Identity Statement

Reference Code

HU OSA 318-0-2

Title

Files of the Executive Director

Date(s)

1979 - 2007

Description Level

Series

Extent and medium (processed)

46 Archival boxes, 5.75 linear meters

Content and Structure

Scope and Content (Abstract)

This series consists of correspondence, meeting minutes, correspondence, reports and publications arranged by the names of the Executive Directors of IHF.

The first, smaller section of the records contains the documents accumulated throughout the tenure of IHF's first two Executive Directors: Gerald Nagler (1982-1990) and Yadja Zeltman (1990-1993). However, for administrative reasons, the files were successively kept together and grew organically with the addition of further accruals, and were therefore not separated during the archival processing. (Accordingly, they bear the acronym YZ on their labels.) Documents pertaining to the activities of a particular director can be distinguished by the date span of the records.

The documents cover a wide range of topics primarily related to the activities and projects of the General Secretariat in Vienna and IHF's various governing bodies: fundraising, human rights monitoring, meetings of the Executive Committee and the General Assembly, conferences, and symposia. Likewise, there is a substantial portion of records on contact-keeping and communication with the National Helsinki Committees and other NGOs worldwide.

There are a few topical files on various issues of the human rights agenda: prison conditions, immigration, and minorities. An interesting part of this chapter of the series is the collection of clippings from Western media on the early years of the Russian Federation.

The sequence of the records continues in a similar fashion under the third and last Executive Director, Aaron Rhodes (1993-2007). Besides the extensive official meeting records including briefings, policy papers, minutes, resolutions, and reviews, his files, marked with the acronym AR, deal mostly with advocacy, strategic planning, as well as grant applications and other fundraising efforts.

Many of the files covering IHF’s Executive Committee and General Assembly meetings reveal the agenda of these meetings, the main subjects discussed (among them strategies and budgetary issues), and reports and briefing materials submitted by participants. The minutes taken at these meetings are crucial for understanding the internal dynamics of the Federation, the synergies and rifts between the General Secretariat and member organizations, or between the National Committees themselves. Some of these files are available in duplicate copies, as they were also maintained in parallel by other staff members (see Administrative Files), which have not been discarded because of occasional annotations or handwritten comments on their margins.

The records include correspondence with fellow human rights advocates and NGOs worldwide, articles and speeches by the Executive Director, and a sequence of travel files accumulated around trips to meetings, conferences, and missions. Information about IHF delegations or fact-finding missions to various countries was also filed within the Project Files.

Accruals

Not Expected

Conditions of Access and Use

Conditions governing access

Some files contain sensitive data, therefore might be restricted.

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Generally, good physical condition. Some texts are illegible due to fading; these cases are indicated in the container list.

Description Control

Archivist's note

Processed by Branislav Kovacevic, Oana Girlescu, Ephrem Birhanu, Andrei Voinea, Craita Curteanu and Csaba Szilagyi, 2002-2003 and 2012-2013; revised by Csaba Szilágyi, 2013.