The United Nations is a major publisher. Over the
more than six decades of its existence, it has published hundreds
of thousands of documents (reports, studies, resolutions, meeting
records, letters from Governments, etc.) on topics of key interest
(disarmament, the environment, human rights, international law,
peacekeeping, etc.).
Under the
circumstances, it might initially seem impossible to track down
precise information in view of the overwhelming amount of data
available, but a systematic approach to your research will always
yield results.
Given the
vast number of UN documents and publications and the non-uniqueness
or similarity of many titles -- a nebulous request for the report
of the Secretary-General, for example, will yield thousands of
hits -- it is helpful to pinpoint your research to a specific
time-frame and, preferably, to limit it to a particular organ
or subsidiary body. The beginner may be at a loss in this regard,
but a number of basic reference tools are available to provide
help.
The various
editions of Everyone's
United Nations concisely summarize major events in the Organization's
history. The researcher is given the forum (e.g., Security Council,
General Assembly) before which and the year(s) during which the
matter was discussed.
With these
important pieces of information at hand, the next logical step
might be to consult the Yearbook
of the United Nations for the year(s) in question. The Yearbook
will give a more detailed account, bibliographical citations to
core documents available for consultation in UN
depository libraries and UN
Information Centres (or on the UN website for more recent
years) and the full text of key resolutions.
For some
researchers, the Yearbook may provide all the information required;
others may prefer to exhaust the topic by going one level further:
to the Index to Proceedings of the major
organs (General
Assembly, Security
Council, Economic
and Social Council, Trusteeship
Council) to which the matter was presented. These highly specialized
indexes are produced annually/sessionally and are comprehensive,
including citations to every document relating to that organ's
consideration of the topic.
The Encyclopedia
of the United Nations (citation) also
comes in handy for providing quick access to information of a
general nature. Like the Yearbook, it very often cites the United
Nations bodies involved and provides a time-frame, thereby enabling
readers to pinpoint their research more precisely should a more
in-depth study be required.
The contents
of Basic
Facts about the United Nations are self-explanatory. This
frequently updated handbook serves as a very handy, concise guide
providing a condensed overview of United Nations activity in major
spheres.
Retrospective Research
