Human Rights Council discussed the role of archives in the struggle against impunity
04-04-2007 (Paris)
National Police Archives of Guatemala
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In the framework of the 4th session of the UN Human Rights Council, an informal meeting on “Archives and Human Rights – Dealing with the past, preparing for the future” was organized on 19 March, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Organized by the Swiss Permanent Mission to the United Nations, the International Council on Archives (ICA) and the Permanent Mission of Guatemala to the United Nations, this event was attended by approximately 60 participants, mainly representatives of NGOs.
The panellists including Louis Joinet, Independent expert to the United Nations on human rights situations and former first judge of the French supreme court, Antonio Gonzalez Quintana, Archivists without Borders International, Carla Villagran, Advisor to the Ombudsman for Human Rights of Guatemala and Perrine Canavaggio, International Council of Archives, gave presentations of their work that highlighted the importance of preserving records as key in the struggle against impunity.
They noted the importance of cooperation between UNESCO and ICA, and referred to the report, undertaken by Antonio Gonzalez Quintana for these two organizations in 1996, as an important milestone in the focus on how to deal with archives in post authoritarian regimes.
The participants discussed the possibility of establishing a universal databank of archives of post authoritarian regimes, which could be hosted by UNESCO as part of its Memory of the World Programme.
Among other questions, the following issues were raised:
At the end of the meeting, Switzerland agreed to host copies of the entire national police archives of Guatemala in order to preserve them in a neutral country.
The panellists including Louis Joinet, Independent expert to the United Nations on human rights situations and former first judge of the French supreme court, Antonio Gonzalez Quintana, Archivists without Borders International, Carla Villagran, Advisor to the Ombudsman for Human Rights of Guatemala and Perrine Canavaggio, International Council of Archives, gave presentations of their work that highlighted the importance of preserving records as key in the struggle against impunity.
They noted the importance of cooperation between UNESCO and ICA, and referred to the report, undertaken by Antonio Gonzalez Quintana for these two organizations in 1996, as an important milestone in the focus on how to deal with archives in post authoritarian regimes.
The participants discussed the possibility of establishing a universal databank of archives of post authoritarian regimes, which could be hosted by UNESCO as part of its Memory of the World Programme.
Among other questions, the following issues were raised:
- How to ensure full anonymity of information when the methodology to collect it has changed?
- Should a new cultural right be established to ensure access to archives?
At the end of the meeting, Switzerland agreed to host copies of the entire national police archives of Guatemala in order to preserve them in a neutral country.
Related themes/countries
· Guatemala
· Switzerland
· Memory of the World: News archives 2007
· Archives: News Archives 2007
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