Directive No. 05/2007/CT-TTg on Strengthening the Protection and Exploitation of the Value of Archival Documents

DIRECTIVE OF THE PRIME MINISTER
On Strengthening the Protection and Exploitation of the Value of Archival Documents

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The National Archives Law of 2001 and other regulatory legal documents on archives have created a legal basis for archival activities to be organized systematically; archival organizations and archive systems have been gradually consolidated; archival documents have been protected and preserved safely and increasingly meet the needs of agencies, organizations, as well as societal requirements for exploitation and utilization.

However, some agencies, organizations, and individuals have not fully recognized the importance of archival work and the value of archival documents; compliance with regulations on record-keeping and submission of records to archives has not been strict enough; construction and arrangement of storage facilities for protection and safe preservation of documents and investment in funds for classification, organization, valuation of documents, and application of science and technology in archival work still face many limitations; management and exploitation of the value of archival documents have not been fully utilized to effectively serve practical activities and historical research.

To strictly implement laws on archives and promptly address the above-mentioned shortcomings to achieve the goal of "protecting and exploiting the value of archival documents" set forth in the Political Report of the Central Committee at the 10th Party Congress, the Prime Minister directs:

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government, People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall be responsible for:

a) Vigorously promoting the dissemination and popularization of laws on archives to further enhance awareness of this work;

b) Allocating sufficient storage space for preserving records and archival documents. By 2010, centrally-administered cities must have specialized archive storage facilities; moving towards districts, counties, towns, and provincial cities also having specialized facilities; communes, wards, and townships must allocate appropriate areas within their offices to concentrate on preserving valuable local records and documents. Archive storage facilities must meet technical standards as guided by the Ministry of Home Affairs;

c) Strictly implementing the current system of submitting records and documents to archives and historical archives. By 2010, all sectors and levels must resolve the basic issue of existing unclassified, unfiled, undetermined-value records and documents in archive storage, and establish statistical databases to manage and search archival documents;

d) Strengthening management, guidance, inspection, and supervision of record-keeping and archival work; improving organizational structures and allocating sufficient staffing according to professional standards; ensuring funding for archival activities;

đ) Seriously implementing reporting and statistical systems on record-keeping and archives; annually reporting results of these tasks to the Ministry of Home Affairs;

2. The Ministry of Home Affairs shall be responsible for:

a) Continuing to study and propose improvements to the legal system on archives; in the short term, drafting and submitting to competent authorities for promulgation the Archives Law and guiding documents; strengthening the dissemination, inspection, and supervision of the implementation of laws on archives in central and local agencies;

b) Directing agencies and organizations within their scope of responsibility:

- Strictly implementing the collection and supplementation of national significance archival documents, especially rare and valuable ones;

- Researching and applying scientific and technological achievements in the protection, safe preservation, insurance, and management and exploitation of archival documents;

- Allocating appropriate space to regularly organize exhibitions and displays of archival documents;

- Organizing declassification according to regulations, proactively introducing and creating favorable conditions for the rapid and effective exploitation and utilization of archival documents;

c) Taking the lead and coordinating with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to guide levels and sectors in preparing annual budget estimates in accordance with the State Budget Law to ensure conditions for agencies and organizations to properly implement regulations on archival work;

3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of agencies under the Government, Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities are responsible for implementing this Directive;

The Ministry of Home Affairs will monitor and urge the implementation of this Directive and report annually to the Prime Minister on the results of its implementation;

This Directive takes effect 15 days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette./.