IRRC No. 907/908/909
A balancing act: The revised rules of access to the ICRC Archives reflect multiple stakes and challenges
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Abstract
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revised the access rules to its
archives in 2017 for reasons that are complex, fascinating and deeply contemporary
to our times. As these rules define when and to what extent the ICRC Archives are
made available to the public, their contents are important for the institution as
well as for wider audiences. The ICRC must ensure that it can implement its
humanitarian mandate to protect and assist victims of armed conflicts and other
situations of violence and preserve confidentiality, while sharing its past with the
world at large. This article offers a historical overview of the ICRC Archives and the development of their access regulations until their latest revision in 2017. It shows
that both today and in the past, the rules of access to the archives have resulted from
choices made by the ICRC on how to balance its mandate and long-standing interests
with contemporary opportunities and risks related to independent scrutiny.