UN Documents - Human Rights Research - The Basics - LibGuides at University of San Francisco School of Law

Introduction

This page highlights some United Nations sites and U.N. document research tools that are particularly useful for International Human Rights Clinic projects.

For more on United Nations research, visit the sites in the Guides to U.N. Document Research box, below.

The UN directory below has a much more comprehensive list of UN bodies and organizations.

Directory of United Nations System Organizations
A topical and alphabetical guide to the sites for almost every UN body/organization.

U.N. Human Rights Bodies

Use this links for human rights bodies relevant to the International Human Rights Clinic.

Human Rights Bodies - United Nations
A list of UN human rights bodies maintained by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Human Rights Council
The Human Rights Council is a Charter-based body whose mechanisms include Universal Periodic Review and the UN Special Procedures.
Extranet of the Human Rights Council
A "a community site where updated documents, statements, and schedules of the Human Rights Council are available." Includes the HRC's Annual Programme of Work. Researchers can use this password request form to register for the HRC Extranet.
Commission on the Status of Women
A functional commission of ECOSOC.
Human Rights Committee
A treaty-based body for the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
A treaty-based body for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
A treaty-based body for the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
A treaty-based body for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Committee Against Torture
A treaty-based body for the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Committee on the Rights of the Child
A treaty-based body for the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Committee on Migrant Workers
A treaty-based body for the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
A treaty body which monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Committee on Enforced Disappearances
A treaty body which monitors implementation of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

U.N. Human Rights Documents - Selected Sources

These sources are useful for pinpointing key human rights documents from the main U.N. human rights mechanisms (including treaty bodies and charter bodies).

List of Human Rights Issues - OHCHR
Browse for documents and other information on over 40 issues, from adequate housing to women.
Human Rights by Country - OHCHR
Charter body documents, treaty body documents, and other information, organized by country.
more...less...
Charter body documents include UPR documents, reports of special rapporteurs, independent experts, and working groups. Treaty body documents include recent state party reports, Concluding Observations, and responses.
Universal Periodic Review - Human Rights Council
The HRC's UPR site, which includes documents — organized by country and by session — relating to the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review mechanism.
more...less...
In UPR, the Council "reviews the human rights situation of all United Nations Member States in a four and a half year cycle."
Special Procedures - Human Rights Council
Documents and other information from special rapporteurs, independent experts, and working groups.
more...less...
"Special procedures is the general name given to the mechanisms of the Human Rights Council to examine, monitor, advise and publicly report on human rights situations in specific countries or territories (country mandates) or on major phenomena of human rights
violations worldwide (thematic mandates)"
Universal Human Rights Index - OHCHR
"Access to country-specific human rights information emanating from international human rights mechanisms in the United Nations system." Compiles "conclusions and recommendations addressed by UN independent experts to specific countries." Advanced search is best. You can search and filter by: state; rights ("themes"); affected persons; body making the recommendation; keywords; and document symbol.
Treaty Body Database
Search engine for official United Nations treaty body documents.
Charter Body Database
Search engine for official documents from UN Charter bodies, such as the Commission on Human Rights, the Human Rights Council and the Advisory Committee, the General Assembly, the Security Council, ECOSOC, etc.

U.N. Document Search Tools

These are useful tools for finding specific U.N. documents, or for searching for U.N. documents that address topics you are researching.

Official Document System - United Nations ("ODS")
Flexible search engine allows for searching by keyword, subject, date, U.N. Document Symbols, and more. Currently covers 1993 (at least) to the present. (Resolutions from 1946 to 1992 are also available.)
Universal Human Rights Index - OHCHR
"Access to country-specific human rights information emanating from international human rights mechanisms in the United Nations system." Compiles "conclusions and recommendations addressed by UN independent experts to specific countries." Advanced search is best. You can search and filter by: state; rights ("themes"); affected persons; body making the recommendation; keywords; and document symbol.
United Nations Digital Library - Simple Search
The UN Digital Library includes "UN documents, voting data, speeches, maps, and open access publications." Documents (and information about documents) are available from 1979 to the present. For more information and search tips, see the Dag Hammarskjöld Library guide to the UN Digital Library.
United Nations Digital Library - Advanced Search
Flexible, template-driven search interface for the UN Digital Library, which includes "UN documents, voting data, speeches, maps, and open access publications." Documents (and information about documents) are available from 1979 to the present. For more information and search tips, see the Dag Hammarskjöld Library guide to the UN Digital Library.

