Independent Oversight of Records of State Security Services Implicated

Home , Operation Condor

Independent Oversight of Records of State Security Services Implicated in Human Rights Abuses, Examples Compiled by Emi MacLean, Open Society Justice Initiative, 2012

COUNTRY INDEPENDENT GOVERNING LAW GOVERNMENT ACCESS TO INFORMATION IMPACT OF ARCHIVES ENTITY OR DECISION ENTITY ORIGINATOR (i.e., open, closed, partially open – to (prosecutions, convictions, public consultations, etc.) & RESPONSIBLE (i.e., OF RECORDS (YEARS investigators, victims, families, etc.) for control of (legislation, decree, OF RECORDS) & NAME OF archives, policy, court & ARCHIVE OR implementing search, judgment) DOCUMENTS GENERAL NOTES [RESOLUTION/ or ordering INCLUDED (i.e., MEASURE] disclosure) quantity, type of documents) Argentina Commission of Provincial Intelligence Division of Publicly accessible since 2003. The archival material made an important contribution to Memory of Buenos legislation (1999) Buenos Aires Police proof in significant cases such as Etchecolatz, Von Archive of the Aires Province (DIPPBA) Wernich, Hospital Posadas, Comisaria Quinta and CNU Department of Archival material Mar del Plata. Intelligence of the discovered in 1998 Buenos Aires Police (DIPPBA)1 Argentina Santa Fe Police Recovery of documents has allowed light to be thrown on at least 19 cases of people who disappeared. General Provincial Archival records of Archive of Santa Santa Fe Police Fe2 Brazil Reference Center for Presidential Decree Security services “Memories Revealed” (Memorias The “Memories Revealed” initiative, implemented the Political Struggles in 5584 (2005) - during dictatorship Reveladas) website, launched in 2009, federal policy aimed at rebuilding the national memory National Archives3 Brazil / O Centro de regulates transfer of (1964-1985): makes archives publicly accessible. of the military dictatorship, further enabled compliance Referência das Lutas records to National with the constitutional requirement of access to Politicas no Brasil Archives National Security Thirteen states and the Federal information. Council, General District of Brazil have contributed Body reports to the Committee of their public archives, which have House of the Investigation and been digitized and become part of the Presidency of the National Information “Memories Revealed” portal. The Republic Service, Brazilian records comprise approximately 200 Intelligence Agency million pages of textual documents of the period, plus books and audiovisual documents.

Brazil4 Special Commission Decree 39.680 Political police during Declassified and accessible (Río Grande do Sul) (1989) - created dictatorship (1964- commission to 1985) organize collection concerning fight for Documents, books, democracy, and to files, periodical denounce human publications donated rights violations by private individuals or non-governmental Decree 40.318 organizations, (2000) -declassified audiovisual records of political documents, published police in Río Grande documents relating to do Sul bodies of the state administration and personal recorded testimonies Bulgaria5 Committee for Law for Access and State security and Access available, through Committee prepares and receives documents of the State Disclosure of Disclosure of intelligence services of application, to citizens and close Security and intelligence services of the Bulgarian Documents and Documents (2006) Bulgarian National relatives for information concerning National Army, so that centralized archive mandated by Announcement of Army (1944-1991) an individual; and to researchers the 2006 law could be established. Committee also Affiliation of and investigators determines and announces the affiliation of citizens to Bulgarian Citizens to security and intelligence services. the State Security and Access includes direct examination, Intelligence Services copies, and disclosure of names of the Bulgarian informants National Army (COMDOS) Cambodia Sleuk Rith Institute Cambodian Cambodian political DC-Cam formulated procedures for DC-Cam’s objectives are to record and preserve the (A Permanent Genocide Justice Act police during Khmer managing access to archives both history of the Khmer Rouge regime for future generations DC-Cam Archives6 Documentation (US 1994) - Rouge regime before and during prospective trials and to compile and organize information that can serve as Center of Cambodia) established Office of of former Khmer Rouge leaders. potential evidence in a legal accounting for the crimes of Cambodian World’s largest They cover authorization for those the Khmer Rouge. Genocide archive on the Khmer seeking access to documents, Investigations in US Rouge period with photocopying, viewing originals and The DC-Cam Archives has resulted in the publication of State Department over155,000 pages of document custody, care and return. many books, a national genocide education initiative, and documents and 6,000 A set of regulations have also been support services for victims and survivors of the Khmer Yale University’s photographs developed for those wishing to view Rouge regime. Cambodian documents in a Public Information Genocide Program Room. (a grantee of the Office) founded DC- Cam in 2005

