people than ever remained uprooted from their homes last year, heightening the urgency for immediate, collective action to alleviate the global crisis, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Wednesday.
Worldwide
Keywords: 2023-06 June

No progress on biases against women during past decade, UN reports - News Wires (France 24, 2023)
Data tracking biases against women has shown no progress over the past decade, with prejudices remaining "deeply embedded" in society despite rights campaigns such as MeToo, a UN report said Monday.
Worldwide
Keywords: 2023-06 June

UN chief calls for new era of social media integrity in bid to stem misinformation - UN News (UN News, 2023)
Countries must address the “grave global harm” caused by the proliferation of hate and lies online, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, launching a key report designed to shore up information integrity on digital platforms.
Worldwide
Keywords: 2023-06 June

Pandemic treaty talks: Is there room for Indigenous knowledge? - Geneva Solutions - Dupraz-Dobias, Paula (Geneva Solutions, 2023)
Even as global temperatures rose at increasingly alarming rates, it took years before anyone began to listen to their message. Yet year after year, representatives of Indigenous communities attended global climate and biodiversity summits, striving to share their experience with climate change and their traditional knowledge as guardians of vast natural areas. Three years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, it could seem like a case of déjà-vu. In spite of being the most affected by the hea
Worldwide
Keywords: 2023-06 June; Pandemic

Where it's a crime to be gay: A visual guide to where LGBTQ+ rights are repressed - Hjelmgaard, Kim; Zarracina, Javier (USA TODAY, 2023)
Uganda enacted one of the harshest anti-gay laws in the world. See where sexual and gender minority rights are criminalized.
Worldwide
Keywords: 2023-06 June

Regulation essential to curb AI for surveillance, disinformation: rights experts - UN News (UN News, 2023)
Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered spyware and disinformation is on the rise, and regulation of the space has become urgent, according to UN-appointed independent rights experts.
Worldwide
Keywords: 2023-06 June

Information Integrity on Digital Platforms - United Nations (United Nations, 2023)
Digital platforms are crucial tools that have trans- formed social, cultural and political interactions everywhere. Across the world, they connect concerned global citizens on issues that matter. Platforms help the United Nations to inform and engage people directly as we strive for peace, dig- nity and equality on a healthy planet. They have given people hope in times of crisis and struggle, amplified voices that were previously unheard and breathed life into global movements.
Worlwide
Keywords: 2023-06 June; Artificial Intelligence; Information integrity

A Decade of Stagnation: New UNDP data shows gender biases remain entrenched - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (UN News, 2023)
The latest Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) report has revealed no improvement in biases against women in a decade, with almost 9 out of 10 men and women worldwide still holding such biases today. Half of people worldwide still believe men make better political leaders than women, and more than 40 percent believe men make better business executives than women. A staggering 25 percent of people believe it is justified for a man to beat his wife, according to the new GSNI report launched by UNDP.
Worldwide
Keywords: 2023-06 June

ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC announces launch of advanced evidence submission platform: OTPLink - ICC Office of the Prosecutor (International Criminal Court, 2023)
I am pleased to announce the launch of OTPLink, a new application for online and email-based evidence submissions by all external stakeholders and witnesses to my Office. OTPLink will provide a clear, single-access point, replacing various systems and processes that were previously in use for the receipt of information, including submissions pursuant to Article 15 of the Rome Statute.
Worldwide
Keywords: 2023-06 June

Mechanism Information Programme launches Guide for History Teachers - UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals; EuroClio (UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, 2023)
Today, the Mechanism Information Programme for Affected Communities (MIP) was pleased to launch its latest informational product, entitled: Guide for History Teachers: How to Use Archival Material of the ICTY and Mechanism in Teaching the History of the 1990s conflicts (Guide).
Worldwide
Keywords: 2023-06 June

Conference - 2023 International Conference of Indigenous Archives, Libraries, and Museums - Textile society of America (TextileSocietyofAmerica, 2023)
The 2023 International Conference of Indigenous Archives, Libraries, and Museums will take place October 24-26 at the four-star Omni Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City. Join tribal cultural leaders, federal agencies, funders, and others to discuss the most relevant topics related to preserving and advancing Native languages, culture, and life ways.
Worldwide
Keywords: 2023-06 June

Exhibition - The Fury by Shirin Neshat | Until 2023-08-20 - Neshat, Shirin (PHI Centre, 2023)
The Fury, created by Shirin Neshat, is a two-part narrative that takes the audience through the emotional turmoil experienced by the Iranian protagonist. The artwork is presented through a two-channel video and a virtual reality work. In a highly fictionalized and stylized approach, The Fury explores the sexual exploitation of female political prisoners, referencing the Islamic Republic of Iran's brutal treatment of political prisoners.
Iran, Islamic Republic of
Keywords: 2023-06 June

OHCHR | Promoting Environmental Democracy: Procedural elements of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment - OHCHR Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment (OHCHR, 2023)
Background Promoting Environmental Democracy: Procedural elements of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment

OHCHR | Call for inputs – Transitional justice measures and the legacy of human rights violations in colonial contexts - OHCHR Special Rapporteur on truth, justice and reparation (OHCHR, 2021)
Objective of the report In the report, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence examines the question of the adoption of transitional justice measures to address the legacy of serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law committed in colonial contexts.

