Find Official Topic Terms
Find Documentation by Agenda Topic
Index to Proceedings (Major UN Documentation and Action by Year)
These PDF files link to resolutions, reports, and meeting records with a given year.
Find Resolutions, Votes, and More
Search Tips & Video Tutorials
- Use the UN Thesaurus (above) first to find the proper topic terms to use when searching
- Authors are usually countries
- Main Committee names:
- 1st Committee is the Disarmament and International Security Committee
- 2nd Committee is the Economic and Financial Committee
- 3rd Committee is the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee
- 4th Committee is the Special Political and Decolonization Committee
- 5th Committee is the Administrative and Budgetary Committee
- 6th Committee is the Legal Committee
Understanding UN Document Symbols 
How to Find Draft Resolutions & Other Documents (walkthrough)
How Searching by Document Symbol Helps You Find Related Documents (Video)
How to Search for Voting Data (Video)
Note: This video shows how to use the Voting Data Search, but if you are using the General Search of the UN Digital Library, you can filter to see only voting data by clicking "Show All" under Resource Type and then checking the box next to Voting Data so you see only the search results for voting data.
Find Speeches (Meeting Records)
Speeches Search: Find speeches (meeting records) made to the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the Economic and Social Council.
Speeches can be searched by topic, name of speaker, and country.
See also: Video of Most Recent General Debate (search for country name)
Speeches Info and Video Tutorials
- UN Doc. Symbol PV means the meeting record is verbatim.
- UN Doc. Symbol SR means the meeting record is a summary of what was said.
What Are Meeting Records? (Video)
Understanding Speeches Search Results (Video)
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Find Treaties
Search by participant country to find current and historical treaties and agreements including the texts of reservations, declarations, and objections.
CountryWatch Select a country from the dropdown menu in the left column.
These country profiles include descriptions of political economic climate, human rights, and environmental issues.
Note the helpful "Foreign Relations" section of each Country Review.
CIA World Factbook
Public versions of country profiles written by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States.
UN Data
Search all the UN's statistical databases at once (e.g. population, health, crime, environment, labor, etc.).
News from the UN
The official news service of the UN; the site includes articles, radio and TV coverage, and press releases.
The Economist Magazine
A weekly magazine covering international politics, economics, and business news. This link accesses The Economist through Academic OneFile.
How to Search: Enter a country name and/or topic in the "Search Within Publication" box to find articles mentioning those words.
Western News Agencies
Interested in what's happening in a particular country? Browse news stories organized by country and month. Articles come from western news-wire services like Agence France-Presse and Voice of America. Part of the CountryWatch database.
News Media in Your Countries
Select a country then click on "Media Outlets" to view links to newspapers in that country. This website contains other background information on many countries (not all countries included).
Call, e-mail, or chat with a librarian for more research assistance. We're happy to help!
(952) 358-8290
Email
Lacey MamakReference and Instruction Librarian
lacey.mamak@normandale.edu
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| Sample Preambulatory Phrases | |
|---|---|
| Affirming | Guided by |
| Alarmed by | Having adopted |
| Approving | Having considered |
| Aware of | Having considered further |
| Bearing in Mind | Having devoted attention |
| Believing | Having examined |
| Confident | Having heard |
| Contemplating | Having received |
| Convinced | Having studied |
| Declaring | Keeping in mind |
| Deeply concerned | Noting with regret |
| Deeply conscious | Noting with deep concern |
| Deeply convinced | Noting with satisfaction |
| Deeply disturbed | Noting further |
| Deeply regretting | Noting with approval |
| Desiring | Observing |
| Emphasizing | Reaffirming |
| Expecting | Realizing |
| Expressing its appreciation | Recalling |
| Expressing its satisfaction | Recognizing |
| Fulfilling | Referring |
| Fully alarmed | Seeking |
| Fully aware | Taking into account |
| Fully believing | Taking into consideration |
| Further deploring | Taking note |
| Further recalling | Welcoming |
| Sample Operative Phrases | |
|---|---|
| Accepts | Further proclaims |
| Affirms | Further recommends |
| Approves | Further reminds |
| Authorizes | Further requests |
| Calls | Further resolves |
| Calls upon | Has resolved |
| Condemns | Notes |
| Confirms | Proclaims |
| Congratulates | Reaffirms |
| Considers | Recommends |
| Declares accordingly | Regrets |
| Deplores | Reminds |
| Designates | Solemnly affirms |
| Draws the attention | Strongly condemns |
| Emphasizes | Supports |
| Encourages | Takes note of |
| Endorses | Transmits |
| Expresses its appreciation | Trusts |
| Expresses its hope | |
| Further invites | |
Cite Non-UN Documents
MLA Quick Guide (PDF)
See MLA citation examples for the most common types of sources (9th edition).
Many URLs for UN official documents will not work permanently. To make a stable link, use this URL format: https://undocs.org/DOCUMENTSYMBOL. For example, the stable link to Resolution A/RES/67/97 would be https://undocs.org/A/RES/67/97.