Czech Republic Institute for the Study 181/2007 Coll. Ministries of Interior, Most archival material is accessible The mandate of the Institute includes securing, digitizing, of Totalitarian Act of 8 June 2007 Defense and Justice under act on archives (Act No. and making accessible to the public information Security Services Regimes: controlled on the Institute for and dossiers of the 499/2004 Coll.), and previously concerning human rights abuses of the past. The 2007 Archive7 by Council, comprised the Study of former security under acts on disclosure of Czech law establishing the Institute begins: “Those who of seven members Totalitarian services (including documents created in the course of do not know their past are doomed to repeat it.” It calls elected and recalled Regimes and the State Security Service, State Security Service activities (Act for the investigation, remembrance and education of by the Senate; archive Security Services Intelligence Service of No. 140/1996 Coll., Act No. historic injustices to avoid their repetition. The Act is administrative Archive the General Staff of the 107/2002 Coll.). Available to recognizes “the state’s obligation to allow the public office controlled by People’s Army, researchers in digital form, with Institute Also Law No. 140 of Internal Protection of some data less than 30 years old maximum possible access to the secret activity of the totalitarian and authoritative regimes security services, as 1996 (STB Files the Corrective anonymized; unredacted after 30 an expression of its conviction that unlawful acts of any Security Services Access Act) Education Corps of years. totalitarian or authoritative regime against citizens must Archive must be Ministry of Justice not be protected by secrecy or forgotten.” (Preamble.) managed by a (1938 – 1945) (1948 – Investigation files of former Public specialized archivist 1989) Security Service (Veřejná bezpečnost In the 2007 law, the Institute replaced the Office for the of “incorruptib[le]” – VB) are located in archive Investigation and Documentation of the Crimes of character—defined to collections of the Ministry of the Communism, established in 2005 and linked to the police, exclude military or Interior of the Czech Socialist with a mandate to investigate and collect information and intelligence personnel Republic, and are accessed through the authority to subpoena records. (Arts. 12(4), 19) communication with archives.

Estonia Administrative Office Archives Act (2012) Documents of state Access to National Archives The 2012 Act provides for “appraisal of records, of National Archive security services unrestricted for victims, and access acquisition and preservation of archival records, grant of National Archive8 (Haldusbüroo); to others permissible with access thereto, organization of use thereof, and liability reports to State restrictions established by Public for rendering records and archival records unusable and Archive, which is part Information Act, Personal Data destruction thereof, establishment of the bases for of National Archive Protection Act, State Secrets and records management of agencies and persons performing Classified Information of Foreign public duties and the bases for the activities of the States Act or another act apply (sec. National Archives and local government archives” (sec. 10(1)). 1(1)). Predecessor 1994 law governing former secret services archives prevented the destruction of records. Germany9 Federal German Law on East German Stasi Right of access for family members Agency is a founding member organization of the Commissioner Stasi Records killed or subject to disappearance, as Platform of European Memory and Conscience. Preserving the (1990) Information obtained well as those affected and third Records of the State by Stasi (preserved parties (Arts. 14-15) Security Service of and collected) the former German More than 2.6 million people Democratic Republic consulted archives since 1991 (BStU) Guatemala General Archive of Civil Court order National Police (1882- Public in its entirety, digitized and The collection “represents the largest single repository of Central America / authorized PDH to 1996) [no longer in accessible online: documents ever made available to human rights Guatemala Archivo General de inspect files and operation] https://ahpn.lib.utexas.edu (ten investigators.” Government and police long denied the National Police Centroamérica documents in 2005 million scanned pages) existence of the archives, especially during 1990s truth iii