ICRC | Call for comments: Guiding Principles for the Dignified Management of the Dead in Humanitarian Emergencies and to Prevent them Becoming Missing Persons - ICRC (2021)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2023-01 (January) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2023)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2022-12 (December) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2022)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2022-11 (November) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2022)

Filing the world: Archives as cultural heritage and the power of remembering - Ghezzi, Agnese (International Journal of Constitutional Law, 2022)
Other Publications

Historical Memory in the Digital Age: In Guatemala, truthtellers and preservers of the past face renewed hostility. Digitization projects help safeguard the archives of state violence - Alvarado, Daniel; Juárez, Carlos; Gettleson, Brie (NACLA Report on the Americas, 2021)

Playing with Marked Cards, or Using Documents as a Tool for Historical Manipulation: the Case of Russian 'Archive Websites' - Zawistowski, Andrzej (Institute of European Network Remembrance and Solidarity, 2021)
Can genuine archival documents be used to manipulate our knowledge of the past? Of course, only three steps suffice: restrict historians' access to archives, select sources according to a desired premise and make sure your message reaches a wide audience, especially non-historians.
Other Publications

OHCHR | Call for inputs: Countering disinformation for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms - OHCHR (OHCHR, 2022)
Objectives The United Nations General Assembly resolution 76/227 on “Countering disinformation for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms” requested the UN Secretary-General “to seek the views of States, United Nations entities and relevant stakeholders and to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session a report, within existing resources, based on information and best practices shared by States, United Nations entities and relevant stakeholders on countering disinformation.”

OHCHR | International Financial Obligations, Digital Systems and Human Rights - OHCHR Special Procedures (OHCHR, 2022)
Background and objectives In her annual report to the Human Rights Council in March 2023 the Independent Expert on debt, other international financial obligations and human rights, Ms. Attiya Waris, will address the links between international financial obligations, digital systems and human rights.

OHCHR | Call for inputs for a report on cultural rights and migration - OHCHR Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights (OHCHR, 2023)
Background An estimated 280 million people, approximately 3.6% of the world’s population, currently live outside their country of origin. The reasons for these displacements are numerous: some may have chosen to leave to pursue better opportunities elsewhere; many are compelled to leave for a complex combination of reasons, including poverty, lack of access to healthcare, education, water, food, housing, and the consequences of environmental degradation and climate change; others are forced to flee persecution and conflicts.

ICC Office of the Prosecutor | Draft Policy on Cultural Heritage for consultation - ICC Office of the Prosecutor (International Criminal Court, 2021)
Today, 23 March 2021, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court ("ICC" or the "Court''), published a draft Policy on Cultural Heritage for consultation and comments by States Parties to the Rome Statute, civil society, and the wider community of stakeholders.The development of this Policy is in line with the Office of the Prosecutor's Strategic Plan to pay particular attention to crimes against and affecting cultural heritage and the commitment of the Office to systematically investigate and prosecute such crimes. "Cultural heritage is the embodiment of the continuity of the human story, a celebration of identity, our commonality and the richness of our diversity. We all have a duty to protect cultural heritage," stated Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in contextualising this policy initiative. The draft Policy on Cultural Heritage is the manifestation of these commitments within the framework of the Rome Statute.Building on good practices and experiences of the Office in, inter alia, the Al-Mahdi case, the envisaged Policy will further guide the Office in addressing international crimes against cultural heritage within the Court's legal framework, raise greater awareness about the importance of the issue, and seek to close the impunity gap, including through positive complementarity with national jurisdictions, and maximize impact through collaboration with a wide network of partners and relevant actors. The draft Policy is based on the Rome Statute and other regulatory instruments of the Court, as well as applicable treaties, and the principles and rules of international law. It also draws on relevant international jurisprudence.The policy formulation and drafting process to date has been a consultative one. Initial round table consultations took place with a group of external experts, including experts from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ("UNESCO"), in 2017. The Office has enjoyed close collaboration with UNESCO, and is further consulting this specialised agency of the United Nations also in this round of consultations. The consultations carried out to date have been important to better understand the various angles from which the work of the Office can play a role in the protection of cultural heritage and have assisted the policy formulation process.The Office is of the view that external consultations on its policies and working methods are helpful to the ends of transparency and predictability. Wider external consultation is also important in ensuring that the Office ultimately adopts a policy that is comprehensive and thoroughly considered. The Office therefore welcomes and encourages comments on the draft Policy. Comments can be sent to: OTPLegalAdvisorySection@icc-cpi.int, by Friday, 16 April 2021, midnight (CET). All input received by this deadline will be carefully considered in the internal review and revision process. The Office is grateful for the interest and support of the Rome Statute community for its activities and initiatives. Draft Policy on Cultural Heritage The Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC conducts independent and impartial preliminary examinations, investigations and prosecutions of the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. Since 2003, the Office has been conducting investigations in multiple situations within the ICC's jurisdiction, namely in Uganda; the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Darfur, Sudan; the Central African Republic (two distinct situations); Kenya; Libya; Côte d'Ivoire; Mali; Georgia, Burundi; Bangladesh/Myanmar, Afghanistan (subject to a pending article 18 deferral request) and Palestine. The Office is also currently conducting preliminary examinations relating to the situations in Bolivia; Colombia; Guinea; the Philippines; and Venezuela (I and II); and has recently completed its preliminary examinations of the situations in Ukraine and Nigeria, which are pending requests to seek authorisation to proceed to investigation.

