International Documents Collection

United Nations Research Guide:

This site describes resources and search strategies for researching the United Nations and the publications and activities of the United Nations. All the sources listed on the site are available at Northwestern University Library. Researchers far from Northwestern must search the list of United Nations depository libraries to communicate with the UN library nearest them.

 

Contents


 Group 1. Guide to United Nations web sites
 
These resources are free. Most of the information on UN web sites is current, but the UN retrospectively adds full text documents and background information to its web sites. To find information that pre-dates the web, follow the research strategies described in this guide.

The United Nations Home Page, in English, is at http://www.un.org/english/

  • Many full-text documents and publications are available on UN web sites.
  • There is a detailed list of links to UN sites on the Gov Info IGO page.

Search for web sites by agency, body or department

Search for UN web sites by subject

Search for UN web sites by country or region

Information in special formats on UN web sites


 Group 2. United Nations materials in Gov Info
 
The department has been a United Nations depository since 1946. In addition to receiving UN documents, the department purchases UN sales publications in print and electronic formats.

The distinction between documents and publications:

  • Documents are generated by the work of the UN and are distributed to UN members and depository libraries. For example, the Annual Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization. A document may be several hundred pages, or only a few lines. The UN assigns a symbol to each document. An example is A/55/1.
  • Publications are produced to be given or sold to the public. They provide information about a topic of interest to the public. For example, the book Cities in a Globalizing World or the CD-ROM WISTAT: Women's Indicators and Statistics. At Northwestern University Library, publications are classified with a Dewey Decimal call number. An example is Govt. 307.76 C58171.
Table 1. United Nations materials in the Government Publications and Maps Department
Format of Materials Years and Content of the Materials How to Get the Materials
print and electronic publications
  • 1946 - present
  • The department receives publications on deposit, and purchases sales publications.
  • UN publications cover every area of the UN's work.
  • Search NUcat
    • As a general rule, publications have been cataloged since the mid-1970s.
    • Use a "guided search" with a subject or keyword and and the phrase "United Nations."
    • Some NUcat records link to the full-text of the publication on the UN web site.
  • To search for publications printed before 1970, use the resources listed in Group 3.
  • Patrons should ask staff to retreive publications from the stacks.
  • Many publications may be checked-out of the department, or obtained through an Interlibrary Loan request.
documents in microfiche
  • 1946 - present
  • The department purchases the Readex "Comprehensive Collection," which contains almost every document from the main UN bodies, including "limited" and "restricted" documents.
     
  • Follow the Research Strategies in this guide and search the indexes in Group 3.
  • Patrons may, if they like, retrieve microfiche without assistance.
    • The fiche is filed in drawers by year, then by document symbol.
    • If you have a document symbol, and you don't know the year, use the electronic indexes.
  • The department has a fiche reader/printer.
documents in paper
  • 1946 - present
  • The documents are official records and masthead documents.
  • The department retains in paper the documents that are not in microfiche.
  • Follow the Research Strategies in this guide and search the indexes in Group 3.
  • Patrons should ask staff to retrieve documents from the stacks.
documents in ODS
  • 1993 - present (they are adding documents retrospectively also)
  • resolutions are available and searchable in the Advanced Search
  • all UN documents except for Treaties and Press Briefings
  • ODS is the official electronic repository for UN documents.
     
  • ODS [Search by document number, subject, date, or full-text]
  • Introduction to ODS from the UN Library
  • Seaching is somewhat difficult in ODS. It is easiest if you have the UN documents numbers. To get the UN document numbers using a keyword or subject search try AccessUN (1966-present. Available in the library or remotely to members of the NU community) or UNBISnet freely available website.

Electronic resources

These resources are on NUnet, the Northwestern University network. Northwestern community members whose computers are not on NUnet must follow the instructions on the proxy services guide to access these resources. To find additional electronic resources, go to the Electronic Resources catalog and do a "quick search" for "United Nations."
  • LexisNexis Statistical, the interface to the Index to International Statistics (IIS)
    • IIS is an index to approximately 2,000 titles from some 100 international intergovernmental organizations.
    • The full-text of the sources indexed by IIS, from 1995 to the present, are in microfiche in Gov Info.
      IIS fiche is filed by record number. For example, Record Number: IIS 2001 3000-D606.
    • Search for a subject or keyword and "united nations."
    • A list of the UN agencies indexed in IIS is available in Sources Covered by Index to International Statistics.

