UPDATE: Researching the United Nations:
Finding the Organization's Internal Resource Trails
By Linda Tashbook
Linda Tashbook is the Foreign
International Comparative Law Librarian at the University Of Pittsburgh School
Of Law's Barco Law Library, a Fulbright Senior Specialist, and an attorney in
private practice. Prior to becoming the foreign and international
librarian, she was the Barco Law Library's Electronic Services Librarian.
Before law school, she worked as a public librarian. Her Juris Doctor and
Master of Library Science degrees are from the University of Pittsburgh.
Her Bachelor of Science degree is from Texas Woman's University.
Published June/July
2013
(Previously
Updated in October 2012)
See the Archive Version!
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Standard Queries
3. Types of Research Tools
3.1 Persons Involved with the U.N.
3.2 Issues that the U.N. Works On
3.3 Works of a Particular U.N. Entity
4. Handbooks, Toolkits, and Other Instructional
Sources from U.N. Entities
5. Researching
Treaties Deposited with the U.N.
6. Glossaries for U.N. Functions
7. Finding Official Operating Documents of U.N. Entities
8. Topical Research Guides and Resource Collections
9. Guides to U.N. Research from Non-U.N. Entities
10. U.N. Entities’ Compilations of National Laws
11. Databases from Throughout the U.N. System
12. Directories of U.N. Staff and Components
1. Introduction
The United Nations is such a massive
organization that its wide array of processes and products require enough
reference sources to warrant a map and compass for navigation. As a map,
here are suggested search techniques for several standard types of queries and,
as a compass, here are the U.N.'s many diverse search tools organized
into resource types.
2. Standard Queries
3. Types of Research Tools
For more information about the search tools
and primary sources that are published by the U.N., one can use research
guides by non-U.N. entities.
3.1 Persons Involved with the U.N.
3.2 Issues that the U.N. Works On
- Use the document research
guides for each of the U.N.'s broad categories of UN work:
General
Assembly Resources
Security
Council Resources
Economic & Social Development Reports & Databases
Human Rights Documents Research Guide
International
Law Documents Research Guide
Peacekeeping Documents Research
Guide
3.3 Works of a Particular U.N. Entity
- Look in UNBISnet
using the name of the committee, office, organization, council, etc, as a
keyword phrase. Using the committee's name, as author does not usually
yield thorough results in this particular database.
- Browse through the alphabetical
list of U.N. organizations. The committees are usually
components of the organizations in this list. Therefore, you will have to
navigate.
- Use the index
to the U.N. Website to search for the committee by name or else by the
main areas of its work.
- Search the U.N. Official Documents System database and use words
from the committee name as search terms.
4. Handbooks, Toolkits, and Other Instructional Sources
from U.N. Entities
5. Researching Treaties Deposited with the U.N.
- Search in the U.N. Treaty Collection,
which "contains the texts of over 50,000 bilateral and multilateral
treaties and subsequent treaty actions in their authentic language(s),
along with a translation into English and French, as appropriate."
- Find treaty signatories, ratifications, and
accessions in the Status of Treaties tool.
- Find very recent treaties and related writings by
browsing through “this month’s documents.”
- Read the decisions of the International
Court of Justice interpreting the treaty that interests
you.
- The International Law Commission has drafts of related
conventions and helpful explanations about the work of codifying
international law.
- The U.N. Office of Legal Affairs provides technical assistance and general
information about treaties: stages in the treaty-making process,
instructions for joining into an agreement and registering it, a treaty
reference guide, and U.N. requirements and practices for treaty making.
- Search for press releases
about the treaty.
- Check the UN Journal daily news about
treaties.
6.
Glossaries for U.N. Functions
7. Finding Official-Operating
Documents of U.N. Entities:
8. Topical Research Guides & Resource
Collections
This list is only intended to contain true
finding aides that point to assorted information sources in a subject area. The Dag Hammarskjold Library has a
comprehensive alphabetical list of UN entity research and reference materials here. An alternative way to find
subject-based resources is to click on the 'Publications' link on the home page
of any U.N. body or organization.
General Matters:
- International
Law -
reports about and text of the U.N.'s instruments of international law,
such as the Vienna Convention on Treaties, obligations to extradite,
diplomatic immunities, etc.
- International Law – from the UN Office in
Geneva
- UN Statistical Research—from
the UN Office in Geneva
- U.N.
Public Information - answers to the most commonly asked
questions about U.N. programs and services for schools and public
visitors.
