Organization
The organization is governed by an International Commission with representatives from Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom, and the United States. The Commission draws up the guidelines for the work to be carried out by the ITS and monitors these in the interests of the former victims of persecution. The Bonn Agreement of 1955 (which stated that no data that could harm the former Nazi victims or their families should be published) and their amendment protocols dating from 2006 provide the legal foundation of the International Tracing Service. The daily operations are managed by a director appointed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who must be a Swiss citizen. There are about 300 staff employed by the ITS.
In May 2008, the International Commission started a debate on the future structure and administration of the ITS. The discussion became necessary because the ICRC announced his withdrawal from the management and administration of the ITS by December 2012. The Commission has envisaged the German Federal Archive (Bundesarchiv) as new institutional partner. The mandate of the ITS will formally be extended by cataloguing, historical research, education and remembrance. The international character of the institution shall be preserved in the future.
Read more about this topic: International Tracing Service
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