OHCHR | Call for inputs for a thematic study by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on “new technologies and enforced disappearances” - OHCHR Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (OHCHR, 2023)
Background At its 125th session, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (hereinafter, ‘the Working Group’) announced its intention to conduct a thematic study on the issue of new technologies and enforced disappearances.

OHCHR | Call for input: Comprehensive report on “Importance of casualty recording for the promotion and protection of human rights.” - OHCHR (OHCHR, 2023)
Background In resolution 50/11, the Human Rights Council requested the High Commissioner “to prepare, in consultation with all States, relevant United Nations entities, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions, a comprehensive report on the impact of casualty recording on the promotion and protection of human rights, including relevant practices, in particular the role of casualty recording in upholding and fulfilling the rights of victims of armed conflict, post-conflict situations

OHCHR | Call for input 53rd session of the Human Rights Council - Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance - OHCHR Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance (OHCHR, 2023)
Background Since 2012, the General Assembly has adopted annual resolutions mandating the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance to prepare two reports per year, one to the Human Rights Council and one to the General Assembly, on the implementation of General Assembly resolutions on combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

OHCHR | Call for input on The use of technology in facilitating and preventing contemporary forms of slavery - OHCHR Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and its consequences (OHCHR, 2023)
Objectives of the report The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, wishes to focus his next thematic report to the General Assembly on “the use of technology in facilitating and preventing contemporary forms of slavery”.

OHCHR | Call for comments on the draft general comment on children’s rights and the environment with a special focus on climate change - OHCHR Committee on the Rights of the Child (OHCHR, 2023)
The Committee on the Rights of the Child is currently drafting a general comment on children’s rights and the environment with a special focus on climate change.

OHCHR | Call for inputs on rights of the child and inclusive social protection - OHCHR (OHCHR, 2023)
Background Inclusive social protection is an important and timely issue affecting the respect, protection, and fulfilment of the rights of the child around the world.

ICA SAHR – The Rwanda Gacaca Archive - Peter Horsman - ICA International Council on Archives (2022)
Peter Horsman, Professor Emeriti – University of Amsterdam presents Documenting Genocide Justice: The Rwanda Gacaca Archive Peter Horseman previously worked with the Netherlands Archives School, Municipal Archives of Dordrecht, and the National Archives of the Netherlands. Currently, he is active as a consultant, mostly in the field of (electronic) records and archives management, and digital preservation (both for public and private organizations). He is currently involved in a data transformation project, providing access to the archives of the genocide courts in Rwanda, for the Netherlands Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (NIOD). Between 2002 and 2012, over 12,000 of Rwanda state-supervised community courts judged the alleged perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against an estimated 800,000 Tutsis by government forces, militia and Hutu civilians. The so called Gacaca Archive contains the files created before, during and after the reported 1,958,634 cases tried through these courts. Altogether, the Gacaca Archive comprises one of the world’s largest repositories on transitional justice. Gacaca refers to ‘a bed of soft green grass’ on which local Rwandan communities traditionally gathered to settle disputes between families or community members. This Gacaca juridical system, abandoned in the 1950s was reintroduced but replaced by the modernized, professionalized and centralized Inkiko Gacaca (Gacaca jurisdictions) in the early 2000s, specifically designed to deal with genocide related cases. The Gacaca Archive, about 6 linear kilometers of shelves, has been digitized, and is currently being indexed to make it accessible for both lawyers, general public, and scholars.

