Current information about meetings of United Nations bodies may be obtained from the Journal of the United Nations. The Journal is an often underutilized resource which serves two key purposes:

(1) It informs us of meetings of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and other bodies scheduled to take place on a given day, as well as identifies the symbols of major documents to be considered at the meetings -- even when the documents may not yet have been officially released; and

(2) It summarizes actions taken at the previous day's meetings and can be used by researchers who have a basic familiarity with the UN's document series symbol system to project symbols of meeting records and resolutions even before they are officially issued.

Past issues of the Journal are available through the Advanced Search option of the Official Document System of the United Nations (ODS). In the database selection box, highlight Daily Journal – New York. This automatically adds today’s date to the search fields; modify the dates according to your search. The ODS Journal collection begins in 1993. The Journal is issued in all official languages during the main part of the General Assembly session from September through December, and in English and French during the rest of the year.

The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the United Nations. Each of the 192 Member States has one vote. The Assembly meets every year in regular session commencing in September (the 64th session opened on 15 September 2009). The tendency now is for the session to suspend in late December, reconvene as required the following year and conclude the day before the next session begins. Special and emergency special sessions may also be convened in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly (Document symbol A/520/Rev.17; Sales number (08.I.9).

The basic format for the symbols of General Assembly documents is: A/[session]/[sequential number], e.g., A/52/1. From 1946 to 1975, the format was A/[sequential number], e.g., A/9601.

The following key documents, issued prior to the convening of a regular session, facilitate identification of major documentation projected for issuance and provide background information on the organization of the session:

(1) The preliminary list of items to be included in the provisional agenda of the General Assembly, issued early in the year (usually in February) and assigned the sequential number "50" for the session scheduled to begin in September (e.g., A/64/50). This particular document proposes items to be included in the agenda, some of which may be deleted or deferred to a later date.

(2) The annotated version of the preliminary list, issued several months later and assigned the sequential number "100" (e.g., A/64/100 + Add.1) for the session in question. The annotated preliminary list gives the history of each item proposed for inclusion on the agenda, lists selected documents from the previous session and projects major documents (reports, etc.) to be submitted for discussion under the individual items. The annexes to the annotated preliminary list include comprehensive (1946 to the present) listings of: Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the General Assembly; non-permanent members of the Security Council; members of the Economic and Social Council; States Members of the United Nations. The names of officers of the Main Committees (20th session onwards) are also included.

(3) The provisional agenda, issued at least sixty days before the opening of the session, in accordance with Rule 12 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly. This document gives a more concrete definition to the shape the final agenda, once adopted, will take and is assigned the sequential number "150" (e.g., A/64/150 + Corr.1) for the session in question.

(4) The memorandum of the Secretary-General, submitted to the General Committee, provides background information on the organization of the session, consolidates the information relating to the provisional agenda and proposes the allocation of the agenda items to either the plenary or one of the Main Committees. The memorandum is assigned the sequential number "1" in the documentation series of the General Committee for the session in question (e.g., A/BUR/64/1 + Corr.1).

Subsequent to the formal convening of the session, the following key documents are issued which give final shape to the agenda and specify the forum for consideration of the items and primary documentation already issued or expected to be issued:

(1) The report of the General Committee, to which the sequential number "250" is assigned (e.g., A/64/250 + Add.1) issued pursuant to the Committee's review of items contained in the provisional agenda. This report recommends the items to be included in the definitive version of the agenda which the Assembly will adopt and assigns the items, on the basis of topic, to either the plenary or one of the six Main Committees. Since every item listed in the provisional agenda is not subsequently recommended for inclusion in the final agenda, this report provides "detectives" with clues regarding the fate of "missing" items. As a consequence of the deletion/deferral of certain items and the subsequent renumbering of all items, the number under which an item is listed in the provisional agenda may not necessarily be the same as the one under which it would appear in the report of the General Committee.

(2) The agenda, as adopted by the plenary, assigned the sequential number "251" (e.g., A/64/251 + Add.1) for the session in question. This constitutes a listing of all the items which will be considered at a given session of the General Assembly. Pursuant to the adoption of the agenda, the item number printed on General Assembly documents will reflect the number as it appears in the adopted agenda. Some documents issued immediately after the adoption of the agenda still bear item numbers as they appear in the provisional agenda since these documents were already in the "pipeline" at the time of adoption of the agenda. It is generally good policy to check the item number against the agenda item title and not to rely on the number alone - especially in the transition period shortly after the adoption of the agenda.

