The majority of General Assembly resolutions are adopted without a vote. If a vote is taken, it can be documented in two ways: either as a recorded vote or as a summary of the result. Only a recorded vote, which must be requested before the voting is conducted, will clearly identify the stand that a Member State took on the issue under discussion. If such a request is not put forth, only the voting summary (i. e., the number of countries which voted for or against a resolution as well as those who abstained) will be made available, without identification of how an individual Member State voted. An analysis of General Assembly voting can be found in the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs by consulting the section relating to Article 18 of the UN Charter.

Voting information first becomes accessible (in unofficial form) in the press release produced immediately after the conclusion of the meeting. Official voting information can be retrieved from the record of the meeting at which the vote was taken. Beginning with the 54th session of the General Assembly, official voting information can also be found in the sessional cumulations of the resolutions of the General Assembly.

The UN Library in New York maintains a database with voting records which forms the basis for the voting chart included in the Index to Proceedings of the General Assembly as well as the voting information file contained in UNBISnet.

Voting is also conducted in the Main Committees of the General Assembly. Although preliminary in character, this information might be of interest to researchers following each stage of the voting process. Committee voting information can be found in the meeting records of the Committees as well as in the reports which the Committees submit to the plenary on each agenda item allocated to them.

Every General Assembly meeting receives coverage in the form of a press release which is issued under the series symbol GA/- immediately after the conclusion of the meeting. These press releases, which are not considered official documents, summarize the discussions conducted and actions taken by the General Assembly. If a resolution is adopted by a recorded vote at a particular meeting, the unofficial voting information is included in an annex to the release.

Example:

Excerpts from press release GA/9354/Rev.1 providing an unofficial summary of the 49th plenary meeting of the General Assembly at its 52nd session on 12 November 1997 at which draft resolution A/52/L.13 was adopted by a recorded vote as resolution 52/11

(...) In other action this afternoon, the Assembly adopted a resolution on the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by a recorded vote of 151 in favour to 1 against (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), with 5 abstentions (China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Syria, Viet Nam) (Annex III). (...) ANNEX III Vote on report of International Atomic Energy Agency The draft resolution on the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (document A/52/L.13) was approved by a recorded vote of 151 in favour to 1 against, with 5 abstentions: In favour: Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi (...) Against: Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Abstain: China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Syria, Viet Nam. Absent: Afghanistan, Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Cambodia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Nicaragua, Palau, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, Tajikistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe. (...)

The full text of press releases from October 1995 onwards is available from the UN News Centre.

In some cases in which the official voting information, as contained in the meeting record, only consists of the summary of the vote, the press release might shed more light on the action taken by listing, for example, the countries which voted against a resolution and those that abstained. Consultation of the press release may, in those instances, uncover additional information.

From 13th session (1958-1959) to the 54th session (1999-2000), resolutions of the General Assembly were first compiled in a press release issued specifically for the regular, special or emergency special session at which they were adopted. In addition to providing access to the full text, these volumes also contain the unofficial voting information for resolutions adopted by a recorded vote.

While press releases provide quick access to voting information, their unofficial character should always be kept in mind. Researchers wishing to consult voting information in an official format need to consult the meeting records of the General Assembly.

Example:

Excerpts from the official record of the 49th plenary meeting of the General Assembly at its 52nd session, Wednesday, 12 November 1997, 3 p.m. (A/52/PV.49)

(...) The President: I shall now put to the vote draft resolution A/52/L.13 as a whole. A recorded vote has been requested. A recorded vote was taken. In favour: Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi (...) Against: Democratic People's Republic of Korea Abstaining: China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Syrian Arab Republic, Viet Nam Draft resolution A/52/L.13 as a whole was adopted by 151 votes to 1, with 5 abstentions (resolution 52/11). [Subsequently, the delegations of Nicaragua and Uganda informed the Secretariat that they had intended to vote in favour.] The President: I shall now call on those representatives who wish to speak in explanation of vote. I should like to remind representatives that explanations of vote are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats. (...)