Business:
- Intellectual
Property -
Digital library of patents, trademarks, etc. (WIPO World Intellectual
Property Organization).
- Labor & Employment-
conventions, journals, statistics, studies, etc (ILO International Labor
Organization).
- Labor Databases - child labor, trade union
complaints, comparative national laws, Triblex case law, etc (ILO).
- Investment Disputes - reports,
treaties, cases, and bibliographic references (World Bank).
- Financial Management - research
about investments, banking, currency control, and other fiscal matters
(IMF International Monetary Fund).
- World Trade - digital library of
primary and analytical sources (UNCTAD Conference on Trade and Development).
Development:
- Refugee Law and Protection Policy - The UNCHR's policy papers
and expert meeting proceedings.
- Food & Agriculture -
descriptive alphabetical listing of more than fifty databases about
planting, growing, and producing food (From FAO the Food and Agriculture
Organization).
- Economics & Development - research,
prospects, and data about education, business, and sociology in individual
countries and regions from the World Bank.
- World Bank Documents & Reports - topical listing includes
social & economic issues.
- Social Development - the vast resources of the
UN Research Institute for Social Development.
- Rural Poverty Knowledgebase - introductory explanations of major poverty
issues with links to documents, reports, examples, and more (International
Fund for Agricultural Development).
Health:
- Health
Research -
WHO statistics and other research publications.
- Nutrition - country studies, policy papers, news from SCN
(the Standing Committee on Nutrition).
- Illegal Drugs - trends, country
reports, criminal law enforcement data and analysis from UNODC (Office of
Drugs and Crime).
People:
- Women-
Women Watch guide to resources on gender equality and empowerment.
- Children- studies, statistics, and
numerous databases about child welfare from UNICEF (the UN Children's
Emergency Fund).
- Population- data reports about population characteristics
and behaviors.
Safety and Security
- Disarmament –
resource guides pointing to books and chapters, articles, databases, UN
documents, UN offices, etc…
- Drugs &
Crime- data and analysis
-
Science:
- Climate- national reports, primary
documents, "issues quick-finder," technology from UNFCCC
(Framework Convention on Climate Change).
- Nuclear Science - access to databases, statistics, and
information services from IAEA (International Atomic Energy Association).
- Maritime issues - resources about shipping,
marine safety, piracy, ocean pollution, etc… from the IMO (International
Maritime Organization).
- Flight Safety - national regulations,
safety management data, airworthiness information, etc. (International
Civil Aviation Organization).
9. Guides to U.N. Research from Non-U.N.
Entities This list has a small sample of the many UN research guides online:
10.
U.N. Entities’ Compilations of National Laws
- FAOLEX, from the U.N.'s Food and
Agriculture Organization, links to national agricultural laws.
- NATLEX, from the International
Labor Organization, collects national labor and employment laws.
- ECOLEX has environmental laws.
- UNESCO collects national copyright
laws.
- UNESCO also
compiles national laws about cultural heritage.
- WIPO links to patent, trademark,
design, and copyright laws.
- The WTO has summaries of countries'
trade policies.
- The Security Council compiles national laws about
weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
- AMLID is the Anti-Money Laundering International Database from UNODC
- The Division
of Ocean Affairs & Law of the Sea collects national maritime laws.
- UNCHR’s Refworld links to
national laws about immigration and asylum.
11. Databases From Throughout the
U.N. System
- UNBISnet
- The U.N. Bibliographic Information System serves as a portal as well
as the catalog of all U.N. publications and other holdings in the U.N.
library. All Web versions of U.N. publications can be accessed from this
site.
- UN-I-QUE - (U.N. Info Quest)
searchable index database of regularly published reports. Search results
show proper titles, publication dates, U.N. classification numbers and,
occasionally, hyperlinks for documents.
- UN Statistical Division
- ODS Official
Document System- reports and publications from headquarters and major
divisions.
- Index to Speeches (Library)
- Press
Releases (public information)
- NGO Database -detailed profiles of NGO’s
including funding sources, consultative status, and records of meeting
participation. (search box is at the top right corner of the screen)
11.1 Case Databases
12.
Directories of U.N. Staff and Components
These directories primarily list national
representatives who participate in the named entities. Where possible, staff
directories are also linked. Generic "contact us" links are purposely
omitted because those are not informational in themselves and they can already
be efficiently located.
UN Libraries:
Units subsidiary to the General Assembly:
- Units under the Security Council:
Units under the Economic and Social Council: (This list only
includes the units that have online directories).
International Court of Justice
- Members of the court (chambers and
committees).
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