ICA SAHR – Italian Condor Trials - Giulia Barrera - ICA International Council on Archives (2021)
Giulia Barrera Operation Condor was a secret, illegal cooperation agreement among Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay in 1975 to track down and eliminate political opponents who had taken refuge abroad. After the 1973 coups in Chile and Uruguay, thousands of opponents from these countries fled to Argentina, which already hosted a wide community of Paraguayan refuges; in the following years, thousands of Argentinians took refuge abroad as well. Due to the Condor system of cooperation, once abroad political opponents still were not safe from being forcibly disappeared at the hands of intelligence operatives of their own countries: hundreds of them, in fact, were tracked down and killed. A few of them had Italian citizenship. During the past decade, Italy tried military personnel who, as part of Operation Condor were responsible for “disappearing” and killing Italian citizens, and convicted 11 Uruguayans and three Chileans. Giulia Barrera testified at this trial, using archival documents to provide evidence of the functioning of “Condor.” Join us as Dr. Barrera describes the role of archival documents in the Italian Condor trial.

ICA SAHR – South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission - Graham Dominy - ICA International Council on Archives (2021)
Graham Dominy, Former National Archivist of South Africa Intertwined Challenges: Competing Interests in the Archiving and Accessing of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission Record

Analysis | Why some Latin American countries are rushing to open Jerusalem embassies, too - Noack, Rick (Washington Post, 2021)
It's mostly about currying favor with the United States, not Israel.
Keywords: References - Boel et al. (2021); Archives and Human Rights

Temporal othering, de-securitisation and apologies: understanding Japanese security policy change - Gustafsson, Karl (Journal of International Relations and Development, 2020)
For several decades, Japan kept in place significant self-imposed constraints on its security policy even as its economy grew tremendously. While it has been argued that Japan refrained from enacting security policy change because of strong domestic pacifist or anti-militarist sentiments, recently, radical policy changes have nonetheless taken place. How can these changes be understood? The existing explanations typically see them as a response to objectively existing or constructed external threats. Such threat constructions might have contributed to the policy changes, but do not fully account for how the conditions that previously limited similar changes have altered. This article combines temporal othering and de-securitisation theory to account more fully for the policy changes. It shows that during the post-war period, Japan’s temporal other, that is its wartime self, was securitised within Japan, limiting changes in security policy. More recently, however, a de-securitisation of the Japanese temporal other has taken place, which has enabled more far-reaching policy change. Apologies have played a key role in this de-securitisation process by repeating and strengthening an identity narrative about how fundamentally different Japan has become from its past wartime self.
Num Pages: 511-534 Place: London, United Kingdom
Keywords: Apology; De-securitisation; Japan; Re-articulation; References - Boel et al. (2021); Archives and Human Rights; Security; Temporal othering

Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada - Government of Canada (canada.ca, 2021)
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) supports Aboriginal peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) and Northerners in their efforts to improve social well-being and economic prosperity; develop healthier, more sustainable communities and participate more fully in Canada's political, social and economic development – to the benefit of all Canadians.
Last Modified: 2021-06-17
Keywords: References - Boel et al. (2021); Archives and Human Rights

Records Management Code of Practice 2021 - A guide to the management of health and care records - NHS England (NHS England, 2021)
Keywords: References - Boel et al. (2021); Archives and Human Rights

From the forerunners of document collection to the trial of Klaus Barbie and beyond: the transitional justice journey of the Izieu telegram - Lühe, Ulrike; Ledauphin, Romain (The International Journal of Human Rights, 2020)
This article analyses the journey of the so-called Izieu telegram–atelegram sent by Nazi perpetrator Klaus Barbie to report the raidof a Jewish children’s home in France to his superiors–from itscreation to its use in multiple transitional justice mechanisms,including an international military tribunal, domestic trials inFrance, and various memorialisation projects. In doing so weapply the concepts of activation and the records continuumapproach, both borrowed from archival studies scholarship, toanalyse how an individual record becomes continuouslyrecontextualised through its use in transitional justice processesand in the process contributes to those same processes. Weconclude by highlighting both the benefits of bringing archivalconcepts into dialogue with transitional justice scholarship andpractice, and the tensions inherent in that endeavour.
Keywords: References - Comma (2020 1-2); Archives and Human Rights

Information on the 11th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights - docip.org (docip.org, 2022)
Keywords: References - Comma (2020 1-2); Archives and Human Rights

La Décennie des langues autochtones 2022-2032 sera axée sur les droits fondamentaux de leurs utilisateurs - Unesco (UNESCO, 2020)
Keywords: References - Comma (2020 1-2); Archives and Human Rights

Legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises - OEIGWG (2021)
Keywords: References - Comma (2020 1-2); Archives and Human Rights