Historical Archive (AGCA), under after appeal to 80 million pages of commission investigations. / Archivo Ministry of Culture secure access for administrative police To facilitate public access, the Histórico de la (2009-) human rights documents, including archive “needed to be removed from The AHPN has become a “central actor and catalyst in Policía Nacional investigation in identification cards, the political sphere, because even if prosecutions of war-time cases of human rights violations (AHPN)10 Previously (2005-09): connection with vehicle license plates, the project was directed by the and in facilitating Guatemala’s historical memory.” The Human Rights archive following its photographs, police Human Rights [Ombudsman], the Public Ministry, Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office, and Ombuds (Procurador accidental discovery logs, and loose files on responsibility for the documents in human rights organizations rely on it. It has been used in de Derechos kidnappings, murders the first instance lay with the body at least 124 judicial searches for disappeared persons, Humanos, PDH), and assassinations; which inherited the role of the 1260 investigations relating to possible human rights constitutionally arranged by location, National Police, i.e., the National violations, and support for 166 specific cases. The AHPN mandated to offices and document Civil Police, and which imposed provides documents and professional grief counseling to investigate rights type many constraints and difficulties on friends and relatives of disappeared. violations its use.”11 Hungary ABTL is “publicly Law No. III of 2003 State security actors “person under observation, a third In 2011, Hungarian government proposed legislation to financed organization (the Disclosure Act) (1944-1990) party, a professional employee, an allow victims of spying by former secret police and Historical Archives with independent, (on the Disclosure operative contact person and a Ministry of the Interior to remove and/or destroy of Hungarian State complete economic of the Secret Service collaborator [or their relatives]” can personally related files. This proposed law raised Security / management Activities of the access personal data (Art. 3(1)); concerns about the potential loss of irreplaceable archival Állambiztonsági authority and an Communist Regime researchers can access with documents on the history of communist Hungary and its Szolgálatok independent heading and on the protection of personal data (Arts. state security agencies. Due to vocal opposition, this never Történelmi within the budget Establishment of the 3(2)-(3), 4(1)); public – including became law. Levéltára (ABTL)12 section of the Historical Archives non-citizens, can access anonymized Parliament” (Art. of the Hungarian documents (Art. 5(1)) 8(2)) State Security)

Latvia 1994 law State Security Council Accessible Law promulgated specifically to conserve and allow access to collections of former State Security Council, with National Archives Archives aim of making available the names of those who of Latvia13 collaborated with the KGB. Lithuania Genocide and Decree 452 (1996) Former State Security Decree permits access; those not The Centre investigates all manifestations of genocide and Resistance Research and Intelligence permitted by decree can access crimes against humanity, the persecution during the Lithuanian Special Centre of Lithuania Decree 579 (2007) Services, including documents only with written Soviet and Nazi occupations, and the armed and peaceful Archives14 Lithuanian division of permission from the Centre (Sec. 7- resistance to the occupations. KGB, and archives of 8); courts, prosecution offices, state the Ministry of security department and other pre- 1996 Decree approved regulation of storage, Interior of the former trial institutions can access in management, research and use of archival collections of Soviet Socialist accordance with functions former State Security and Intelligence Services, including Republic of Lithuania conditions governing conservation, access to deposits, and Lithuanian registers of consultation and need to replace documents Communist Party consulted with brief maximum loan period to other (1939-1990) entities; and an explicitly stated motive that collections should be used to establish those responsible for Lithuanian genocide and full restoration of civil rights.

Mexico National Archives Governmental order Former Federal Publicly accessible pursuant to order Transition of documents to National Archives from Centre (Diario Oficial de la Security Department for Investigation and National Security (CISEN). National Federacion), June and General Archives15 18, 2002 Department for Political and Social Investigation, which had domestic intelligence and monitoring functions; implicated in “dirty war” Paraguay Center of Archives found in Paraguayan Technical The database is indexed in Spanish Prosecutors and judges have marshaled the archives to Documentation and 1992 by human Police, under and available for public consultation. bring charges against former military officers, including “Archivos de Archives for the rights activist and Stroessner former dictator Augusto Pinochet. “Archivos de Terror” Terror”16 Defense of Human judge in a police dictatorship (1954- To provide maximum access to the recount final moments of thousands of extra-judicially Rights, housed within station in a suburb 89) holdings that carry multinational kidnapped, detained, tortured and killed persons in the Asunción Supreme of Asunción, and interest, the Supreme Court included Southern Cone of Latin America. They also detail Court later other police 300,000 documents online 246 document images Operation Condor, effort of security forces in six countries stations listing 50,000 relating to Operation Condor. to crush left-wing dissent. murdered, 30,000 Selection was made with the criteria Agreement of disappeared and of maximum accessibility, technical cooperation to 400,000 imprisoned; limitations of publishing digital preserve and make e.g., interrogation documents online and respect for the files public transcripts and privacy. signed between the recordings, photos, Supreme Court of records of regional Paraguay, the extrajudicial transfers Catholic University (Operation Condor) of Asunción and the National Security Archive Poland Institute of National Act on the Institute Organs of state Under 1998 law, Securitate archives Institute is mandated to investigate Communist and Nazi Remembrance. of National security (1944-1989), accessible to all citizens under law. crimes, war crimes and crimes against humanity and Archives of Remembrance documents created Previously, only historians and peace. Goals of the Institute are carried out by the Institute of President of Institute (1998) and collected (Art. journalists had access to files Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the National independent of state 1(1)), and security of Polish Nation, created in 1998; Office for Preservation Remembrance authorities (Art. 9) Act on the Third Reich and USSR 2006 law opened communist-era and Dissemination of Archival Records; Public Education (IPN)17 Disclosure of (Art. 1(1)) secret police files, including Office; Vetting Office. Information on information on current diplomats, Documents of State Records regarding ministers and parliamentarians Opening of archives contentious, with fears of Security in the years Communist, Nazi and disappearance of files, and infiltration with former 1944 – 1990 (2006) other crimes and Securitate. repression

