United Nations Sources

United Nations Sources UN Citation System Paper and electronic access to documents

Citations UN documents are published in three forms Masthead (formerly mimeograph, or supplemental publications-- working documents. Official records: Resolutions, declarations, proceedings, etc. (Publications that are later incorporated into the official record have two numbers) Sales: Publications the UN wants to make generally available, often reports and studies.) The ICJ has a separate publication system, so this page applies only to the other bodies

Publication Types Before electronic publication, masthead documents were very hard to obtain so they were not usually cited. Their relevance to international dispute resolution is limited. Sales documents are also unlikely to be useful in international disputes or policy. But, just as we saw with treaties, the UN’s internal system of citation is different from the Bluebook. Official Masthead Sales Document E/2003/29 A/CONF.157/PC/63/Add.4 E.95.XIII.12 Official citations share elements of the masthead system (next slide) but can be as simple as this. Because of the huge volume of publications, the citation system is very versatile (i.e., complicated). Attorneys will not usually cite to sales documents. Notice that it uses periods to delineate segments

Citation Format A/CONF.157/PC/63/Add.4 Secondary Elements. As in this example multiple designations may apply “CONF” indicates a conference. “CONF.157” was a Human Rights conference in 1993. “PC” indicates a preparatory committee. Other important designations include “AC” Ad hoc committee “C” standing main committee “CN.4” etc. to indicate each of the six (6) subcommittees of the Assembly. “RES” to indicate a resolution (i.e. statement of customary law) “PV” Verbatim records of meetings (i.e. legislative history) Document number. Since the late 1970s, some series include a session or year element. Because the documents here are organized under the conference number, they saw no need to add the year (1993) or the session (48th) “Add.4” indicates the 4th amendment to the document. The “Rev.” (revision or superseding text) and “Corr.” (corrigendum) are other modification elements to be aware of. Some (prolific) subsidiary bodies have received their own designations CRC/C/- Committee on the Rights of the Child DP/- United Nations Development Programme TD/- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNEP/- United Nations Environment Programme The leading element refers to publishing body A/- General Assembly E/- Economic and Social Council S/- Security Council ST/- Secretariat T/- Trusteeship Council

Look for four types of elements Document Citation Look for four types of elements Element denoting the body or organ that issued the document Element denoting the organizational session or year during which the document was issued. Element denoting the nature of the document. Element denoting the unique number of the document.

Sales Numbers Sales numbers do not have the variety of Masthead and official documents. The order is i.e.: E.95.XIII.12 Language A- Arabic C-Chinese E-English F-French R-Russian S-Spanish Year Subject i.e. II.B-Economic Development XIII- Demography XVII-International Statistics Document number

Online Indexes ODS - Official Documents System: Comprehensive official documents since 1993. Resolutions since 1946. http://documents.un.org UNBISnet - United Nations Library’s Catalog. Documents since 1979. http://unbisnet.un.org/ UN-I-QUE : United Nations Info Quest: (Dag Hammarskjöld Library) Bibliographic records. http://lib-unique.un.org/DPI/DHL/unique.nsf?open These systems overlap—they actually link to the same pdfs. UNBISnet’s search engine is more powerful and its coverage is more extensive. Links all still good.

Online Indexes

Online Indexes ODS UNBISnet UN-I-QUE

ODS (Official Documents System) ODS contains only official documents

UNBISNET (United Nations Bibliographic Information System) If your search needs to be more comprehensive or is more complex, UNBISNET gives you access to more sources. Keyword Search Tailoring searches by document type and language makes expansive searches manageable.

UNBISNET (United Nations Bibliographic Information System) (cont’d) If your search needs to be more comprehensive or complex, UNBISNET gives you access to more sources. Browse List Search Once you know the document of interest, the voting records are all available here.

ODS

UNBISNET

ODS & UNBISNET ODS and UNBISNET provide different bibliographic displays but link to the same document.

UN-I QUE The information in UN-I-QUE is not hyperlinked. This is simply an official bibliography that illustrates the evolution of the topic over time. The emphasis is on annual reports.

Paper Index The major print finding aid for United Nations documents is the official index, currently called the United Nations Documents Index. It has had five names previous to the current one. It was last published in 2009. The two or three volume index is published for each quarter (with no cumulative index). Check each quarter within the relevant time frame—or go online.

Interpreting Documents Once you have citations to various documents, consider consulting the press release (where available, such as for resolutions). Although one expects a press release to be a watered-down summary for the media, actually, it is like a pre-prepared research guide explaining the committees, revisions, and effects of the document. Good link

Press Releases Research Guide Press Releases

United Nations Digital Library The United Nations just unveiled its new digital library in June 2017-- https://digitallibrary.un.org

ICJ Decisions The International Court of Justice has published all its decisions and opinions online. http://www.icj-cij.org/en But the case names do not always indicate the area of law that the case touches. The World Court Digest is an index resource for each opinion. Max Planck Institute Both links still valid (7/6/17)

Summary Each document distribution system has its own citation format. Since the UN publishes a vast quantity of documents, even the available microfiche materials are selective. Comprehensive electronic indexing is invaluable.

Questions?