In May 1996, UNESCO organised a mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina to assess the situation of the archives in Sarajevo and Mostar. The mission, which was carried out by Mr George MacKenzie Deputy Secretary-General of the International Council on Archives visited the archives in Sarajevo and the regional archives in Banja Luka, Bihac, Doboj, Foca, Travnik and Tuzla.

Terms of reference of the mission
Abstract of the report
Table of Contents of the report
Mission report (full text) soon available

Already in May 1995, the situation of the Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo and of the National Archives of Herzegovina in Mostar East were assessed during a mission organized by UNESCO and the International Council on Archives (ICA) in May 1995. Further to the recommendations of this mission, the heavily damaged building of the Archives of Herzegovina in Mostar-East was restored under funding by the European Union Administration of Mostar (EUAM) for a financial input of ca. DM 400,000. The repair work was initiated by UNESCO and technically prepared by the UNESCO/ICA expert. The official re-opening of the restored building was celebrated on 7 February 1996.

The City Archives of Sarajevo covering in addition to the City of Sarajevo 20 municipalities in the Sarajevo region has important holdings related to the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The holdings consist of 3000 linear meters (400 fonds) including an important collection of Ottoman manuscripts and archival documents from that period. The archival material is presently stored in two external depositories and were not damaged, whereas the administrative building, situated in the centre of Sarajevo, was heavily shelled. The Archives has now a staff of 18 (pre-war 27).

The National Archives of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosna in Mostar-West was established by parliamentary decree 01-I-307/94 of 21 May 1994. This new archives has so far very limited holdings (less that 10 linear meters) and one staff.

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21 January 1997