united nations

United Nations iLibrary

Digital repository for UN sale publications, launched in February 2016. The publications can be read for free online, but a subscription is required to download pdf versions. The collection consists of books, studies, reports and other sale publications; for resolutions, meeting records and other official documents, see the UN Official Document System. A wide range of subjects is covered; law titles include the Law of the Sea Bulletin and the Yearbook of the International Law Commission (recent issues only; older issues are available free on other UN websites).

Research Guide to International Weapons Law

Electronic guide to the international law of weapons written by Gudrun Zagel who is Professor of International Law and Human Rights at the University of the Federal Army Munich. The guide was published in 2015 (and updated in 2021) on the Globalex website and made freely available by the Hauser Global Law School Program at the New York University School of Law. The author provides links to sources on international weapons law and institutions dealing with weapons.

United Nations Documentation

Online guide to using the various tools for finding United Nations documents written by Leah Granger who is a reference librarian at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. The guide was published in 2015) on the Globalex website and made freely available by the Hauser Global Law School Program at the New York University School of Law.

Official Document System (ODS) of the United Nations

This site provides a search engine for the official UN document repository. It covers all types of official UN documentation, including resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and Trusteeship Council from 1946 onwards, and documentation from meetings of the General Assembly and its subsidiary bodies. Documents are available in the six official languages of the UN - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The site search offers a simple key word search option, an advanced search and links to popular searches.

Jurisprudence (OHCHR)

Database of all cases decided by UN human rights treaty bodies: the Human Rights Committee (CCPR), the Committee against Torture (CAT), the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Searching through Systems: Research Guide for UN Criminal Tribunals

Online guide to international criminal tribunals written by Anthony Bestafka-Cruz who is a law student at University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt) and Managing Editor for the Berkeley Journal of International Law. The guide was published in 2012 (and updated by Devan Orr in 2024) on the Globalex website and made freely available by the Hauser Global Law School at the New York University School of Law.

United Nations Environment Programme

UNEP was established as a programme of the United Nations General Assembly as a result of the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Its headquarters are in Nairobi and there are regional offices and specialised units around the world. This website at the Geneva Executive Centre describes the various conventions and treaties currently in force including the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure (hazardous chemicals), providing technical guidelines and downloadable documents.

Convention on Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) website gives access to documents and databases on biodiversity along with background information on the Convention and a copy of the text. The Convention is a major international agreement on the protection of wildlife. It is the first global, comprehensive agreement to address all aspects of biological diversity including genetic resources, species, and ecosystems. There is information on parties to the Convention, related bodies and programmes.

United Nations legal publications

This UN website brings together the key UN legal publications and provides a search facility covering all of them. The following publications are available: Yearbook of the International Law Commission; United Nations Juridical Yearbook; Reports of International Arbitral Awards; Proceedings of Diplomatic Conferences; UNCITRAL Yearbook; UNCITRAL publications; Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs; Repertoire of Practice of the Security Council; and Summaries of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders of the International Court of Justice.

Subscribe to united nations