(3) The allocation of agenda items to which the sequential number "252" is assigned (e.g., A/64/252 + Add.1) for the session in question. This document finalizes the recommendations made by the General Committee regarding the allocation of items and definitively decides whether the plenary or one of the Main Committees will assume primary responsibility for a thorough review of the item (e.g., "International Criminal Court" was allocated to the Sixth Committee, which deals with legal issues).

Aside from his annual report on the work of the Organization (e.g., A/64/1), the Secretary-General reports to the Assembly on many issues called for by resolutions. Retrospectively, the symbols of these reports can be identified through the Index to Proceedings of the General Assembly, UNBISnet (which provides links to the full text of recent reports) and the Official Document System of the United Nations (ODS).

At the start of a new session, researchers can keep tabs on these reports by consulting the state of preparation of documentation, a pre-sessional listing previously issued as the first document in the A/INF/- series for the session (e.g., 58th session: A/INF/58/2; the current format for 64th session: A/63/915/Add.1. This serves as an excellent guide to all reports, not only those of the Secretary-General, which have been mandated for consideration under a particular item.

The full text of recent reports of the Secretary-General can be retrieved through UNBISnet as well as the Official Document System of the United Nations (ODS). From the 55th session onwards, the full text is also posted at the UN Documentation Centre.

A number of subsidiary bodies (e.g., International Law Commission, Human Rights Committee, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) fall within the purview of the General Assembly and are required to report annually (sometimes biannually) on their activities. The reports often contain resolutions/decisions adopted by the subsidiary body and may, in some instances, forward draft resolutions or decisions which are being recommended to the Assembly for adoption. Generally, the reports are issued as Supplements to the Official Records of the General Assembly. Complete listings of the document symbols for the reports of all subsidiary bodies (1946 onwards) can be obtained from UN-I-QUE. The full text of recent reports can be retrieved through UNBISnet as well as the Official Document System of the United Nations (ODS). From the 55th session onwards, the full text is also posted at the UN Documentation Centre.

There are six Main Committees:

First Committee to which agenda items relating to disarmament and international security are allocated. The working documents of this committee are identified by the prefix A/C.1/- ;

Second Committee to which agenda items relating to economic and financial matters are allocated. The working documents of this committee are identified by the prefix A/C.2/- ;

Third Committee to which agenda items relating to social, humanitarian and cultural matters are allocated. The working documents of this committee are identified by the prefix A/C.3/- ;

Fourth Committee to which agenda items relating to special political and decolonization matters are allocated. The working documents of this committee are identified by the prefix A/C.4/- ;

Fifth Committee to which agenda items relating to administrative and budgetary matters are allocated. The working documents of this committee are identified by the prefix A/C.5/- ;

Sixth Committee to which agenda items relating to legal matters are allocated. The working documents of this committee are identified by the prefix A/C.6/- .

The Main Committees submit a separate report to the plenary on every agenda item allocated to them. These reports synthesize the committees' consideration of the items and transmit the final version of draft resolutions/decisions which are being recommended to the plenary for adoption. Since these reports become working documents for the plenary, the individual committee prefixes are not used for their document symbols. They are instead submitted directly under the basic symbol of the plenary. Since General Assembly resolutions and decisions often are not printed until weeks - sometimes months - after their adoption, the final draft as contained in the Committee report (sometimes orally amended immediately prior to adoption) remains for a long time the only source for the text of the resolution/decision.

Listings of Main Committee reports for the 63rd session: First Committee; Second Committee; Third Committee; Fourth Committee; Fifth Committee; Sixth Committee.

Listings of Main Committee reports for the 64th session: First Committee; Second Committee; Third Committee; Fourth Committee; Fifth Committee; Sixth Committee.

The full text of recent reports can be retrieved through UNBISnet as well as the Official Document System of the United Nations (ODS). From the 55th session onwards, the full text is also posted at the UN Documentation Centre.

Prepared and maintained by the Department of Public Information (DPI), Dag Hammarskjöld Library (DHL) . Comments as well as suggestions for further additions/enhancements may be directed to the Dag Hammarskjöld Library.