10 The WHO Archives at headquarters, and in regional offices which have established archives programmes and facilities, are the official repositories for WHO records of long-term value in any format, including paper, audio-visual, microfilm, and digital formats.
20 The Archives are responsible for evaluating, acquiring, and processing these records for the purposes of appropriate preservation and efficient retrieval. They evaluate records according to the WHO Records Retention Schedules, and are responsible for storage and disposal of records of short-term value.
30 The Archives also promote the reference use of these records both internally and externally, and provide appropriate access to them.
40 Regional offices which have not established archives programmes and facilities send their archival records (records which are of permanent value according to WHO records retention schedules, but which are no longer in active use in the regional offices) to the WHO Archives at headquarters.
50 Country offices send their archives to the respective regional offices, to be preserved in a regional archives facility or forwarded to headquarters.
60 Staff members are entitled to access both current and archival records containing information needed to carry out their official duties. Staff members are responsible for protecting this information from unauthorized access. Internal access to records defined as confidential (see V.1.1.100) is restricted.
70 With the written approval of their director, consultants, volunteers and interns may also access current and archival records containing information they need to carry out their official duties. Consultants, volunteers and interns must sign a confidentiality agreement upon accessing the files for the first time (see related content: Confidentiality Agreement for Internal Access to Archives). Access by consultants, volunteers and interns to records defined as confidential (see V.1.1.100) is restricted.
80 Archival records may be consulted by staff members, consultants, volunteers and interns on site or online upon request if the records have been digitzed, and may not be signed out or removed from the premises.
90 In most cases, external researchers may only access archival records after the records are 20 years old, according to the dates of individual documents consulted or, in the case of a file, the date of the most recent document in the file, unless an exemption is granted by the Director-General’s Office (the
“20-year general access rule”). The term "external researchers" includes academic researchers (both professors and students) and other members of the public (see related content: External Request for Access to Archives).
100 The Director-General's Office may grant exemptions to the 20-year general access rule if satisfied that such exemptions are justified by the circumstances, such as the advisability of providing early access in order to facilitate research WHO considers of significant value. The applications of exemptions may be subject to specified conditions.
110 Certain records are subject to access restrictions regardless of the 20-year general access rule. These include, but are not limited to, records containing personal information, which, if disclosed, might prejudice the reputation, safety or privacy of individuals, and records containing business, legal or financial information obtained or created under explicit or implicit conditions of confidentiality. These records may exceptionally be made accessible to external researchers after 40 years only if the responsible technical unit provides express written permission, in consultation with the Office of the Legal Counsel and the Director-General's Office.
120 Archival files are retrieved and made available for supervised consultation by external users. For security and confidentiality reasons, external researchers are not given physical access to the archival storage areas. Archival records may be physically consulted on site or
online upon request if the records have
been digitized, and may not be signed out or removed from the premises.
130 Transcription, photocopying and digital copying of archival records to which external researchers are provided access is permitted, but complete collections, or entire subdivisions of collections, may not be copied, and copying of fragile records may be restricted. Digital photography of archival materials may be carried out by researchers under RAS supervision.
140 WHO retains copyright of records in the WHO Archives, except in cases of written agreement establishing otherwise. WHO records quoted or reproduced in publications must be cited appropriately (see related content: Citation Format for Archival Records).
150 WHO is unable to release users of the Archives from any obligations that may apply in respect of copyright or other rights belonging to third parties. It is the user's responsibility to seek and obtain all relevant permissions from any relevant third party.
160 Use of WHO archival records for commercial or promotional purposes is not permitted unless explicitly authorized by WHO in writing. The decision as to whether a given potential commercial or promotional use is legitimate and in WHO's best interests is made on a case by case basis by the Director-General's Office, in consultation with the Office of the Legal Counsel.
170 Records from external sources which are deposited in the WHO Archives because of their relevance to WHO activities, are also subject to the WHO Access Policy contained herein. External sources are informed at the time of deposit that they must clarify any specific access restrictions that they wish to impose on their records.
Records Retention Policy
180 The WHO Records Retention Schedules identify records of long-term administrative, legal and/or historical value, which contain evidence of significant decisions and/or actions. The Records Retention Schedules also identify records of short-term value, which must be kept for only limited periods (see related content: WHO Records Retention Schedules).
190 All WHO records must be managed in accordance with the WHO Records Retention Schedules. The Schedules are developed by RAS in consultation with the relevant business owners, and are reviewed regularly and revised as required. Sign-off by business owners and by ADG GMG is required for the creation of new schedules.
200 In WHO offices where no Archives or Registry functions are provided, the technical units responsible for the records concerned are also responsible for applying WHO records retention policy in order to carry out appropriate management, maintenance, storage and destruction of records.
210 The Records Retention Schedules apply equally to electronic and paper records.
220 The Records Retention Schedules take precedence over any retention requirements implemented independently by WHO units or individuals.
230 Non-current transitory records (see V.1.1.110 for definition) may be retained or disposed of by users without consulting RAS or Registry services. Other non-current records must be evaluated according to the Records Retention Schedules by RAS or by the Registry or other responsible units in regional and country offices, and either transferred to the Archives or other designated storage facility for temporary or permanent retention, or destroyed (see related content: WHO Records Retention Schedules).
240 Records scheduled for eventual destruction are disposed of either by recycling or, if the records are confidential in nature, by shredding.
250 Files stored in the Archives at headquarters are under the custody of RAS.