Statements made and actions taken during General Assembly meetings are documented as verbatim records, identified by the suffix "/PV." within the document symbol. Further information about meeting records of the General Assembly is made available in this guide. The full text of recent meeting records can be retrieved through UNBISnet and 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.

Beginning with the 54th session of the General Assembly, official voting information can also found in the sessional cumulations of the resolutions of the General Assembly.

Example:

Excerpts from Annex II - Recorded Votes by Resolution contained in Resolutions and Decisions adopted by the General Assembly at its 54th session (A/54/49, Vol. I, GAOR, 54th session, Supplement No. 49)

Resolution 54/26 [ = Report of the Atomic Energy Agency] In favour: Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso (...) Against: Democratic People's Republic of Korea Abstaining: Benin, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Syrian Arab Republic, United Republic of Tanzania, Viet Nam

An essential tool for research on voting records for resolutions adopted by the General Assembly at its 61st session is the list of resolutions which forms part of this guide. The list identifies for researchers those resolutions which were adopted by a recorded vote and provides full-text links to the sources where the voting record (in both unofficial and official formats) can be located.

Since 1975 a voting chart, published in the Index to Proceedings of the General Assembly, gives researchers an overview of the votes taken at a particular session. When using the chart, researchers must be aware that the method of compiling this information was changed in 1983.

Between 1975 (30th session) and 1982 (37th session), the voting information was extracted from the meeting records and thus includes notifications submitted at a later point. The following notations are used to present the data:

• Y votes YES

• N votes NO

• A ABSTAINED

• (Y) subsequently advised the Secretariat of intention to vote YES

• (N) subsequently advised the Secretariat of intention to vote NO

• (A) subsequently advised the Secretariat of intention to ABSTAIN

• A blank space indicates that no vote was recorded.

From 1982 (37th session) onwards, electronic data as transmitted by the voting machine in the General Assembly Hall form the basis for the chart. As a consequence, it no longer includes the notifications subsequently submitted. To obtain this information, researchers need to consult the meeting records.

UNBISnet, the Dag Hammarskjöld Library's online index to United Nations documentation, includes a database called Voting Records, which gives access to voting information for General Assembly resolutions adopted either without a vote or by a recorded vote beginning in 1982 (37th session). The database can be searched by keyword or by resolution symbol. The information provided originates from the voting machine in the General Assembly Hall and the same caveat applies to it as to the printed voting charts dating from this period: subsequent notifications are not documented and must therefore be researched in the meeting records.

The database uses the following notations to present the voting information:

• Yes
• No
• Abstentions
• blank = Non-participating
• 9 = Not eligible to participate

(The last category refers to countries which have, according to Article 19 of the Charter of the United Nations, lost their right to vote in the General Assembly because the amount of their arrears equals or exceeds the amount of contributions due from them for the preceding two full years.)

Example:

Excerpts from the voting record for General Assembly resolution 52/11 as contained in the voting records database included in UNBISnet
UN Resolution Symbol:	A/RES/52/11
Meeting Number:	49
Title:	Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
Related Document:	A/52/L.13 and Add.1
Vote Notes:	RECORDED
Voting Summary:	Yes: 151, No: 1, Abstentions: 5, Non-Voting: 28, Total voting membership: 185
Vote Date:	19971112
Detailed Voting:	AFGHANISTAN
	ALBANIA
	Y ALGERIA
	Y ANDORRA
	Y ANGOLA
	ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
	Y ARGENTINA
	Y ARMENIA
	Y AUSTRALIA
	Y AUSTRIA
	Y AZERBAIJAN
	Y BAHAMAS
	Y BAHRAIN
	Y BANGLADESH
	BARBADOS
	Y BELARUS
	Y BELGIUM
	BELIZE
	Y BENIN
	Y BHUTAN
	Y BOLIVIA
	9 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
	(...)

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