Romania National Council for Law No. 187 of Securitate, the Files accessible to citizens; NATO or The National Council administers the archive and the Study of the 1999 (the Access to Communist secret EU citizens with Securitate files, and develops educational programs and exhibitions with the Securitate Securitate Archives Personal Files Law) service close relatives aim of preserving the memories of victims of the Archives18 communist regime. Also Institute for National Institute for National Remembrance manages files and Remembrance allows some access. Russia Centre for Archival Law on the KGB, the former Soviet General acceptance of the right of Purpose of the Centre is to “organize and implement the Information and for Rehabilitation of intelligence entity, and victims to consult the files rehabilitation of repressed individuals, and to furnish Central Archives the Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Ministry of Internal concerning them; otherwise, access information about victims of repression to institutions, of the Federal the Victims of Repression (1991) Affairs (1955-1991) left to discretion of those organizations, and individuals.” Security Service Political Repression responsible for particular archives (the TsA FSB (est. 1992) Institutional records, and documents awaiting Rosii), in the statistical materials, declassification20 Central Archive of dossiers on former the Ministry of the officials, criminal files, Interior19 records of operational activities; central reference card file contains 25 million cards of arrested and/or incarcerated Slovakia Nation's Memory Act No. 553/2002 State security Disclosure section tasked with Other tasks of the Institute: publicizing information on Institute (Ústav Coll. (on Disclosure authorities (1939- disclosing documents about perpertrators and their activities; prompting criminal Nation’s Memory pamäti národa – UPN) of Documents 1989) persecutions, carried out by the Nazi prosecution of crimes and criminal offences; providing Institute Archive21 Regarding the or Communist security agencies, to relevant information to public authorities; and Activity of State Nearly 12.5 million persecuted individuals, with help of systematically accumulating all types of information, Security Authorities pages of documents, electronic screening, original and records and documents pertaining to the period of from 1939 to 1989 including 62,000 archival registers oppression; working with similar institutions (archives, and on founding the agency and museums, libraries, survivors of the resistance, survivors Nation’s Memory investigative files; of concentration and labor camps); presenting public with Institute) 70.961 microfiches results of its activities. (equivalent to approximately 2 million pages); 466 films Spain Minister of Culture Agreement signed Central Police Accessible to researchers and “An invaluable collection of documents for the study of by Minister of citizens social opposition movements to the Franco regime for a National Historical Interior (oversight All files from the period of more than forty years has been preserved.”23 Archive, of Central Police political archive of the Salamanca22 Archive) and Central Police The general functions of the Archive are to preserve and Minister of Culture protect the documentary historical heritage that it (oversight of already safeguards and the documents that ought to National Historical continue to be deposited; describe the information vi

Archive), content of the documents; make the document collections transferred files in accessible to both researchers and citizens; and promote political police cultural dissemination of documents. archive Ukraine24 State Archives Laws on State security Guaranteed access to tribunals, Department of the information, authorities in the prosecutors and victims and their Security Service of national archives former Ukrainian families Ukraine (DA SBU) and state secrets Soviet Socialist (Regulation 206 of Republic and modern- Documents held by DA SBU have a April 1, 1994) day Ukrainian security “special-use” requirement under the authorities Law of Ukraine “On State Secrets”

