UNESCO adopts the Universal Declaration on Archives

On November 7, 02011, UNESCO adopted the Universal Declaration on Archives proposed by the International Council on Archives.

The first version of the Declaration was written by archivists in Québec in 2007.  It was then adopted by the Section of Professional Associations (SPA) in ICA, who developed the text and made sure that its key messages were understood across languages and cultures.  It generated many stimulating debates in ICA, before it obtained unanimous approval at the AGM in Oslo in September 2010.

Since then the international archival community has worked tirelessly to have the Declaration adopted by UNESCO.  Today's decision is the culmination of intense efforts led by Papa Momar Diop, the Ambassador of Senegal at UNESCO and the former National Archivist of Senegal.  He has been ably supported by Jens Boel, Head Archivist at UNESCO, and activists in the ICA network throughout the world.