Risk Assessment

9. Assessment of risk

The survival of documentary heritage can sometimes be threatened by physical or political circumstances, armed conflict, intended private use or other situations in which the open and public approach set out in the General Guidelines may be impractical. For example, there could be instances where the very act of listing documentary heritage in a Memory of the World register might draw unwelcome attention to it and actually imperil its security.

The IAC, Bureau or Secretariat seeks to be informed of such instances. They will respect the confidentiality of advice received, and where appropriate seek to further assess particular cases or situations. Where it is apparent that important documentary heritage is imperiled, the IAC or Bureau will form a judgement on whether the heritage meets the criteria for the Register, on the level of risk and on the most appropriate action. The chair may then confidentially inform the Director-General of UNESCO, who in turn will decide whether to exercise the discretions available to him to afford protection to the heritage.

In these cases, or in more public instances where significant heritage is under urgent threat, priority may be given to seeking resources - from UNESCO or elsewhere - to inventory, conserve or copy the endangered material.

Risks or threats might include, for example:

• Political situation inside and outside Australia
• Environmental conditions inside and outside the storage building (e.g. near electricity tower, presence of atmospheric pollutants)
• Physical conditions of the material (e.g. method of storage, quality of packaging)
• Insufficient preservation budget
• Extent and nature of access provided