Myanmar: Military Ltd: The company financing human rights abuses in Myanmar - Amnesty International (Amnesty International, 2020)
In this report, Amnesty International provides new information exposing the link between Myanma Economic Holdings Public Company Ltd (MEHL) and military units that are implicated in crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations. This information has implications for MEHL’s many foreign and local business partners. By doing business with the conglomerate, they […]
Keywords: References - Comma (2020 1-2); Archives and Human Rights

Brazil: Protect democracy and carry out a thorough investigation now - Article19 (ARTICLE 19, 2023)
ARTICLE 19 works for a world where all people everywhere can freely express themselves and actively engage in public life without fear of discrimination.
Keywords: References - Comma (2020 1-2); Archives and Human Rights

Rohingya emergency - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, 2022)
This is the fastest-growing refugee emergency in the world today. UNHCR is working to respond to the massive humanitarian needs.
Keywords: References - Comma (2020 1-2); Archives and Human Rights

Figures at a Glance - The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR, 2022)
At least 89.3 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes. Among them are nearly 27.1 million refugees, around half of whom are under the age of 18.
Keywords: References - Comma (2020 1-2); Archives and Human Rights

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) - United Nations (United Nations, 2022)
Keywords: References - Comma (2020 1-2); Archives and Human Rights

Internet Rights and Principles Dynamic Coalition (UN Internet Governance Forum) - Internet Rights & Principles Coalition (Internet Rights and Principles Coalition, 2022)
We are an open network of individuals and organisations based at the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) committed to making human rights work for the online environment.
Keywords: References - Comma (2020 1-2); Archives and Human Rights

Recordkeeping and the life-long memory and identity needs of care-experienced children and young people - Hoyle, Victoria; Shepherd, Elizabeth; Lomas, Elizabeth; Flinn, Andrew (Child & Family Social Work, 2020)
In family settings stories, photographs and memory objects support narratives of identity and belonging. Such resources are often missing for people who were in care as children. As a result, they may be unable to fill gaps in their memories or answer simple questions about their early lives. In these circumstances, they turn to the records created about them by social workers and care providers to reconstruct personal histories. Research suggests that thousands of requests to view records for this purpose are made each year in England under the subject access provisions of data protection legislation. This article reports the findings of MIRRA, a participatory research project on the memory and identity dimensions of social care recordkeeping. Drawing on data collected during interviews and focus groups with adult care leavers, the study explores the motives and experiences of care-experienced people who access their records in England. Findings show the practical and cultural challenges they face when doing so and the resulting impacts on well-being. The study suggests that the development of person-centred approaches to recordkeeping in social work, which focus on the perspectives and experiences of the individual, could better support the lifelong memory and identity needs of care-experienced people.
_eprint: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/cfs.12778
Keywords: References - Comma (2020 1-2); Archives and Human Rights; identity; information rights; memory; recording; recordkeeping; records

Towards a human-centred participatory approach to child social care recordkeeping - Shepherd, Elizabeth; Hoyle, Victoria; Lomas, Elizabeth; Flinn, Andrew; Sexton, Anna (Archival Science, 2020)
In 2019, there were over 75,000 children and young people in out-of-home care in England and Wales. Recent estimates suggest that up to half a million British people were in state or voluntary care as children, around 1% of the adult population. While individual experiences vary enormously by time and place, care-experienced people share in common the intensive documentation of their lives by social workers, educators, health professionals and associated practitioners. A complex, fragmented legislative and regulatory framework governs the creation and use of these records at the national level. Under UK law, a ‘care file’ must be retained for at least 75 years, so that a substantial legacy of care data is held across the public, voluntary and private sectors. MIRRA: Memory—Identity—Rights in Records—Access, a participatory research project co-produced with care leavers, investigated recordkeeping practices in child social care from multiple perspectives. Interviews, focus groups and workshops with stakeholders identified critical failings in the creation, use, management and access to care records, which do not account for the needs and capabilities of multiple stakeholders. These failings have a direct impact on the well-being and health of care-experienced people throughout their lives. MIRRA researchers developed a human-centred participatory recordkeeping approach to child social care, which this article describes. The approach combines the participatory continuum model (Rolan in Arch Sci 17(3):195–225. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10502-016-9267-7, 2017) and the capabilities approach to social work, rooting child social care recordkeeping in information rights principles. The article makes a contribution to the literature that discusses archival science within a human rights and ethics framework and reflects on trauma-informed practice for information professionals. It also provides guidance on practice improvements for child social care recording.
Keywords: References - Comma (2020 1-2); Archives and Human Rights

