Transcript UN and other International Organizations

UN and other International
Organizations
Staff Training
8/12/99
The UN System
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/bookstor/kits/english/unintro/images/unsystem.gif
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/bookstor/kits/english/unintro/images/unsystem.gif
The UN System (Main Organs,
Agencies and Specialized
Agencies)
• UN - General Assembly, Security Council,
Economic and Social Council, Secretariat, Int’l
Court of Justice
– Sub-agencies - UNICEF, UNDP, UNEP, and
more
• Specialized Agencies - FAO, IMF, World Bank
Group, UNESCO, IMO, WHO, ITU, UNIDO,
WMO, IFAD, ILO, WIPO, ICAO, UPU
United Nations Information
• Monographs on variety of topics [PAPER]
• Serials on a variety of topics
(predominantly, but not entirely, statistical)
[PAPER]
• Treaties [a whole other training topic. . .]
• Resolutions (and the supporting
documentation) [FICHE]
• Letters, reports, etc. [FICHE]
Resolutions (and the supporting
documentation) [FICHE]
Letters, reports, etc. [FICHE]
AccessUN
• Indexes the documents and selected
publications of the UN and some of its subagencies
– Does ** NOT ** include the specialized
agencies
• Covers 1961-present (over time will go back to
1946)
• Some full-text (resolutions and selected
proceedings)
• Is mostly an index to the microprint/fiche
collection
AccessUN opening screen
Use these to narrow
search (for resolutions,
choose masthead)
Results Screen
Sample Record
Note that you can
email records
If there’s a “Readex year,” then it should be
in the microprint/fiche collection
The rest of that record
Document type
pagination
Another record
Not in the microprint/fiche collection; check
Magic. If not in Magic, check the Docs title
catalog and shelflist.
One more record
If there’s full text, it’ll say so.
A PV. is the full text* of the proceedings
in a particular UN organ. (Think of it
as analogous to the Congressional
Record.) *The claim is that it’s a “verbatim” record
of the proceedings; it’s not - it’s really
like the Cong. Record - representatives
can edit their remarks.
Here’s a Resolution Record
Full text notification
Series symbol (aka Document number)
for a resolution
Resolutions are discussed and, in some instances, voted
on at meetings of a UN body. Here’s the series symbol
for the meeting at which this resolution was agreed to.
A/52/PV.70
Voting information is provided in the text of
the proceedings, not with the resolution itself.
Not everything gets voted on . . .
Note that this resolution was agreed
to without a vote.
Vote info in a PV. document
Note that there’s no summary
vote totals here. For that,
use UNBIS Plus.
UNBIS Plus on CD-ROM
• Available via CD-ROM server
• Several databases in one:
– library catalog of the UN Libraries in NY and
Geneva
– index to the proceedings of the GA, SC,
ECOSOC (essential for Model UN)
– UNBIS thesaurus
– voting records (summary totals and, when
available, by country)
Users and Uses of the UN
materials
• Model UN students (MSU and high school)
– Proceedings information (called “speech
citations” in UNBIS Plus; search field “Author”
in AccessUN)
• H.S. level - usually assigned a particular country
• U level - usually assigned a particular country and
committee/commission (i.e., issue area)
– Voting info for particular countries on particular
issues
What About Those Specialized
Agencies?
• No single source of indexing information
• Post-1986 monographs in Magic (if there’s
OCLC copy)
• Small percentage of serials in Magic
• Different indexing tools for each agency
– Annotated guide is available: International
Governmental Organizations (IGO's) and
International Law: IGO-Specific Information
http://www.lib.msu.edu/publ_ser/docs/igos/igoorg.htm
More Key User Groups
• James Madison students
– especially MC322 (International Law and
Organization)
• Political Science students
– especially PLS364 (International Organization
and Cooperation)
• Researchers interested in human rights,
international development, environmental
policy, children’s rights, women’s rights,
population control, etc.
Additional Resources to Know
• Subject Guide to International Law and
Organizations (WWW page by D. Schaubman)
http://www.lib.msu.edu/publ_ser/docs/igos/igosubj.htm
• United Nations Official Records and
Resolutions (WWW page by B. Fox)
http://www.lib.msu.edu/foxre/unres.html