  • United Nations Common Database (UNCDB)
    • UNCDB provides access to 300 data series, covering a wide range of subjects, from numerous specialized international data sources for all available countries and areas.
    • UNCDB Series list
    • There are three ways to access data, but only "Advanced data selection" allows a user to save the data.
      1. "Basic view" allows the user to view a single data series for up to 10 countries and up to 20 years. "Basic view" is view-screen or print-screen only.
      2. "Country profiles" provide 12 subject profiles for countries or areas. It is also view-screen or print-screen only.
      3. "Advanced data selection" allows a user to select multiple series, countries and years. The user may view the data in printer-friendly HTML or save the data in .xls or ASCII (CSV) formats. UNCDB saves each statistical series as a separate file.
    • Please follow the instructions in the guides
      "Browse data grouped by topic or source, build tables and save data in 'Advanced Data Selection'" pdf. file
      "Select data series, build tables and save data in 'Advanced Data Selection'" pdf. file

  • United Nations Treaty Collection, a full-text database
    • Status of Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General
    • United Nations Treaty Series
    • Texts of Recently Deposited Multilateral Treaties

  • The United Nations Yearbook Collection on CD-ROM (1946-2002)
    • The full-text of the Yearbook is presented in pdf and are identical to those in print format.
    • The Collection can be searched across all available volumes using index search. Any particular yearbook can be searched using the full-text search.
    • The print volumes of the Yearbook are available in Gov Info reference.

 Group 3. Indexes to United Nations documents
 

Electronic indexes

To search the full-text of UN documents created after 1993 or resolutions see ODS.

  • AccessUN
    • Covers 1946 - present
    • This is an index available via the web. It indexes UN documents, treaties, publications, and articles in UN periodicals.
    • Contains many full-text documents and publications, or links to full-text materials on-line.
    • Selected Provisional Verbatim and Summary Records documents, which contain voting records of General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, are added to the database in reverse chronological order (1990-onward).
    • The microfiche are filed by document symbol within each year. Make a note of the "Readex Year" for any materials of interest.

Print indexes

  • Indexes for 1946-present in Gov info reference
    • Index to the Proceedings of the Economic and Social Council
      Govt. 341.13 D285u
    • Index to the Proceedings of the General Assembly
      Govt. ST/LIB/Ser.B/A
    • Index to the Proceedings of the Security Council
      Govt. 341.13 D285un
  • General indexes
    • United Nations Documents Index
      Govt. UN/ST/LIB/Ser.E, volumes for 1950-1966 are in Gov Info reference
    • UNDOC
      Govt. ST/LIB/SER.M/

Resources from the United Nation's Dag Hammarskjöld Library

To find UN documents created after 1993 or for any resolution created after 1946 see ODS.

    • Contains records for UN documents and publications published from 1979-present.
    • Contains links to fulltext for those documents in ODS (all documents post-1993, and main body resolutions).
    • This is the catalog of the United Nation's Dag Hammarskjöld Library. It is free to all via the UN web site.
    • Use the Types of Material Codes to limit search results
    • Includes special indexes of voting records and speeches, see the Research Strategies section of this guide.
  • UN-I-QUE (UN Info Quest)
    • This a ready-reference index to documents of a recurrent nature.
    • This is a resource produced by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library. It is free to all via the UN web site.
    • UNIQUE provides document symbols, it is not full-text.

  • UN System Pathfinder
    • The Pathfinder lists the major publications of the organizations comprising the United Nations system. It focuses on issues currently of primary interest: international security and peacekeeping, economic and social development, the environment, disarmament, international law and human rights. Within each topical chapter or sub-chapter, entries are listed alphabetically by title.
    • This is a resource produced by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library. It is free to all via the UN web site.
    • The Pathfinder provides document symbols, it is not full-text.

  • United Nations Documentation: Research Guide
    • This comprehensive research guide provides detailed explanations, instructions, and some links to full-text resources.

 Research strategies
 
These research strategies make use of resources found on the Web, on NUnet, and in Gov info. The United Nations Documentation: Research Guide, produced by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, provides comprehensive information.

