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The UN Department of Pubic Information has published the fifty-fifth volume of the Yearbook of the United Nations. This comprehensive and authoritative reference work covers all major activities undertaken by the United Nations system in 2001 to address pressing global problems and strengthen international cooperation.

The 2001 edition is fully indexed and reproduces the texts of and votes on all major resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly, Security Council and Economic and Social Council issued during the year. The 1,530-page volume comprises 52 chapters covering political and security questions, human rights, health, the environment, economic and social questions, legal questions, institutional, administrative and budgetary questions, and intergovernmental organizations related to the United Nations.

The Yearbook highlights the UN response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September, including the establishment of the Counter-Terrorism Committee to monitor the implementation of Security Council measures, as well as efforts to elaborate a comprehensive convention on international terrorism. The reference work describes the endeavours of 47,000 military and civilian personnel deployed in 15 UN missions worldwide. It also covers the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the United Nations and Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and chronicles UN efforts in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Israel and Palestine, Afghanistan, Timor-Leste and Kosovo.

The volume includes a demonstration version of the United Nations Yearbook Collection on CD-ROM, which gives users a taste of having direct access to 54 editions of the reference book, from 1946 to 2000. Users receive a form with which to order the complete Yearbook CD-ROM, which was honoured with the "Notable Government Documents" award by the American Library Association.