United Nations Research Guide

This comprehensive handbook designed for the general public explains the structure of the United Nations, how the Organization works, the main issues it addresses and its importance for people everywhere. In addition to setting out the various roles played by principle UN organs and related organizations, Basic Facts about the United Nations documents the Organization's contributions to international peace and security, economic and social development, human rights, humanitarian action, international law and decolonization. Appendices contain current data on UN membership and peacekeeping operations, as well as contact information for UN information centers, services and offices. This latest edition, published in 2017, has been revised to take account of significant developments in the world and the Organization itself since 2014.

Thoroughly rewritten and revised, this new edition provides nearly 6,000 A-Z entries that shed light on this complex institution. In addition to articles explaining essential concepts and philosophies, readers will find an all-new set of entries on peace-keeping activities, along with full coverage of every international treaty since the founding of the League of Nations, with generous quotations or full text for all key treaties, conventions, pacts, protocols, and declarations. Extensive cross-referencing and a thorough analytical index help users to navigate the many acronyms and multiple names of documents and organizations. Endorsed with a foreword by current U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, this is the most comprehensive, detailed reference to the U.N. ever published.

This Handbook provides in one volume an authoritative and independent treatment of the UN's seventy-year history, written by an international cast of more than 50 distinguished scholars, analysts, and practitioners. It provides a clear and penetrating examination of the UN's development since1945 and the challenges and opportunities now facing the organization. It assesses the implications for the UN of rapid changes in the world - from technological innovation to shifting foreign policy priorities - and the UN's future place in a changing multilateral landscape. Citations andadditional readings contain a wealth of primary and secondary references to the history, politics, and law of the world organization. This key reference also contains appendices of the UN Charter, the Statute of the International Court of Justice, and the Universal Declaration of HumanRights.

The book provides concise and comprehensive information on the UN system, as well as insight into recent UN developments and reform efforts in the face of global opportunities and challenges. The entries include bibliographies and relevant Internet addresses for further information.