Contents
Main Things to Remember about how ARMS supports Recordkeeping in Peacekeeping Operations
Other Relevant Toolkit Sections
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Main Things to Remember about how ARMS Supports Recordkeeping in Peacekeeping Operations-
ARMS is responsible for policy, standards and guidance on records management at the UN
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As records professionals, the ARMS team and its counterparts in the field are responsible for ensuring that the UN has the records needed to support its mission and work and to ensure accountability and transparency for all UN stakeholders
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Successful records management depends on strong collaboration between ARMS, records managers in the field, and information technology staff. Support from management and from operational and administrative staff in offices to carry out certain recordkeeping tasks is essential.
The UN Archives and Records Management Section (ARMS) has overall responsibility for ensuring that UN records are created, maintained and either destroyed or preserved as permanent archives. This involves establishing the overall UN archives and records management programme as well as supporting the implementation of local systems. Essentially ARMS provides professional expertise, procedures, policies and advice in all aspects of recordkeeping.
Responsibility for policy development, standards setting, provision of advice and overall management of the records and archives of the United Nations, including Secretariat units away from Headquarters, peacekeeping operations, and subsidiary organizations of the United Nations, is centralized in the Office of Central Support Services' Archives and Records Management Section (ARMS). The United Nations Archives and Records Management Section (ARMS) has three primary responsibilities:
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to ensure that the UN has appropriate and adequate records management systems
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to protect and preserve the United Nations archives as an irreplaceable part of the collective memory and cultural heritage of the organisation.
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to provide services to United Nations staff and to the public
Information Box UN Offices, Departments, Organs and Secretariat Units to which ARMS' Policies and Guidelines Apply Secretariat UN Headquarters' Departments UNOG UN Office at Geneva UNOV UN Office at Vienna UNON UN Office at Nairobi Subsidiary Bodies Military Staff Committee Standing Committee and ad hoc bodies International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission ( Iraq ) United Nations Compensation Commission Peacekeeping Operations and Missions Regional Commissions Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
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ARMS' team of knowledgeable and experienced professionals provides a comprehensive advisory service by distance and on-site. On request, ARMS can review your system(s) and records requirements. Based on the findings, they will develop a plan to establish a compliant records management programme. In addition ARMS will:
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Integrate records management into wider information management initiatives
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Assist in developing vacancy announcements, conducting competency based-interviews to facilitate staff selection, consultant selection, etc. Note: DPKO has delegated to ARMS responsibility for technical clearance of all field staff in records management and registry functions
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Provide specifications for specialized resources and materials for managing paper and electronic records
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Inventory or survey your records as a preliminary to improving your system or checking that it is fit for purpose
- Identify vital records in support of business continuity and disaster recovery planning
- Provide training and briefings to all levels of staff
- Evaluate/audit operational records management systems
- Develop and approve retention schedules for records of peacekeeping operations
- Establish a security classification scheme
- Design and implement appropriate filing systems and file classification schemes
- Assess and adopt appropriate information technology applications
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Evaluate and select off site storage
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Transfer older records to semi-active storage (according to the retention schedule)
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Destroy records designated of no continuing business, legal or historical value (again according to the retention schedule)
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Appraise or evaluate unscheduled records for destruction, interim storage or permanent retention as archives
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Identify archival records
- Manage field mission inactive records at its Records Centre in New York
All of the Toolkit sections are relevant.
- Guideline on Delegation of Authority (Department of Management, 2005)
- Recordkeeping and the management of the United Nations archives (ST/SGB/2007/5)
- United Nations Archives and Records Management (ST/SGB/242, 1991)
- Information sensitivity, classification and handling (ST/SGB/2007/6)
Archives: those records which have been selected for permanent preservation because of their administrative, informational, legal and historical value as evidence of official business of the UN. They are a small subset of the UN's records.
Destruction: the act of destroying records, regardless of media, according to appropriate procedures which ensure they are no longer accessible. Also referred to as disposal.
Records: documentary materials, regardless of form or medium, received or created by the United Nations or by members of its staff, which provide evidence of UN policy, activity, decisions or transactions.
Recordkeeping: The systematic creation, use, maintenance, and disposition of records to meet administrative, programmatic, legal, and financial needs and responsibilities.
Records Management: Field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is Destruction?
Destruction is the act of destroying UN records which have reached the end of their retention period. It is carried out according to ARMS policies and procedures to ensure that destruction is properly authorized and documented. It cannot be carried out without explicit approval from both the Chief, ARMS, and a designated official from the originating office. Destruction is also referred to as disposal.