WU Libraries Government, Etc.: United Nations Research Guide

Subject librarian: Barbara Rehkop
Office Hours: By Appointment
Email: brehkop@wustl.edu
Phone: 314/935-7465
Fax: 314/935-4919

Link to Main Government page

The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945. The UN describes itself as a "global association of governments facilitating cooperation in international law, security, economic development, and social equity." As of 2005 it consists of 191 member states, including virtually all internationally-recognized independent nations. From its headquarters in New York City, the member countries of the UN and its specialized agencies give guidance and make decisions on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout each year. The organization is structurally divided into administrative bodies, including the UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, UN Economic and Social Council, UN Trusteeship Council, UN Secretariat, a nd the International Court of Justice, as well as counterpart bodies dealing with the governance of all other UN system agencies, for example, the WHO and UNICEF. The organization's most visible public figure is the Secretary-General.

The UN's main aims and activities include: arms control and disarmament, peace-keeping, human rights, humanitarian assistance and international development, treaties and war crimes, health, education, and more. Some note-able accomplishments include: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948, promoting women's rights, generating worldwide commitment to the needs of children through UNICEF and other means, improving literacy, reducing fertility rates, providing safe drinking water, eradicating smallpox, pressing for universal immunization, reducing child mortality rates, fighting parasitic diseases, providing humanitarian aid to victims of conflict, clearing land mines, aiding refugees, helping maintain peace and security, strengthening international law, preventing nuclear proliferation, helping to protect the environment, and much more.

Retrospective Research

Charter of the United Nations
Everyone's United Nations: 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.
Yearbook of the United Nations: offers a detailed account for the year in question including bibliographical citations to core documents available for consultation and the full text of key resolutions.
UN Chronicle: this publication has covered United Nations activities and events since the inception of the organization. It offers articles, features, and interviews highlighting the major political and social issues of our globalizing world.
Index to Proceedings: each major organ of the UN has its own index, which is produced annually/sessionally and is comprehensive, including citations to every document relating to that organ's consideration of the topic.
Encyclopedia of the United Nations: offers quick access to information of a general nature and is a good starting point.
Basic Facts about the United Nations: a frequently updated handbook that serves as a very handy, concise guide providing a condensed overview of United Nations activity in major spheres.
Index to United Nations documents and publications [electronic resource].Current and retrospective index of documents from six main UN bodies: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic & Social Council, Trusteeship Council, Secretariat, and International Court of Justice. Also indexes articles in UN periodicals and bilateral and multilateral treaties. Includes coverage of international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian nature.

Current Research

AccessUN: (1991-2005) The Readex United Nations Index provides access to current and retrospective United Nations documents and publications.
United Nations Press Releases Database: a useful first step in researching a current topic. This database offers access to the full text of releases issued since October 1995. Three search options exist: Last 30 days, Archives, and Full text. These releases are not considered official documents, but will in many cases yield valuable leads.
Official Web Locator for the UN System: useful for locating the specific body of interest.
United Nations Handbook: this handbook has been published annually by the New Zealand Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade since 1961 and provides an excellent overview of the mandates of the various bodies/organs of the UN.