Contents

  1. To find UN documents: by a topic or subject, by country, and to find substantive UN reports about a topic or subject
  2. To find speeches and statements given at the UN: speeches, General Debate statements and statements made in the Security Council
  3. To find UN resolutions and decisions
  4. To find UN voting records
  5. To find materials written about the United Nations

I. To find UN Documents

To find UN documents created after 1993 or for any resolution created after 1946 see ODS.

To find UN documents by topic or subject

There are gaps between the years covered in the 10th edition of Everyone's United Nations, the Yearbook, and the United Nations web sites. Researchers interested in the work of theUN in the late 1980's and 1990's must turn directly to the Yearbook. In 2004, the UN published the Yearbook for 2002. Researchers interested in the most current information must go directly to the UN web sites, UNBISnet or AccessUN.
  1. Everyone's United Nations: a handbook on the work of the United Nations
    • provides background information and a time-frame for the topic
    • Three editions cover 40 years of United Nation's work.
      For 1945-1965, consult Everyman's United Nations. (8th ed., 1968)
      For 1966-1977, consult Everyone's United Nations. (9th ed., 1979)
      For 1978-1985, consult Everyone's United Nations. (10th ed., 1986)
    • The three editions are on the open-shelf in Government Publications and Maps Reference.
      call number Govt. 341.13 U5811e (+ the edition number).

  2. Yearbook of the United Nations
    • provides a detailed account of the work of one year, bibliographic citations and document symbols to important documents, the full-text of key resolutions
    • All Yearbooks, including the most recent, are in Gov Info Reference 341.1305 U58y.
    • The United Nations Yearbook Collection: 1946-2002 is a CD-ROM of the full-text of the first 55 volumes of the Yearbook. It is available via NUnet.
      Access the Yearbook CD-ROM through the list of Gov Info Networked CD-ROMS.

  3. the UN documents cited in the Yearbook
    • Staff at the Gov Info reference desk will help retrieve documents cited in the Yearbook.
    • If the documents provide enough information, this may be the last step.

  4. Index to the Proceedings of the...
    • Those who need to exhaustively research the subject, and find that the documents cited in the Yearbook do not provide enough information, may take this additional step.
    • Use the indexes described in Table 1.
To find UN documents by country
  • AccessUN
    index to documents from 1966 to the present
    1. Type a country name in the search box. Using the drop-down menu change the search field to "in country."
    2. The country field limits results to documents submitted by a particular country (usually letters to the Secretary-General).
    3. This can retrieve a huge number of documents. It is best to add additional search terms or limit the search by date.

  • ReliefWeb: By Country
    full-text documents from the late 1980's to present
    1. ReliefWeb is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
    2. "Response documents by country and territory, with a complete set of external background links by sector."
    3. Documents are compiled from many sources, including U.S. Federal agencies, and relate to humanitarian activities.
To find substantive UN reports about a topic or subject
  • UNBISnet
    index to documents produced from 1979 to the present
    1. Choose a subject search.
    2. Add the type of material code for reports, B16, to your keyword search.
      For example, terrorism b16

II. To find speeches and statements given at the UN

  • UNBISnet
    1. Click on "Index to Speeches."
    2. Choose to search by speaker, country, or organization, or keyword.
    3. To limit the search by date or year:
      Add the date to the search terms. The date must be entered as YYYYMMDD. To search by year, truncate the search by adding an asterisk. For example, 1999*
      After the search terms and the date, add the code for the date index. It is ".acdt." For example, 1999*.acdt.
      An example of a search limited by date: Mexico 1999*.acdt.
    4. Citations to speeches are available for:
      General Assembly (A/) - 38th session (1983 onward)
      Security Council(S/) - 38th year (1983 onward)
      Economic and Social Council (E/) - 1983 onward
      Trusteeship Council (T/) - 15th special session onward
  • Index to the Proceedings of the...
    To find citations to speeches that were made before those available in UNBISnet
    1. Use the print indexes listed in Table 1.
    2. There is an index to speeches in each annual index for the main bodies.
To find General Debate statements
  • UNIQUE
    1. In September of every year, the delegate of each member country presents a General Debate statement to the General Assembly. The General Debate statement describes the member nation's primary concerns.
    2. In the UNIQUE search box, type the country name and the word debate (For example, belgium debate.)
    3. UNIQUE retrieves a list of document symbols for all the General Debate statements made by that country's delegate.
To find statements made in the Security Council
  • United Nations Documentation: Research Guide -- Security Council
    1. The Research Guide links to the full-text meeting records of the Security Council. Full-text records are available from 1998 to the present. These meeting records are not part of depository library collections.
    2. In the Security Council section of the Research Guide, click on "Meeting records."
    3. Click on "Meetings of the Security Council in ..."
    4. Meeting records are listed by document number, which is issued sequentially. The list of meeting records also includes the records' dates, corresponding press release numbers, topics, and related Security Council actions.

III. To find UN resolutions and decisions

To search the full-text of UN documents created after 1993 or resolutions see ODS.

  • Compilations in print
    1. United Nations Resolutions Series I: Resolutions Adopted by the General Assembly
      24 volumes, 1946-1986: Gov Info Reference: 341.23 U577u
    2. Resolutions and Decisions Adopted by the General Assembly during its ... Session
      1986- present: Gov Info Reference: 341.23 U577un
    3. United Nations Resolutions Series II: Resolutions Adopted by the Security Council
      11 volumes, 1946-1979: Gov Info Reference: 341.23 U5772u
    4. Resolutions and Decisions of the Security Council...Session
      1987-present: Gov Info Reference: 341.23 U5772un

IV. To find voting records for UN resolutions

To find voting records for a particular country, try these short-cut methods first:

To perform a comprehensive search for the voting records of a particular country:
  1. Go to the UN Documentation Centre
  2. Choose the main body in which you are interested. For example, the General Assembly.
  3. Under the heading of that body, click on "Resolutions."
  4. Click on a session.
  5. Notice that in the General Assembly, many resolutions are labeled "without vote."
  6. Write down the document number (also called the resolution symbol) for resolutions that are not labeled "without vote." For example, A/RES/56/57. You might also note the topic. For example, Palestine refugees' properties and their revenues.
  7. Go to UNBISnet
  8. Under the heading "Voting Records," click on "Simple Keyword Search."
  9. Under the heading "enter search phrase," make sure the drop-down menu is set on "vote-resolution symbol."
  10. Type the document number (also called the resolution symbol) in the search box.
  11. The bibliographic information for the resolution includes detailed voting by country. Find your country in the list.
  • See the UNBISnet help guide to decipher the search results of the voting record display
  • Voting Records and adopted resolutions are available in UNBISnet for:
    General Assembly (A/) - 38th session (1983-)
    Security Council(S/) - 1st year (1946-)
To find voting records for a particular topic:
  1. Go to UNBISnet
  2. Under the heading "Voting Records," click on "Simple Keyword Search."
  3. Choose to search by "vote-keyword search," and type keywords in the search box.
    To limit the keyword to a particular session, type the session number after the keyword.
    For example, Kosovo 54
  4. Voting records may be limited by year or date in the same manner as speeches. For example, Kosovo 1999*.acdt.

To find records to votes cast before those recorded in UNBISnet

See also Report to Congress on voting practices in the United Nations.

  • This is an annual report by the U.S. Department of State to the U.S. Congress. Each issue covers votes for the previous year.
  • The report has two functions. First, it compiles the voting of UN members in the General Assembly and Security Council. Second, it evaluates the actions of UN members in response to U.S. policy on issues of special importance to the United States.
  • Previous issues are in Gov Info:
    Issues from 1985-1989; 1991-1992 are in print, call number S 1.1/8:
    Issues from 1993-1999 are in microfiche, call number S 1.1/8:

See also:
Patil, Anjali V. The Veto: a historical necessity. A comprehensive record of the use of the veto in the UN Security Council 1946-2001. College Point, NY: in-house Incorporated, 2001. Call number: Gov't Supp Ref 341.23 U5772Zp

V. To find materials written about the United Nations

For a description of the structure, membership and activities of all major UN offices, programs and agencies, please see The Europa Directory of International Organizations 2002. Call number: Gov Info Reference L341.2 E89.

Search NUcat

  • Choose "guided search."
  • Search for "united nations" as a phrase in the subject.
  • Add more search terms to narrow results.

Search indexes and article databases

  • CQ Researcher is a weekly publication. Click on "browse by topic" to find issues that cover the United Nations.
  • Expanded Academic ASAP is a full-text article database. Search for "United Nations" in the subject guide to see related subjects and subdivisions.

 

Last updated: 07.17.07