| Management of state security archives of former repressive regimes |
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Initiated and funded by UNESCO, a group of international experts,
convened by the International Council on Archives in
1994 (Paris) and 1995 (Koblenz Germany, and Salamanca, Spain),
has prepared a study on the management of
state security records of former repressive regimes including
an analysis of the problem and guidelines for the management.
Experts from Chile, Brazil, Germany, Hungary, Russian Federation;
South Africa, Spain and USA participated in the working group.
The study published by the UNESCO/ICA working group, is intended
will enable archivists and administrators to participate in the
establishment of the historical authenticity and, at the same
time, to assist concerned citizens to rehabilitate their rights
and dignity.
The appropriate management of these highly sensitive records,
which in many cases were inherited by democratic states, is not
only a technical problem for records manager and administrators.
It is also an ethical and political issue and is, therefore, closely
related to UNESCO's mandate to protect human rights.
The ways in which democracies defuse the explosive information
which was originally collected to distort truth and to make use
of it against citizens, is significant for their capacity to be
really democratic. This requires a large public debate involving
all parts of the civil society, on the one hand, and the development
of safety standard controls for preservation and access and instructions
for appraisal and disposal, on the other hand.
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