This WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources is a frequently updated Internet directory of over 2000 annotated links to high-quality English-language sources of information and analysis in a wide range of international affairs, international relations, international studies, global studies, and global education topics. These sites are carefully selected for their long-term value, favoring those with cost-free, authoritative information and analysis online. Each website is described only in general terms because of the typically rapid changes in details of its contents and features.

THE UNITED NATIONS

Searches within the UN System

Some Key UN Websites

Sources about the UN

Searches within the United Nations System

 

DocuTicker, United Nations-- Constantly updated directory of key United Nations online publications, as they are released, from DocuTicker, "one of the definitive information professional's guides to freely available full-text PDF reports available on the web from NGOs, government agencies, research institutes and similar organizations."

Researching the United Nations: Finding the Organization's Internal Resource Trails-- Guide by Linda Tashbook, of the Library of the Law School of the University of Pittsburgh.

Structure and Organization of the United Nations-- Explanatory U.N. page to access the principal organs, committees, commissions, agencies, institutes, and other entities of the United Nations. The U.N. site index is a helpful directory, with a search facility.

United Nations Bibliographic Information System-- "Catalogue of United Nations documents and publications indexed by the U.N.'s Dag Hammarskjöld Library and the Library of the U.N. Office at Geneva... [plus] commercial publications and other non-U.N. sources held in the collection of the Dag Hammarskjöld Library." Also "provides instant access to a growing number of full text resources in the six official languages of the U.N." Use the BISNET Index to Speeches search engine to find official addresses given at the U.N. and the Voting Records search engine to find member votes on all General Assembly and Security Council resolutions adopted since 1946.

United Nations Official Document System-- Search facility for online access to "all types of official United Nations documentation, beginning in 1993," plus "resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council from 1946 onwards," with online training guides and expanding coverage. See the United Nations Documentation: Research Guide, "designed for researchers and information professionals with an interest in United Nations documentation. It presents an overview of the various types of documents and publications issued by the Organization (e.g, reports, resolutions, meeting records, sales publications, press releases) and gives guidance on how to work with them."

United Nations System-- Official Web site locator for the United Nations system of organizations, searchable and organized in a user-friendly way.

U.N.data-- "Data access system to U.N. databases... a single entry point from which users can now search and download a variety of statistical resources of the UN System." Very helpful, searches scores of millions of UN records. From the United Nations Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

U.N. Pulse-- Blog that "alerts you to selected just-released U.N. online information, major reports, publications and documents. Created and maintained by a team of reference librarians at the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library in New York, U.N. Pulse is updated as new information is published and received."

Yearbook of the United Nations (Archive)-- "The Yearbook is the principal reference work of the United Nations and provides a detailed overview of the Organization's activities. Each Yearbook is fully indexed and includes all major General Assembly, Security Council and Economic and Social Council resolutions. The complete collection (1946-2007) is available here."

Some Key United Nations Websites

•  United Nations Home Page-- From the U.N. Department of Public Information, organized by topics and general information.

•  Dag Hammarskjöld Library-- From the United Nations Department of Public Information, with material available online. Of particular note is the United Nations Documentation Research Guide, for an overview of the various types of U.N. documents and publications. Also consult UN-I-QUE: United Nations Info Quest for quick access to document symbols/sales numbers for U.N. materials since 1946. Note UN Member States on the Record, which "provides direct access to official documents reflecting the views of United Nations Member States."

•  Food and Agriculture Organization-- Includes a World Food Situation section. The Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture has reports and databases for information on the world food and agriculture situation. At FAO's searchable Document Repository you can access and view full-text documents from FAO and related IGOs. FAOStat Databases give you time-series food and forestry-related statistics by commodity or country. "The State of..." publications series and others provide the "most recent world-wide information and analyses on major topics of [FAO's] competence - food and agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, forests, food insecurity."

•  Global Issues-- Summaries of principal global issues, with links to relevant U.N. bodies, U.N. publications and materials, and other authoritative online sources.

•  Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme-- This annual Report is a comprehensive guide to global human development, with analyses of major issues, updated Human Development Indicators to compare the relative levels of human development in over 175 countries, and an agenda to help transform development priorities. Portions are available online, Occasional Papers, and links to national HDRs.

• Library of the United Nations Office at Geneva-- Site allows access to information on Library holdings (searchable online catalog), recent acquisitions, archives, bibliographies, publications,  e-resources, U.N. system resources, special events, and more.

•  U.N. Women-- The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women's site describes the entity's work, and that of others, to promote women's empowerment and gender equality. Posts news and online publications on women's issues around the world, including the biennial Progress of the World's Women and the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development.

•  U.N. Women Watch-- Women Watch is a gateway to UN information and data on women worldwide and a forum on global women's issues, to provide up to date information on the UN's work on behalf of the women of the world, track the global agenda for improving the status of women, and constitute an electronic space for exchange of information and ideas on women's issues.

•  United Nations Children's Fund-- Statistics and publications online about the situation and rights of children worldwide, including the annual report State of the World's Children.

•  United Nations Chronicle-- Articles and special features from this official publication on "information, ideas and debate about the U.N. system," with archive.

•  United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)-- "The United Nations agency for human settlements... mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all." Posts many UN-HABITAT publications, news, statistics, and partnerships, both globally and by country.

Sources about the United Nations

•  Academic Council on the United Nations System-- "Organization and network promoting innovative and advanced scholarship anf greater academic-practictioner dialogue about the United Nations, international organization(s), and global governance." Posts scholarly publications, videos, and podcasts "to stimulate, support, and disseminate research and analysis on the United Nations, multilateralism, and international organization."

•  Global Governance Watch-- "Joint project of the American Enterprise Institute and the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies... to raise awareness of the growing global governance movement and to address issues of transparency and accountability at the United Nations, in NGOs, and related international organizations. In particular, the project monitors issues of national sovereignty and the ways in which the agendas of international organizations influence domestic politics."

•  Global Policy Forum-- Independent NGO "to monitor policy making at the United Nations, promote accountability of global decisions, educate and mobilize for global citizen participation, and advocate on vital issues of international peace and justice," with much information and analysis online. Note their section on NGOs and the United Nations.

•  Google's United Nations news search page-- Excellent and focused search engine to retrieve news about the United Nations. Offers an e-mail news alert service.

•  Security Council Report-- Independent, non-profit organization based at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza in New York City, that posts monthly forecasts, updates, and reports about activities and statistics of the U.N. Security Council, and also about major issues and world regional situations. Also see What's in Blue, a "series of insights produced by Security Council Report on evolving  Security Council actions."

•  U.N. Wire-- Free daily independent news briefing by e-mail covering the United Nations, global affairs, and key international issues from the United Nations Foundation and SmartBrief.

•  United Nations Association of the United States of America--  Dedicated to promoting U.S. participation in the United Nations system and to strengthening the U.N. system. Online forums, materials on education and public research, substantive policy analysis, policy advocacy, U.S.-U.N. relations, and links.

•  United Nations Intellectual History Project-- From the Graduate Center of The City University of New York, materials from a project analyzing the U.N. "as the creator and nurturer of ideas and concepts that have permeated international public policy discourse and sometimes won support and been implemented."