Over 930,000 documents

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1 Comisión por la Memoria, at http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org. La Plata, “Encuentro sobre archivos de la repression y juicios por delitos de lesa humanidad” (July 2, 2008). 2 Cechini de Dallo, Ana Maria ‘La demanda de las victimas de un antiguo regimen represivo’, in Comma, 2003-2/3, cited in Quintana, p. 90. 3 Memorias Reveladas, at http://www.memoriasreveladas.arquivonacional.gov.br/cgi/cgilua.exe/sys/start.htm?infoid=1&sid=2. 4 Antonio González Quintana Archival Policies in the Protection of Human Rights (International Council on Archives, Paris, 2009) at 43 (“UNESCO/ICA 2009 Report”). 5 COMDOS, at http://www.comdos.bg/p/language/en/. 6 Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), at http://www.d.dccam.org/Abouts/History/Histories.htm. UNESCO/ICA 2009 Report, p. 95. 7 Security Services Archive , at http://www.ustrcr.cz/en; Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, at http://www.abscr.cz/en/how-to-request-archive-materials; UNESCO/ICA 2009 Report, pp. 41-42. 8 Archives Act (consolidated text 1 January 2012), at http://www.legaltext.ee/et/andmebaas/tekst.asp?loc=text&dok=2012X02&keel=en&pg=1&ptyyp=RT&tyyp=X&query =arhiiviseadus. UNESCO/ICA 2009 Report, p. 84. 9 Federal Commissioner Preserving the Records of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic, at http://www.bstu.bund.de/EN/Home/home_node.html. Platform of European Memory and Conscience, at http://www.memoryandconscience.eu/. 10 Human Rights Data Analysis Group – Guatemalan National Police Archive Group, at https://www.hrdag.org/about/guatemala-police_arch_project.shtml. University of Texas Digital Archive of the Guatemalan National Police Historical Archive, at https://ahpn.lib.utexas.edu/about_ahpn. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Annual Report of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (OEA/Ser.L/V/II, Doc. 69, 30 December 2011) (“IACHR SR 2011 Report”), Ch. 2, p. 115. 11 UNESCO/ICA 2009 Report, p. 91. 12 Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security, at http://www.abtl.hu/en/private_history. Save Hungary’s Archives, at http://hungarianarchives.com/the-issues/. 13 The National Archives of Latvia, at http://www.arhivi.lv/index.php?&3. UNESCO/ICA 2009 Report, p. 84. Jautrite Briede, Availability of the archives of the repressive institutions: legal aspects, in International Conference Archives of Repressive Regime in the Open Society (Riga), June 4-5, 1998. 14 Office of the Chief Archivist of Lithuania – Lithuanian Special Archives, at http://www.archyvai.lt/en/archives/specialarchives.html. Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania , at http://www.genocid.lt/centras/en/. UNESCO/ICA 2009 Report, p. 85. 15 UNESCO/ICA 2009 Report, p. 40. 16 Mike Ceaser, Paraguay’s archive of terror, BBC News, March 11, 2002. Centro de Documentación y Archivo para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos, at http://www.aladin0.wrlc.org/gsdl/collect/terror/terror_e.shtml. Diana Jean Schemo, Files in Paraguay Detail Atrocities of U.S. Allies, New York Times, August 11, 1999. Centro de Documentación y Archivo para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – About this Collection, at http://www.aladin0.wrlc.org/gsdl/collect/terror/terror_e.shtml. 17 Polonezii, in cea mai mare parte, au documentat crimele comuniste, at http://www.secretarhive.org/category/document-category/arhivele-securitatii-fostele-tari- socialiste/polonia. Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Proseuction of Crimes against the Polish Nation, at http://www.ipn.gov.pl/. 18 Romania Consiliul National pentru Studierea Arhivelor Securitatii, at http://www.cnsas.ro/acces_dosar.html. Learning History Through Past Experiences: Ordinary Citizens under the Surveillance of Securitate during the 1970s-1980s, at http://www.cnsas.ro/documente/evenimente/prezentare%20proiect%20engl.pdf. 19 International Institute of Social History – ArcheoBiblioBase: Archives in Russia, at http://www.iisg.nl/abb/rep/C-8.tab1.php. UNESCO/ICA 2009 Report, pp. 83-84. 20 UNESCO/ICA 2009 Report, pp. 83-84. 21 Nation’s Memory Institute, at http://www.upn.gov.sk/english/. 22 National Historical Archive (Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport), at http://en.www.mcu.es/archivos/MC/AHN/Presentacion.html/ 23 UNESCO/ICA 2009 Report, pp. 53-54. 24 Global Security – State Archives Department of the Security Service of Ukraine, at http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/world/ukraine/archives.htm. UNESCO/ICA 2009 Report, p. 84.

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