RIGHT TO REMEMBER: ENSURING PUBLIC ACCESS TO ARCHIVES DURING UKRAINE’S ONGOING WAR

The article discusses the issues of ensuring public access to archives during Ukraine's ongoing war.The author claims that despite many advancements in ensuring public access to the archival information, many objectives are currently extremely difficult to achieve due to the ongoing Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.The conflict has caused numerous issues related to providing public access and preserving archival information, including threats to national security and the destruction of cultural objects.In conditions of armed conflict, physical damage of archival buildings and documents stored there resulted in the loss of the Ukrainian archival fund.In this context, preserving archival information through digitization of sources has become a critical priority for Ukraine.However, one of the main challenges in this regard include lack of the necessary equipment and adequate training for archive's personnel.To address these issues, Ukrainian archives should prioritize cooperating with foreign organizations, establishing ties with archives in other countries, and participating in state and international grants.Overall, Ukraine has created a comprehensive framework to ensure compliance with Recommendation No. R ( 2000) 13 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on a European policy on access to archives.The article highlights another keys milestone ensuring broader access to the archival materials which was achieved in 2015 with the adoption of a law providing public access to the archives of the repressive bodies of the communist totalitarian regime of 1917-1991.The author concluded that in order to improve access to archival information, it is crucial to launch an initiative for a single archive user account.This initiative would simplify user registration, facilitate the procedure of ordering documents for the reading room and enable the effective booking of reading room places.