Archives are not about glorifying institutions but about documenting the intricate, often difficult histories that shape humanitarian action. However, in the humanitarian field, operations often run with little historical thinking, leading to the destruction or disregard of records that document major crises and the experiences of affected communities. 

Professor Bertrand Taithe and Dr Stephanie Rinaldi sounded the alarm on what they described as a “critical archival crisis” in the aid sector. During their presentation they explained how decades of records essential for accountability, transparency, and historical understanding are at risk of being lost as organizations downsize, neglect preservation, or lack digital‑archiving capacity. 

They presented the Humanitarian Archive Emergency (HAE) initiative, a cross-sectoral effort to identify at-risk humanitarian records and to develop ethical salvage solutions, which the CDHM is a member of.  

Proposed solutions include the collection of oral histories, stronger digital‑preservation strategies (including the Digital Humanitarian Archives Toolkit already available), and renewed attention to the archiving of marginalized voices. Record ownership remains complex, often split between organizations and communities, yet preserving diverse narratives is crucial for future societal rebuilding and a fuller understanding of past humanitarian responses.