Terje Rød-Larsen has consented to material assessed as relevant to the Oslo process being transferred to the National Archives of Norway and made available to the public. With the consent of Mona Juul, individual documents originating from her that are relevant to the Oslo process have also been made available.

To make the documents accessible to everyone who wishes to examine them, the National Archives of Norway and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have digitised the material.

The documents now being made available concern an important part of the history of Norwegian foreign policy. The Ministry has decided to make available several documents that would not normally form part of a public archive. This is an unusual measure and does not represent standard practice.

There are nevertheless several reasons for making the material available. The Ministry has received a large number of documents, and the collection differs from ordinary public archives in the way it was created. In addition, many of the documents are of historical value, and there is considerable public interest in being able to examine the material. Another important consideration is that Terje Rød-Larsen and Mona Juul have consented to the National Archives making these documents available. The documents date back several decades, and there are no longer any foreign-policy considerations that require withholding them from public access.

Which documents have been made available?

The National Archives and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are now making several thousand pages available on Digitalarkivet.no. The documents date from 1983 to 2003 and concern work relating to the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians during the period when Rød-Larsen worked at Fafo and subsequently at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ministry has not distinguished between material considered to have archival value and material that does not, or between documents that belong in the Ministry's archives, documents belonging to third parties and private documents. The aim has been to make available all material that may shed light on the historical Oslo process, in order to ensure the greatest possible degree of transparency.

The documents vary in their value as historical sources. A small number of documents bearing the letterhead of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are originals, while the collection also includes a large number of original documents authored by Rød-Larsen himself or by third parties. The collection also contains a significant number of copies, including copies of documents that have previously not been part of the Ministry's archives.

There are also numerous identical copies of individual documents. The collection includes many draft letters and faxes, unfinished notes and handwritten notes.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has declassified and sorted the documents.  The National Archives has provided archival expertise.

A small number of documents cannot be made publicly available for reasons relating to copyright or privacy protection. These include unpublished manuscripts, other copyright-protected works for which the necessary consent has not been obtained, as well as certain photographs of individuals who have not consented to their publication.

Documents received by the Ministry that are not relevant to the Oslo process have not been made available. These include, for example, documents relating to other fields of research or subjects, and documents relating to Rød-Larsen's work for the United Nations. However, documents from this perioded that have been assessed asl relevant to understanding the Oslo process have been made available.

How to access documents relating to the Oslo process

The National Archives of Norway and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have published a substantial collection of documents, including numerous draft notes and letters. All documents that the Ministry considers it has a legal basis for making available are now being available to the public.

The documents are available on Digitalarkivet.no.

Most of the documents are publicly accessible. There is considerable interest in the material, and digital access enables everyone to consult the documents at the same time.

In accordance with the National Archives' practice, people who specifically require physical access for professional purposes may nevertheless apply for such access. Researchers who require physical access may submit an application to innsyn@mfa.no.

Copyright and protection of personal data

For copyright reasons, some documents are accessible only after receiving login credentials from Digitalarkivet. Requests for access to these documents should be sent to innsyn@mfa.no. It will not be possible to obtain physical reading-room access to documents that have been made available digitally.

For copyright reasons, a small number of documents, such as certain scientific journal articles, may only be consulted in the National Archives' reading room. Requests for access to these documents may be sent to innsyn@mfa.no.

A small number of documents have been archived but cannot be made publicly available for reasons relating to copyright or privacy protection. These include a small number of unpublished manuscripts and copyright-protected works for which the necessary consent has not been obtained. Certain documents cannot be made public for reasons relating to protection of personal data. This applies, for example, to certain photographs of third parties who have not consented to the photographs being made publicly available.

Copyright and further use

The archival material has been reviewed and assessed prior to being made available on Digitalarkivet. Further use may be subject to restrictions arising from copyright or third-party rights. Individual users are responsible for determining whether further use is permitted by law or for obtaining any necessary permission from the relevant rights holder.