UN documents
The United Nations is a complex organization dealing with many different issues within the areas of Peace and Security, Human Rights, Sustainable Devlopment, Humanitarian Aid and International Law. All work is documented and the UN documentation shows the complexity of the organization.
ECOSOC-dokument/UN Photo
Find UN documents and reports
Retrieving UN documents and reports requires a comprehensive knowledge of the basic structure and processes of the United Nations organization. All documents reflect this structure, being issued by the UN entity where a certain question has been dealt with.
UN documents are issued by the core organization, whereas the specialized agencies have there own publishing and depository library system.
UN documents are important sources for studies and research. Today, UN documents are available online via databases or websites. UN depository libraries around the world usually hold collections of documents in print. Dag Hammarskjöld and Law Library, Uppsala University, Sweden is a UN depository library.
How do I find UN documents?
- Start with DagDok. Consider where in the UN organization the document belongs, or what UN topic it deals with.
- Search the Yearbook of the United Nations, which offers an overview with references to documents (document symbols).
- Search UN databases relevant to the topic.
- Visit the website of the organ, fund, programme or agency.
- Search for documents in print at a UN depository library.
UN documents = official records
Official records is a series of printed documents relating to the work of the main organs of the United Nations (General Assembly, Security Council and Economic and Social Council). Some UN conferences may also have official records. Official records are defined in Regulations for the Control and Limitation of Documentation, ST/AI/189/Add.3/Rev.2.
Generally, official records consist of meeting protocols as well as resolutions and decisions from a UN organ in the UN system. Reports and other selected documents are published as an annex or supplement to the UN entity concerned.
The UN documentation provides insight into the actions of the organs
- Decisions are found in resolutions, decisions, presidental statements.
- Activities are found in reports of the Secretary-General, adminstrators of funds and programmes, heads of specialized agencies, reports of subsidiary bodies.
- Negotiations and voting can be found in meeting records and reports of subsidiary bodies.
- Positions of member states of the UN can be found in meeting records and letters.
Every UN document is assigned a document symbol, which is the easiest way to find a document.
Document symbols and the UN classification system
Already, in 1946, when the United Nations was founded, it was realized that there was a need for a system for how all documents should be arranged. A classification system was created. Each UN document has therefore a unique symbol that indicates the organ, to which the document has been submitted. The symbol is found in the upper right hand corner or on the cover of the document. The General Assembly's very first document Outline of symbols for General Assembly and other United Nations documents (A/1) provides an overview of this system.
For immediate access online to a UN document type undocs.org/ followed by the document symbol in the address field of the webbrowser: Ex undocs.org/A/1 NB: All documents are not available online.
What is a document symbol?
- Combination of numbers and letters.
- Unique identifier for a UN document - one symbol for all languages.
- Indicates the organ to which the document is submitted.
Key UN documents
- UN Charter in Swedish | in English
- UN System Chart
- Yearbook of the United Nations
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Swedish | in English
- Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
- Statue of the International Court of Justice
UN documents and publications in catalogues and databases
- United Nations Digital Library. UN official documents and open access publications, UN maps, UN voting data and speeches.
- UN iLibrary. UN publications online covering different topics.
- ODS. UN documents published from 1993 onward and scanned documents published between 1946 and 1993 in the official languages of the UN.
- Daily list of documents (ODS). Documents published for the day, with full text links, can be found in the United Nations full text database ODS.
- UNBIS Thesaurus is a multilingual database of the controlled vocabulary used to describe UN documents.
- Index to proceedings is an annual bibliographic guide to the proceedings and documentation of the major UN organs. The index includes:
- a list of all documents
- a comprehensive subject index
- an index to speeches
- a voting chart of resolutions
- United Nations Documents Index (in United Nations Digital Library). References to all documents by subject area are published. A collection of indexes is held by the Dag Hammarskjöld and Law Library, Uppsala, Sweden and the UN Library in New York and the UN library in Geneva.
UN Documents available online
- All UN documents from 1993-.
- All resolutions of the Principal Organs from 1946-.
- All Security Council plenary documents from 1946- in English, French and Spanish.
- All supplements to the General Assembly Official Records (GAOR) from 1946-.
- All General Assembly plenary meeting records from 1946- in English, French and Spanish.
- Older documents are being scanned. Update on UN Digitization Programme.
Human rights, conventions and declarations
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Swedish | in English
- Resolution 217 A (III) / A/RES/217(III) adopted by the UN General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 during its 183rd plenary meeting
- The Core International Human Rights Instruments and their monitoring bodies
- Universal Human Rights Index - UHRI. Human rights recommendations from all parts of the UN system: the UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies, the Human Rights Council mechanisms Universal Periodic Review and Special Procedures. Each document links to other related information in the database
- Charter-based Body Database. Documents and reports of the Human Rights Council, its predecessor and their subsidiaries and parent organs. Maintained by OHCHR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights).
- Treaty Body Database. Full text documents from the UN human rights treaty monitoring bodies
- Yearbook on Human Rights 1946-1988
- OHCHR website for background information, documents and reports.
- Research guides by the UN library Dag Hammarskjöld Library:
News from the United Nations
- UN News. Latest news from the United Nations.
- In Focus. A quick guide with an overview of current UN issues, with links to statements, resolutions and other key resources.
- UN Web TV. selected live programming of United Nations meetings and events as well as with pre-recorded video features and documentaries on various global issues.
- UNRIC Library Newsletter, a monthly newsletter from the United Nations regional office in Brussels.
DagDok - Your guide to the UN documentation
DagDok is your entry to the United Nations and the UN documentation.
DagDok is the Dag Hammarskjöld and Law library guide to the UN documentation. It is your guide to finding UN reports and documents, background information about the UN system as well as areas of UN activity.
DagDok presents an overview of the entire UN organization with its main organs, funds, programmes and specialized agencies. Each page provides brief backgrouns information and links to different types of resources where you can find UN documents or publications.
Through DagDok you can also access information regarding the main areas of UN activity. You will fins links to key documents and reports as well as web portals and databases related to each subject area.
DagDok is available in Swedish and in English.
Why using DagDok?
When you use DagDok you will find:
- Background information to the UN organization as well as the areas of UN activitiy.
- Links to UN documents and reports, and explanation to the the document symbols.
- Links to relevant websites within the UN system.
- Suggestions of databases and web portals for in-depth information relevant to the topic.
Dag Hammarskjöld and Law Library
The Dag Hammarskjöld and Law Library, Uppsala university is part of a worldwide network of UN depository libraries, which all offer free access to UN documents, reports, books and other printed and electronic sources. The United Nations considers free access to information a key democratic principle and is committed to making information about its programmes and operations available to the public. The library is the largest UN library in the Nordic countries, in which UN documents in print, covering the period 1946-2010 are included, as well as access to electronic and print resources for more recent documents.
UN archive Pdf, 3 MB.. A list of the full UN documentation in print, from 1946 until 1992, that you can find in the Dag Hammarskjöld and Law library collection.
Ett bibliotek i Dag Hammarskjölds anda : en historisk bakgrund Pdf, 4 MB. by Bo Wirmark (2013). Revised edition 2019. A brief overview of the library and its establishment and history. In Swedish only.