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Archives of International Organisations based in Geneva

Guide listing the institutional archives of international organisations based in Geneva, supplemented with a few tips for searching for documents.

Archives by Institution

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Archives by Institution

CERN 

European Organization for Nuclear Research Archives

The CERN Archives includes files of letters, memos, reports, notes, and other documents created or received by CERN since the 1950s

ICRC

International Committee of the Red Cross

The ICRC Archives document the history of humanity through the prism of humanitarian action during warfare from 1863 until today.

IFRC

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

The IFRC Archives contains records created or received by the Secretariat of the IFRC from 1919.

ILO

International Labour Organisation

The ILO's  Historical Archives consist of pre-war and wartime files (1919−1947), post-war files (1948−1978), together with a number of special collections which include personal archives, private papers, the records of the International Labour Office (Basel, 1890−1919) and photographic and audiovisual collections.

IOM

International Migration Organisation

IOM is currently undertaking the reorganisation, processing and preservation of its historical archives. For the time being, IOM can give only very limited access to the archives.

ITU

International Telecommunications Union

The ITU is one of the oldest international organisations. The ITU Archives collection covers historic archives documenting the activities and administration of ITU and a small set of world and regional maps of telecommunications networks prepared by ITU, 1875-1930.

League of Nations The archives of the predecessor of the United Nations (1919-1946) are held by the UN Library & Archives Geneva.

OCHA

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

The archives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) from 1991 to the present are held by the UN Library & Archives Geneva.

OHCHR

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

The archives of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) from 1993 can be consulted at the UN Library & Archives Geneva.

UNCTAD

United Nations Trade and Development

The archives of the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) are held by the UN Library & Archives Geneva. They consists of the archives and Registry collection produced or received by UNCTAD during the period 1964 to present.

UNDRO

United Nations Disaster Relief Organisation

The archives of the Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Organisation (UNDRO) for the period from 1971 to 1991 are held by the UN Library & Archives Geneva.

UNECE

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

The archives of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) consist of the archives and Registry collection produced or received by UNECE from 1947. The archives are held by the UN Library & Archives Geneva.

UNESCO-IBE

International Bureau of Education

The International Bureau of Education (IBE) was created in Geneva in 1925 as a private non-governmental organisation and became an international organisation in 1929. In 1969, the IBE became part of UNESCO as an international center of comparative education.
 

UN Geneva

United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG)

Archival Fonds and Collections held by the UN Library & Archives Geneva include those from UN Geneva and many UN Geneva-based organisations  The UN Archives Geneva also holds the archives of the League of Nations (entirely digitised and available online), international peace movements, and private papers.

UNHCR

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Refugee Agency

The UNHCR Archives contain information from the founding of the organisation in 1950 to the present day. They also hold several pre-UNHCR collections, which provide valuable background to the development of protection work. 

UNITAR

United Nations Institute for Training and Research Archives 

The archives of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) covering the period of 1977 to 2012 are held by the UN Library & Archives Geneva.

WHO

World Health Organisation

The WHO Archives include textual paper documents, such as correspondence, reports, and certificates, as well as numerous photographs and some sound recordings. The WHO Archives hold documents produced by organisations involved in international health before the foundation of the WHO.

WIPO

World Intellectual Property Organisation

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Archives provides information about and access to WIPO’s historical collections, including materials from its predecessor organisation, the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property (BIRPI), and WIPO meeting documents dating from the organisation’s creation in 1970.

WTO

World Trade Organization

The GATT/WTO Records and Archives Management Section (RAMS) manages the records of the Secretariat that have enduring historical and administrative value. The holdings include three fonds and collections related to International trade agreements, trade disputes and trade rules.