DOCUMENT SYMBOLS
Official documents are each assigned a unique symbol by which they can be identified. For example, the UN Document symbol:
S / RES / 1244 (1999)
would refer to the Security Council Resolution no. 1244, adopted in the year 1999.
For a detailed overview, refer to this guide to the UN Document Symbols on the Dag Hammarskjöld Library's website.
USEFUL TIP!
If you already know the UN Document Symbol, a quick way to access a document is to add the symbol after the following url: http://undocs.org/
For example:
undocs.org/A/RES/67/1
(Note: This will not work for some older documents that have not yet been scanned.)
Most official records and sales publications prior to 2005 can be found by searching for a title on the National Library catalogue. Many of these are serial publications, so you will need to pay attention to the holdings list to see which years and issues are held in the collection.
Search tip: Browse UN documents in the Library Catalogue using an author search by UN body. Some examples are:
• Security Council
• General Assembly
• Economic and Social Council
The library also holds a number of published print indexes to assist in searching for official records, prior to 2005:
Index to Official Documents
| United Nations documents index | 1950-1973 |
|
UNDEX. United Nations document index |
1970-1978 |
| UNDOC, current index : United Nations documents index | 1979-1996 |
| United Nations documents index | 1998-2007 |
Index to Proceedings of the:
| General Assembly | 1950-2009 |
| Security Council | 1964-2009 |
| Economic and Social Council | 1952-2008 |
| Trusteeship Council | 1952-1993 |
Index to Resolutions of the:
| Security Council | 1946-1991 |
| Economic and Social Council | 1946-1970 |
| Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) | 1947-1978 |
Index to Sales publications:
| The Complete Reference Guide to United Nations Sales Publications | 1946-1978 |
FEATURED RESOURCE
Loraine Sievers & Sam Daws The procedure of the UN Security Council 2014, nla.cat-vn6576301
Explains the Council's role in its wider UN Charter context with detailed analysis of voting and decision-taking. Updates are provided on the publisher's website.
ONLINE DOCUMENTS
Most Official Documents can be accessed online, either via the Official Document System, or through the UN Library. Here are some useful links to help access these:
