It took almost another six years - until January 1996 - that the ICRC Assembly officially adopted the right of the general public for access to the archives and defined a policy of transparency.
Protective embargo periods were ruled to be fifty years for general archives and 100 years for personal files. "
It is worth noting that some within the ICRC had proposed even longer protection periods."
Subsequently, the files of the general archives from 1863 to 1950 were opened to the public in full, altogether almost 500 linear metres of records.

One of the first researchers to make use of the opening was the French historian and nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld with his association of the" Sons and Daughters of Jews Deported from France".
Already two years later he published a collection of documents from the archives about the internment and deportation of French Jews during WWII.

In 1997, the archives adopted a new filing plan - B AI (Services généraux – Archives institutionnelles) -  which included computerized documents.

In 2004, the archives released a second set of general archives containing the files from 1951 to 1965, again some 500 linear metres.
In the same year, the ICRC Assembly reduced the protection period for general files from fifty to forty years, and the embargo on personal files from one hundred to sixty years.


On 19 June 2007, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) added the IWPA archives to the Memory of the World Register
"to prevent collective amnesia, promote the conservation of archive and library collections throughout the world and ensure that they are disseminated as widely as possible."

In 2008/9, a rotunda was constructed at the HQ administrative building which houses the archives, providing a new reception area for visiting researchers as well.

In 2010, the Public Archives were merged with the ICRC Library and the ICRC Photos archives under the umbrella of the ICRC Information Management service in order to cope with the growing complexity of big data and at the same time the fragmentation of information due to the rapid evolution of digital technologies.
In the same year, the ICRC formally adopted an electronic filing system, called B RF (Services généraux – Archives générales des unités, Reference Files).
Subsequently, tailormade automation processes, including more recently the use of artificial intelligence (ai), have been explored to adequately preserve the institutional memory.

As part of this modernisation process, the archives expanded in 2011 into the new ICRC logistics hub in Satigny, near Geneva Airport.
Construction was partly financed by the Swiss government, and the land was provided by the canton of Geneva.
The main archives and library services to the public have stayed at the HQ though.

In 2015, the archives released its third batch from the general files on the armed conflicts up to 1975 (see above), including information on Nelson Mandela's detention.


In 2017, the ICRC once again revised the access rules to its public archives: protection periods were increased by ten years in order to ensure confidentiality as the ICRC standard operating principle and data privacy protection, especially with regard to protracted conflicts.
This means that the embargo on general files is back to fifty years as between 1996 and 2004, while individual files stay closed for seventy years.
According to these new rules of access, 
"the next section of the ICRC general archives, covering the period from 1976 to 1985, will be opened to the public in 2035."
It took almost another six years - until January 1996 - that the ICRC Assembly officially adopted the right of the general public for access to the archives and defined a policy of transparency. Protective embargo periods were ruled to be fifty years for general archives and 100 years for personal files. "It is worth noting that some within the ICRC had proposed even longer protection periods." Subsequently, the files of the general archives from 1863 to 1950 were opened to the public in full, altogether almost 500 linear metres of records.
One of the first researchers to make use of the opening was the French historian and nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld with his association of the" Sons and Daughters of Jews Deported from France". Already two years later he published a collection of documents from the archives about the internment and deportation of French Jews during WWII.
In 1997, the archives adopted a new filing plan - B AI (Services généraux – Archives institutionnelles) -  which included computerized documents.
In 2004, the archives released a second set of general archives containing the files from 1951 to 1965, again some 500 linear metres. In the same year, the ICRC Assembly reduced the protection period for general files from fifty to forty years, and the embargo on personal files from one hundred to sixty years.

On 19 June 2007, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) added the IWPA archives to the Memory of the World Register
"to prevent collective amnesia, promote the conservation of archive and library collections throughout the world and ensure that they are disseminated as widely as possible."
In 2008/9, a rotunda was constructed at the HQ administrative building which houses the archives, providing a new reception area for visiting researchers as well.
In 2010, the Public Archives were merged with the ICRC Library and the ICRC Photos archives under the umbrella of the ICRC Information Management service in order to cope with the growing complexity of big data and at the same time the fragmentation of information due to the rapid evolution of digital technologies. In the same year, the ICRC formally adopted an electronic filing system, called B RF (Services généraux – Archives générales des unités, Reference Files). Subsequently, tailormade automation processes, including more recently the use of artificial intelligence (ai), have been explored to adequately preserve the institutional memory.
As part of this modernisation process, the archives expanded in 2011 into the new ICRC logistics hub in Satigny, near Geneva Airport. Construction was partly financed by the Swiss government, and the land was provided by the canton of Geneva. The main archives and library services to the public have stayed at the HQ though. 
In 2015, the archives released its third batch from the general files on the armed conflicts up to 1975 (see above), including information on Nelson Mandela's detention. 

In 2017, the ICRC once again revised the access rules to its public archives: protection periods were increased by ten years in order to ensure confidentiality as the ICRC standard operating principle and data privacy protection, especially with regard to protracted conflicts. This means that the embargo on general files is back to fifty years as between 1996 and 2004, while individual files stay closed for seventy years. According to these new rules of access, 
"the next section of the ICRC general archives, covering the period from 1976 to 1985, will be opened to the public in 2035."
International Committee of the Red Cross archives