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Abstract
Declassification is the process of removing restrictions from a record based on the presumption that the information is no longer sensitive. It is a vital part of archival work that has until now been neglected in archival research. The majority of academic journal articles on classification and declassification focus on the political aspects of declassification. Discussions about the mechanics of declassification on the other hand concern themselves with the practical processes of how to declassify information. This article explores the mechanics of declassification in the context of Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) in order to enrich the discussion on declassification, politics and mechanics inclusive, by analysing the declassification procedures of five IGOs.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the editor and anonymous reviewers of this journal for their constructive comments to improve the article. They would also like to extend their gratitude to colleagues in peer institutions who provided very helpful suggestions and shared their insight throughout the development of this article.
Notes
1. Volgy et al., “Identifying Formal Intergovernmental Organizations,” 851.
2. Union of International Organizations, “What is an InterGovernmental Organization”; and Hupkes, “Protection and Effective Functioning,” 10.
3. Hupkes, “Protection and Effective Functioning,” 16, 30.
4. Reinisch, “Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,” 3.
5. Boehmer et al., “Do Intergovernmental Organizations Promote Peace,” 3.
6. Ibid., 2.
7. Castaner, “Description of Archival Holdings”; and Hooten, “How Many Times Can ‘Classidied’ Be Said”.
8. Open Society Foundations, “The Global Principles on National Security,” 6.
9. Aftergood, “Reducing Government Secrecy,” 401.
10. Good Reads, “Oscar Wilde Quotes”.
11. Aftergood, “Reducing Government Secrecy,” 401.
12. Wallace, “Archivists, Recordkeeping, and the Declassification of Records,” 795.
13. Open Society Foundations, “The Global Principles on National Security,” 32.
14. Lin, “A Proposal to Reduce Government Overclassification,” 445.
15. Open Society Foundations, “The Global Principles on National Security,” 5.
16. Ibid., 16.
17. Ibid., 29.
18. Aftergood, “Reducing Government Secrecy,” 402–3.
19. Ibid., 404.
20. United Nations, “Information Sensitivity Toolkit”.
21. Ibid.
22. Inter-American Development Bank, “Access to Information Policy”.
23. International Monetary Fund, “Selected Decisions and Selected Documents”.
24. United Nations, “Information Sensitivity Toolkit”.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. World Bank Group, “The World Bank Policy on Access to Information”.
28. Open Society Foundations, “The Global Principles on National Security,” 7–9.
29. Bennett, “Declassification and Release Policies,” 21–31.
30. Ibid.; and Yarborough, “Undocumented Triumph,” 1427–38.
31. Open Society Foundations, “The Global Principles on National Security,” 9.
32. Lin, “A Proposal to Reduce Government Overclassification,” 443–527.
33. Aftergood, “An Inquiry into the Dynamics of Government Secrecy,” 519–21.
34. Hooten, “How Many Times Can ‘Classidied’ Be Said?”; More information on how declassification is done in practice can be found on organizational or governmental websites or blogs. The U.S. Public Interest Declassification Board for example, which was charged with ‘designing a more fundamental transformation of the security classification system’, has maintained a blog called ‘Transforming Declassification’ since March 2011 (Public Interest Declassification Board, “Transforming Classification.”).
35. David, “Two Steps Forward, One Step Back,” 226–7.
36. Ibid., 249.
37. David, “Can We Finally See Those Records?” 431–4.
38. David, “Two Steps Forward, One Step Back,” 231–9.
39. Haight, “Declassification of Presidential Papers,” 37.
40. Smith and Stern, “A Historical Review of Access to Records,” 110.
41. Haight, “Declassification of Presidential Papers,” 37.
42. Ibid.
43. Ibid., 36.
44. The IGOs under study were anonymized because the declassification procedures of these organizations are not publically available documents. The information was shared with the understanding that the confidentiality of the sources would not be compromised.
45. David, “Two Steps Forward, One Step Back”.
46. Ibid., 239.
47. Ibid., 247.
48. Greene, “MPLP: It’s Not Just for Processing Anymore,” 176.
49. Greene and Meissner, “More Product, Less Process,” 237, 240.
50. Greene, “MPLP: It’s Not Just for Processing Anymore,” 176.
51. Open Society Foundations, “The Global Principles on National Security,” 13.
52. Ibid., 14.
53. BBC News, “Ordnance Survey Offers Free Data Access”; and WiredGov, “Ordnance Survey Launches OS OpenData”.
54. Ministry of Justice, “Memorandum to the Justice Select Committee”.
55. David, “Two Steps Forward, One Step Back,” 227.