A round table entitled "Open archives: legislative regulation of access to documents from archives of communist special services" was held in the Committee on Culture and Spirituality
20 February 2015, 09:51
"Concept of ensuring access to documents from archives of communist special services" was presented at this event. Problems of observing human rights when providing access to documents of special services that include data on political repressions were discussed.
Director of the Ukrainian National Memory Institute Volodymyr Viatrovych told about examples of legislative regulation of access to former special services in European countries, particularly, in Germany, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia, where such materials are selected to a separate category and recognized as highly important.
Acting director of the Center for Research on the Liberation Movement Andrii Kohut suggested adopting a special law on the order of access to documents of Soviet special services.
Participants of the hearings discussed establishing a branch state archive of the Ukrainian National Memory Institute where all such documents will be worked on.
Representatives of the State archive service of Ukraine claim the issue on access to archives is being solved within the present system and by funding of a separate program of digitalizing documents and transferring them to the Ukrainian National Memory Institute.
Summing up, the Committee Chairperson Mykola Kniazhytskyi stressed the need for further cooperation with experts of the archive field in improving legislation on archives in order to exercise the right to access to archive documents and information that evoke social interest.
Representatives of the State Archive Service of Ukraine, Ukrainian National Memory Institute, Brach State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine, Center for Research on the Liberation Movement, chairs of branch archive institutions, human rights defenders, historians, and scientists also participated in this event.
The event took place with the informational and organizational support of the International Renaissance Foundation and the USAID Program "RADA: accountability, responsibility, democracy", Reanimation package of reforms.