The year 2024 marked the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, the group of treaties and protocols that govern how wars should be fought. While attempts to define international rules on the conduct of war date from at least 1899, it was the devastation of the Second World War that spurred both the extensive updating and additions to the previously existing laws of war treaties in 1949 and the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. Importantly, the post-WWII Geneva Conventions delineate the rights and protections that should be given to non-combatants in war. And these rules, underscoring the humanitarian needs of people in armed conflict, are congruent with the Articles of the Universal Declaration.
As war rages from Ukraine south in a wide swath to Sudan and flares in other parts of the world, it is important for archivists to ensure that records created during wartime are preserved to determine how well or ill the combatants respected the laws of war (related to Article 3 of the UDHR on the rights to life). Archives of the military are, of course, central to this, but are only a part of the relevant documentation. For some examples:
- Records of refugees are found in both UN bodies and nongovernmental organizations working in the conflict area, including data on food provision and famine conditions and records of medical services and strikes on hospitals (Article 25).
- Records of news media and satellite imagery show attacks on educational institutions (Article 26) and on cultural institutions and the scientific, literary and artistic products of individuals (Article 27).
- Open source data downloaded and preserved by NGOs and specialized government agencies can show slavery conditions (Article 4) and conflict-related sexual violence (Article 5).
- Records of immigration (UDHR Articles 13 and 14) show the flight from war, while records of courts show the trials of alleged collaborators and enemy combatants (Article 11).
- Records of property are essential to postwar reparations if massive destruction has occurred (Article 17).
- And more.
As we mark the anniversary of the Universal Declaration adopted unanimously by the United Nations on December 10, 1948, the International Council on Archives and its Section on Archives and Human Rights remember and recommit the archivists’ duty to the protection of records that allow all persons to assert their human rights and challenge those who violate them. As armies fight, archivists preserve the records of the violent ripples of war.
About the Human Rights Day: Every year, the Section on Archives and Human Rights (ICA/SAHR) invites archivists, record keepers and professional archival associations to be a part of the observance of the United Nations’ Human Rights Day celebrated every year on the 10th of December. It marks the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
ICA/SAHR promotes the significance of archives and record keeping in defending and supporting human rights throughout the world and works with archivists, records managers, lawyers and all the people and institutions holding the same ethical commitment.
About the International Council on Archives (ICA): The ICA is an international non-governmental and non-profit organisation based in Paris, France. Its mission is to promote the efficient and effective management and use of records, archives and data in all formats and its preservation as the cultural and evidentiary heritage of humanity, through international cooperation, by sharing professional experiences, research and ideas on the management and organisation of archives and archival institutions.
