In Larger Freedom: Access to Information and International Government Organization Archives

Abstract

In April 2019 at the International Studies Association (ISA) annual conference, I participated in a panel about International Organization Archives and the UN Depository system. There we learned of a report by the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) of the United Nations titled “Strengthening Policy Research Uptake in the Context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” The report notes that “the research value and visibility of United Nations digital outputs, which are currently residing, unconnected, on numerous United Nations websites and in a plethora of diverse, online databases” presents challenges to researchers. They also recommend that “a principle of open access should operate by default for research products and data published or commissioned by the United Nations. This includes publications, authorship and co-authorship in open access journals or collections.” Per their mission statement, the JIU is the “only independent external oversight body of the United Nations system mandated to conduct evaluations, inspections and investigations system-wide.”