Are human rights archives accessible? Challenges and possible solutions to improve access for Dealing with the Past initiatives - Ledauphin, Romain; Josi, Claudia; Siegrist, Rahel (Comma, 2021)
Records and archives containing information relating to grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law represent a fundamental source for, and can become trustworthy documentary evidence within, Dealing with the Past (DWP) processes including truth commissions, criminal tribunals, reparation programs, vetting processes and outreach projects. Those intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) working in the fields of human rights and peace and security are themselves important observers and actors in DWP processes and hence their records and archives are highly relevant to DWP initiatives. Such organizations should therefore be transparent and be able to facilitate DWP processes by granting access to their records. Given the International Council on Archives’ definition of “access” as relating to “… the availability of records for consultation as a result both of legal authorization and the existence of finding aids”, and the experience of swisspeace in advising DWP initiatives on collecting evidence and improving records management capacity, swisspeace together with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs developed a roadmap which centres on the development of an “archives accessibility maturity model”. This tool will not only improve hands-on access in practice, but will ultimately improve knowledge about the multi-layered complexity of archives’ accessibility, strengthening the capacity of IGOs, INGOs and DWP initiatives to design and implement their access regulations, and thereby improving DWP initiatives’ ability to make successful access requests.
Keywords: Comma 2020 1-2; Archives and Human Rights; August 2021

Centralized archiving and recordkeeping in a new institution: the European Monetary Institute and its Archives 1994-1998 - Weber, Matthias (Comma, 2021)
In 1994, the European Monetary Institute (EMI) was established. Based first in Basel (Switzerland), and subsequently in Frankfurt am Main (Germany), the newly created institute was one of the most structurally significant outcomes of the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht and was intended to shepherd the creation of a new currency for the European Union - the Euro banknotes and coins - as well as to prepare for the establishment of the future European Central Bank (ECB). Unlike many other new institutions, recordkeeping was considered from the organization’s inception. The initial approach adopted was highly centralized and was deemed unsustainable in light of the experience of a fast-growing institution. While unsuccessful initially, the experience provided many insights and avenues of theoretical development when new recordkeeping functions were instituted upon the establishment of the ECB in 1998.

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2022-10 (October) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2022)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2022-09 (September) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2022)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2022-08 (August) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2022)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2022-07 (July) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2022)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2022-06 (June) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2022)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2022-05 (May) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2022)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2022-04 (April) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2022)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2022-03 (March) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2022)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2022-02 (February) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2022)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2022-01 (January) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2022)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - Index 2021 - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2021)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2021-12 (December) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2021)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2021-11 (November) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2021)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2021-10 (October) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2021)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2021-09 (September) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2021)
Keywords: In Sep'21; the file name show Aug'21 news; but the content of the file is Oct'21.

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2021-08 (August) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2021)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2021-07 (July) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2021)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2021-06 (June) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2021)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2021-05 (May) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2021)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2021-04 (April) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2021)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2021-03 (March) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2021)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2021-02 (February) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2021)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2021-01 (January) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2021)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2020-12 (December) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2020)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2020-11 (November) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2020)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2020-10 (October) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2020)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2020-09 (September) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2020)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2020-08 (August) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2020)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2020-07 (July) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2020)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2020-06 (June) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2020)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2020-05 (May) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2020)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2020-04 (April) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2020)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2020-03 (March) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2020)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2020-02 (February) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2020)

News from the ICA Section on Archives and Human Rights - 2020-01 (January) - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (ICA, 2020)

Records management at the Council of Europe (2): the digital turn - Büttner, Gesa (Comma, 2021)
The implementation of electronic records management at the Council of Europe was a crucial step in leading the intergovernmental human rights organization towards comprehensive corporate information management. The motivation for introducing records management was to improve access to information. Finding information proved to be difficult due to the fragmented information landscape, combined with a lack of governance for digital information. To amend this situation, corporate control and standardization were introduced along the whole information life cycle, involving the information producers as key players. The article describes this implementation, covering roughly the decade from 2008 to 2018, from its foundations and preparations to the deployment, awareness-raising and training activities. Special emphasis is put on the instruments that support a standardized records management approach, such as business classification scheme, retention and disposal schedules, and metadata. The success and failure points are briefly presented. It appears that records management can be a catalyst for corporate-wide information management.