Skip navigation Library Home Search Resources Catalog Articles Databases Research Help Check This Out How Do I ... Services Libraries Comments WUSTL		WU Libraries Government, Etc.: United Nations Research Guide Subject librarian: Barbara Rehkop Office Hours: By Appointment Email: brehkop@wustl.edu Phone: 314/935-7465 Fax: 314/935-4919 Link to Main Government page The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945. The UN describes itself as a "global association of governments facilitating cooperation in international law, security, economic development, and social equity." As of 2005 it consists of 191 member states, including virtually all internationally-recognized independent nations. From its headquarters in New York City, the member countries of the UN and its specialized agencies give guidance and make decisions on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout each year. The organization is structurally divided into administrative bodies, including the UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, UN Economic and Social Council, UN Trusteeship Council, UN Secretariat, a nd the International Court of Justice, as well as counterpart bodies dealing with the governance of all other UN system agencies, for example, the WHO and UNICEF. The organization's most visible public figure is the Secretary-General. The UN's main aims and activities include: arms control and disarmament, peace-keeping, human rights, humanitarian assistance and international development, treaties and war crimes, health, education, and more. Some note-able accomplishments include: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948, promoting women's rights, generating worldwide commitment to the needs of children through UNICEF and other means, improving literacy, reducing fertility rates, providing safe drinking water, eradicating smallpox, pressing for universal immunization, reducing child mortality rates, fighting parasitic diseases, providing humanitarian aid to victims of conflict, clearing land mines, aiding refugees, helping maintain peace and security, strengthening international law, preventing nuclear proliferation, helping to protect the environment, and much more. Retrospective Research Charter of the United Nations Everyone's United Nations: 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. Yearbook of the United Nations: offers a detailed account for the year in question including bibliographical citations to core documents available for consultation and the full text of key resolutions. UN Chronicle: this publication has covered United Nations activities and events since the inception of the organization. It offers articles, features, and interviews highlighting the major political and social issues of our globalizing world. Index to Proceedings: each major organ of the UN has its own index, which is produced annually/sessionally and is comprehensive, including citations to every document relating to that organ's consideration of the topic. Encyclopedia of the United Nations: offers quick access to information of a general nature and is a good starting point. Basic Facts about the United Nations: a frequently updated handbook that serves as a very handy, concise guide providing a condensed overview of United Nations activity in major spheres. Index to United Nations documents and publications [electronic resource].Current and retrospective index of documents from six main UN bodies: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic & Social Council, Trusteeship Council, Secretariat, and International Court of Justice. Also indexes articles in UN periodicals and bilateral and multilateral treaties. Includes coverage of international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian nature. Current Research AccessUN: (1991-2005) The Readex United Nations Index provides access to current and retrospective United Nations documents and publications. United Nations Press Releases Database: a useful first step in researching a current topic. This database offers access to the full text of releases issued since October 1995. Three search options exist: Last 30 days, Archives, and Full text. These releases are not considered official documents, but will in many cases yield valuable leads. Official Web Locator for the UN System: useful for locating the specific body of interest. United Nations Handbook: this handbook has been published annually by the New Zealand Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade since 1961 and provides an excellent overview of the mandates of the various bodies/organs of the UN. Other Links The United Nation's Dag Hammarskjold Library Website: this special library's mandated role is to serve the information needs of the United Nations permanent Mission staff and Secretariat staff. Along with its own catalog, subject guides, bibliographies, databases, and more, the library also offers a help line to provide guidance for external researchers needing assistance in tracking down information about the UN and its documentation. ODS - Official Document System of the UN: ODS covers all types of official UN documentation, beginning in 1993. Older UN documents are, however, added to the system on a daily basis. ODS also provides access to the resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council from 1946 onwards. The system does not contain press releases, UN sales publications, the United Nations Treaty Series or information brochures issued by the Department of Public Information. UNBISNET - United Nations Bibliographic Information System: UNBIS provides access to the documentary output of the United Nations and to non-United Nations publications acquired by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library in New York or the Library of the United Nations Office at Geneva. Coverage begins from 1979 but selective items from earlier years may be available. The language of the file is English, although publications may be in a variety of languages. Includes Bibliographic Records, Voting Records, and an Index to Speeches. UNCAPS - United Nations System Shared Cataloguing and Public Access System: UNCAPS is the premier web site which provides a Web interface to the electronic resources of the libraries of UN system of organizations, and offers powerful search and retrieval functionality. UNCAPS provides a single point of access to library catalogs, indexes and abstract databases, library holdings, links to full-text resources, and archives. United Nations System Pathfinder: The purpose of this Pathfinder is to identify major publications of the organizations comprising the United Nations system. Materials were selected with a view to currency, relevance and usefulness. United Nations Index to Speeches: Can browse list or search by speaker, country, keyword, topic and more. The UN Pulse: UN Pulse alerts you to selected just-released UN online information, major reports, publications and documents. Created and maintained by a team of reference librarians at the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library in New York, UN Pulse is updated as new information is published and received. United Nations Info Quest: UN-I-QUE: UN-I-QUE (UN Info Quest), a ready-reference file created by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library to respond to frequently asked questions, is designed to provide quick access to document symbols/sales numbers for UN materials (1946 onwards). It does not give full bibliographic details nor does it replace existing bibliographic databases (UNBISnet, UNBIS Plus on CD-ROM) produced by the Library. UN-I-QUE focuses upon documents and publications of a recurrent nature. United Nations Documentation: Research Guide: This guide is designed for researchers and information professionals with an interest in United Nations documentation. It presents an overview of the various types of documents and publications issued by the Organization (e.g., reports, resolutions, meeting records, sales publications, press releases) and gives guidance on how to work with them. United Nations World Food Programme: Includes a World Hunger--MapSource: United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) WFP interactive map: Hunger in the Development World "Around the world people are battling hunger. Use this interactive map to find out where food crises threaten lives." Prepared by Jennifer Lawrence, 9/30/2005

last update: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 Page maintained by: brehkop@wustl.edu © 1993-2008 CDT Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA