UNESCO established the Memory of the World (MoW) Programme in 1992, in response to growing threats to the preservation of documentary heritage and increasing awareness of these issues. The MoW Programme aims to foster recognition of the importance of documentary heritage worldwide, encourage the protection of documentary heritage with global significance, and facilitate universal access to such heritage. Wars, social upheavals, and a lack of funding and protective institutions are all major barriers to protection and access, worsening longstanding issues such as looting, illegal trade, and destruction. Many items of documentary heritage have already been lost forever, and others are at risk of destruction, though fortunately, some lost documentary heritage has also been rediscovered. UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme seeks to preserve and protect the world’s documentary heritage, to ensure that, as a common good belonging to all humanity, it is passed on to future generations, and that, as a source of valuable practical knowledge and customs, it is permanently accessible to all without hindrance.