Archives and the Atlantic Pact: how the NATO Archives preserves and protects the records of an Alliance* - Deserno, Ineke; Roche, Nicholas; Viallet, Barbara; Wintenberger, Etienne (Comma, 2021)
In 2019, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) celebrated 70 years of consultation, consensus and conflict prevention. The same year also marked 20 years since NATO first opened access to its archives to the public. The establishment of the NATO Archives in 1999 was hailed by then Secretary General Javier Solana as an important signal of the Alliance’s commitment to transparency and openness. NATO declassified and publicly disclosed thousands of documents and opened a dedicated Reading Room at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. Behind the scenes, the establishment of the NATO Archives and of the Archives Committee also changed the way in which NATO managed its historical records. Up to this point, there was no NATO-wide policy on archives, no organizational archives and no consistency in any of the traditional archival functions. Starting in 1999, NATO could boast a professional archives programme, implemented by trained archivists and governed by a committee of national experts. The programme can claim a string of successes over the last 20 years, implementing archival strategy in novel and unique ways to respond to NATO’s organizational structure. While the Archives are part of NATO’s political headquarters, NATO itself is composed of multiple formal entities under the overall direction of the North Atlantic Council and the Military Committee, including military commands, civilian agencies, military operations etc. Before 1999, each managed their archival material locally, according to internal procedures. This article outlines the Archives’ strategic policies and its governance, involving national experts of all its 30 member nations; presents its increasingly larger and more robust acquisition programme based on a strong and actively managed retention and disposition strategy; assesses its digital preservation activities; and provides an update on NATO’s declassification and public disclosure programme.

The World Trade Organization’s Records and Archives Management Policy: an overarching framework for ensuring information continuity - Galán, Jesús; Bressi, Maria (Comma, 2021)
This article describes the process of creation and discussion of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Records and Archives Management Policy, the first such policy ever issued by the Secretariat, after 25 years of existence. It outlines, firstly, the methodology followed to assemble and articulate the Policy, and its alignment with the standards and best practice followed by other international organizations; secondly, how the Policy was presented to different stakeholders and approved; and thirdly, the structure and contents of the Policy which aims to be a comprehensive, cross-organizational records and archives management strategy to ensure accountability and transparency at all levels of the WTO. The lack of a regulatory framework and the specificity of Intergovernmental Organizations’ (IGO) institutional structures can represent a challenge for archivists and records managers with regard to the creation and control of informational assets in a systematic and verifiable manner; the article suggests a methodology for the drafting and implementation of records and archives management principles in the context of such international organizations.

The world’s repository at 75: a history of the United Nations Archives* - Gelfand, Aleksandr (Comma, 2021)
Seventy-five years ago (1945), the United Nations (UN) was founded in San Francisco by 50 nations. There, a small archives unit served to assemble the first records of the organization; this was the first iteration of today’s Archives and Records Management Section (ARMS). Throughout its history, the fortunes of the UN Archives have waxed and waned, while its role has continuously evolved. Trying to carve out a place for itself within the largest international organization in the world, its physical and administrative structures have undergone profound changes, as has its mission, number of staff, the type of records it holds and its users. This paper examines significant events in the development of the UN Archives, the challenges it has faced and what may be learned from them.

Records management at the Council of Europe (1): three years of shock therapy - Lisney, Tim (Comma, 2021)
While the Council of Europe as an Intergovernmental Organization has proven remarkably resilient, its archives and records appear to be increasingly fragile. This article documents and analyses the development of records management and archives management within the Council of Europe between 2000 and 2003. This was a period that saw major changes in the way that records were treated in the organization, notably the preparation and implementation of an organization-wide archives policy, and the introduction of an archives management training programme for Council of Europe staff. The concept of archives and records was extended from paper to electronic and audio-visual materials. An internal network of archive correspondents was introduced to increase communication, consultation, co-ordinate RM and facilitate the implementation of the archives policy, and a series of measures was taken to improve access to the archives and records. It was during this period that the first steps were taken in the introduction of archives and records management standards ISAD(G) and ISO 15489. The article highlights the lack of continuity of RM and the increasing vulnerability of records within the organization, suggesting that the lack of professional staff is the most critical issue; the analysis of the developments in this period also illustrates the impact that personal initiatives can have in such a context.

Promoting the archives of the Alliance: a case study of outreach at the NATO Archives* - Nguyen, Nicholas (Comma, 2021)
Following the institutionalization of the Policy on the Public Disclosure of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Information in 2008, the NATO Archives tasked itself to regularly exhibit publicly disclosed NATO documents, video, audio, photos, publications and artifacts to promote the increasing accessibility of its collection. The success of these exhibitions, which were all initially displayed at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, led not only to a boost in the visibility of the NATO Archives within the organization, but also resulted in their expansion as part of the promotional activities of the Alliance itself, leading up to its 70th anniversary celebrations in 2019. This paper presents an overview of the outreach activities of the NATO Archives, discussing its origins and evolution in an institutional context, highlighting its role in communicating the mission of the NATO Archives and, by extension, of NATO itself. While this case study illuminates a specific experience that is heavily determined by the political and security demands of its particular environment, the resulting narrative is intended to be broadly applicable and perhaps even inspirational for archivists who recognize similar challenges at their respective international organizations.

