The Kingdom of Belgium,
the French Republic,
the Federal Republic of Germany,
the Hellenic Republic,
the State of Israel,
the Italian Republic,
the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
the Republic of Poland,
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
and
the United States of America,
hereinafter referred to as the Parties to the present Agreement;
Preamble
considering that the International Tracing Service was established for the purpose
of tracing missing persons and collecting, classifying, preserving and rendering accessible
to governments and interested individuals the documents relating to Germans and non-Germans
who were interned in National Socialist concentration or labor camps or to non-Germans
who were displaced as a result of the Second World War;
mindful of the Agreement Constituting an International Commission for the International Tracing Service, and of the Agreement on the Relations between the International Commission for the International
Tracing Service and the International Committee of the Red Cross, both concluded at Bonn on June 6, 1955, as amended by the Protocol Renewing and
Amending the Agreement Constituting an International Commission for the International
Tracing Service concluded at Bonn on August 23, 1960, the Protocol Renewing and Amending
the Agreement on the Relations between the International Commission for the International
Tracing Service and the International Committee of the Red Cross concluded at Bonn
and Geneva on September 30 and October 7, 1960, by the Arrangement Renewing and Amending
the Agreement Constituting an International Commission for the International Tracing
Service concluded at Bonn on October 15, 1973, by the Arrangement Renewing and Amending
the Agreement on the Relations between the International Commission for the International
Tracing Service and the International Committee of the Red Cross concluded at Geneva
on December 22, 1972, by the Protocol on the amendment of the Agreement Constituting
an International Commission for the International Tracing Service concluded at Berlin
on May 16, 2006, and by the Protocol Amending the Agreement on the Relations between
the International Commission for the International Tracing Service and the International
Committee of the Red Cross concluded at Luxembourg on May 16, 2006, as well as the
Agreement on the Legal Status of the International Tracing Service in Arolsen, concluded at Bonn on July 15, 1993;
desiring to continue the preservation and tracing activities of the International
Tracing Service in Bad Arolsen, while at the same time allowing for expansion of its
activities to include the gradual development of the International Tracing Service
into a centre for documentation, information and research, in order to ensure that
the fates of those who fell victim to National Socialism and of the survivors continue
to be studied and that the knowledge thereof be passed on to future generations;
desiring to ensure access, for research purposes, to archives and documents held by
the International Tracing Service, both on site and through copies of the archives
and documents received by Parties to the present Agreement or through other means
such as remote access;
reaffirming that the present Agreement does not prejudice the ownership of the archives
and documents reposing with the International Tracing Service in Bad Arolsen;
considering that the Parties to the present Agreement deem that the national law of
each of them ensures adequate protection relating to personal data and expect that,
in giving access to the copies, each Party to the present Agreement will take into
consideration the sensitivity of certain information they may contain;
noting that, as a consequence of the expansion of the activities of the International
Tracing Service, the International Committee of the Red Cross has expressed the wish
to withdraw from the management and administration of the International Tracing Service;
recalling that the notification by the International Committee of the Red Cross to
the Chairman of the International Commission for the International Tracing Service
on April 14, 2011, renders such withdrawal and termination of the Agreement on the Relations between the International Commission for the International
Tracing Service and the International Committee of the Red Cross, concluded at Bonn on June 6, 1955, as amended, effective December 31, 2012, in accordance
with that Agreement’s terms;
desirous to ensure the integrity and preservation of the original archives and documents
and to continue the historical structure as a whole while maintaining an impartial
and responsible administration and direction for the International Tracing Service,
reflecting its international character;
recognizing the continuing contribution of the Federal Republic of Germany as the
host country of the International Tracing Service;