El acceso a los archivos como antídoto a los abusos empresariales - Palacios, Blanca I. Bazaco (Comma, 2021)
Desde la última década del siglo XX, los informes de los relatores de las Naciones Unidas como Joinet, Orentlicher o Pablo de Greiff han tomado conciencia del papel de los archivos en el esclarecimiento de la verdad, la impartición de la justicia, la reparación a las víctimas y las garantías de no repetición en el caso de las violaciones de derechos humanos. Sin embargo, los derechos humanos no solo se violan en guerras y regímenes dictatoriales. Las empresas, especialmente las transnacionales, son cada vez más las protagonistas de casos flagrantes de violaciones de derechos humanos que, amparándose en el respeto a la propiedad privada y empresarial, y con la dificultad que supone su actuación en diferentes puntos del planeta, se cometen con total impunidad. Las Naciones Unidas, conscientes de ello, emitieron los Principios Rectores sobre las Empresas y los Derechos Humanos, conocido como Informe Ruggie, y está trabajando en la actualidad en un Tratado Vinculante para luchar contra esta lacra. Para asombro de la profesión, ninguno de estos documentos está contemplando el valor que el acceso a los archivos puede aportar para la aplicación de estos principios, corriendo el riesgo de quedarse en una simple declaración de intenciones. A través de este artículo, se analizarán en qué puntos, tanto de los Principios como del Tratado, el acceso a los documentos de archivo es esencial para llevar a cabo una verdadera política para proteger, respetar y reparar a las víctimas de estos abusos.
Keywords: Comma 2020 1-2; Archives and Human Rights; August 2021

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: an archival commentary* - Peterson, Trudy Huskamp (Comma, 2021)
On 10 December 1948 the Third General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: a universal declaration, not a United Nations declaration. The Preamble of the Declaration begins by proclaiming that “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”. As archivists know, the nexus between human rights and archives is strong and complex, because records are essential both to protecting these rights and to obtaining recourse when these rights are violated. This essay illuminates some of the relationships of records to rights, looking at each of the 30 Articles in turn.
Keywords: Comma 2020 1-2; Archives and Human Rights; August 2021

Project MIRRA: Memory - Identity - Rights in Records - Access - Shepherd, Elizabeth; Hoyle, Victoria; Lomas, Elizabeth (Comma, 2021)
Many people who grew up in care have gaps in their childhood memories and unanswered questions about their early lives. In the absence of family photos and stories they turn to records held by the local authorities and charities that looked after them. Accessing these records is a practically and emotionally challenging process. Response times are often long and the records received are redacted because they include confidential information about “third parties’” who are often family and carers. The language and ideas contained reflect the prejudices and assumptions of previous times. Some files are extremely long and confusing, whereas others only have a few pages to cover a whole childhood. Records may have been lost or destroyed altogether. Very few services are available to support people through the experience. MIRRA: Memory-Identity-Rights in Records-Access is a participatory action research project carried out at the Department of Information Studies at University College London since 2017 that explores these issues. It considered how child social care records have been created, kept and used in public and voluntary organizations in England from 1970 to the present. The research is co-produced with care leavers in partnership with The Care Leavers’ Association and reflects on how what it is recorded about a childhood can affect the individual concerned throughout their life. This article republishes edited blog posts produced during the research project. The original blogs in full are available at https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/mirra/.
Keywords: Comma 2020 1-2; Archives and Human Rights; August 2021

Safe havens for archives at risk: a new international initiative - Sutton, David C. (Comma, 2021)
Over the years, internationally-minded archivists have had to consider the possibility of taking custody of archives from another country because the archives are at risk in their country of origin. The risks may take many forms, but archives in war-zones and other disaster areas, and archives at environmental risk (including risks of climate change) provide striking examples. The removal of archives from one country to another is always likely to be controversial, however, and even well-intentioned attempts at “archival rescue” in the past have been strongly criticized. It has been clear for a long time that international standards are needed. The “Guiding Principles for Safe Havens’” for Archives at Risk are a set of principles providing guidance on archival and ethical factors to be taken into account when planning the transfer of analogue or digital archives (or copies) to another institution for safekeeping. The principles have been drawn up by a group of experts in meetings held in Berne, Amsterdam, Geneva, and virtually, over the past four years, and have been endorsed and approved by various international organizations, including several ICA Sections. Past bilateral agreements between sending institutions and hosting institutions governing “safe haven” solutions have often failed to address fundamental questions, such as data protection, access, succession solutions, obligations to return or the often asymmetrical relationship between the sending institution and the hosting institution. The need for new and definitive principles is outlined in this essay, and the “Guiding Principles” themselves are then described, explained and justified.
Keywords: Comma 2020 1-2; Archives and Human Rights; August 2021; References - Boel et al. (2021); Archives and Human Rights

Introduction: Challenges of managing records and archives in Intergovernmental Organizations around the world - Katuu, Shadrack (Comma, 2021)