AccessUN This link opens in a new window
A finding-tool for United Nations documents from 1945 to the present. (Off-campus access available for USF students, faculty and staff.) Many of the documents themselves are available on microfiche on the lower level of the Zief Library.

Finding Submissions by Human Rights Advocates to the Human Rights Council, the Human Rights Commission, & the Commission on the Status of Women

Follow the steps below to find submissions by Human Rights Advocates to the Human Rights Council and its predecessor, the Human Rights Commission.

HRA Submissions to the Human Rights Council - UN ODS Search
For HRA submissions to the HRC from 2006 to the present, run this search —
- In the "symbol" textbox, enter: A/HRC
- In "Full-text search" textbox enter: submitted by human rights advocates
- Select "Find this phrase" from the "Type of full-text search" pull-down menu.
HRA Submissions to the Human Rights Commission - UN ODS Search
For HRA submissions to the HR Commission prior to 2006, run this search —
- In the "symbol" textbox, enter: E/CN.4
- In "Full-text search" textbox enter: submitted by human rights advocates
- Select "Find this phrase" from the "Type of full-text search" pull-down menu.
HRA Submissions to the Commission on the Status of Women — UN ODS Search
For HRA submissions to the CSW, run this search —
- In the "symbol" textbox, enter: E/CN.6
- In "Full-text search" textbox enter: submitted by human rights advocates
- Select "Find this phrase" from the "Type of full-text search" pull-down menu.

United Nations Legal Documents

Here are some ways to find documents generated by the U.N. under its Charter mandate "to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained."

United Nations Legal Publications - Global Search
Search engine for the selected, important UN legal publications.
United Nations Diplomatic Conferences
Text of official records of diplomatic conferences convoked by the U.N. and charged with drafting treaties. Useful for drafting history of and background information about treaties negotiated in diplomatic conferences under the auspices of the U.N.

Guides to U.N. Document Research

For some of the best expert advice on finding United Nations documents, try these sites.

United Nations Documentation - NYU GlobaLex
Explains "using the primary finding tools for UN documents." By Leah Granger, Reference Librarian at the U.C. Berkeley Law Library. (Last updated in 2015.)
UN Documentation: Overview - U.N. Dag Hammarskjöld Library
This guide "presents an overview of selected UN documents, publications, databases and websites. It provides details on the patterns of documentation of the active principal UN organs. It presents documentation of the organs and subsidiary bodies involved in areas of interest to many researchers."
UN Documentation: How to Find UN Documents - Dag Hammarskjöld Library
Sections include: Find UN Documents; Find Resolutions; Find Reports; Find Meeting Records & Speeches; Find Voting Records.
UN Documentation: Human Rights - UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library
A detailed guide to UN human rights documents and the bodies that generate them.
Researching the United Nations: Finding the Organization's Internal Resource Trails
(1) "search techniques for several standard types of queries and, as a compass," and (2) "the U.N.'s many diverse search tools organized into resource types." By Linda Tashbook. (Last updated in 2016)

U.N. Doc. Symbols - Human Rights

These are the U.N. document symbols for documents from the major U.N. human rights bodies. Including these symbols in searches can help limit results to documents generated by a specific body. A detailed A guide to U.N. document symbols (what they are and how to read them) is available from the Dag Hammarskjöld Library.

E/CN.4/ — Commission on Human Rights (defunct)
A/HRC/ — Human Rights Council (supercedes Comm'n on HR)
E/CN.6/ — Commission on the Status of Women
CCPR/ — Human Rights Committee (treaty body for ICCPR)
E/C.12/ — Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (treaty body for International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights)
CERD/ — Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (treaty body for Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination)
CEDAW/ — Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (treaty body for Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women)
CAT/ — Committee against Torture (treaty body for Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment)
CAT/OP/ — Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (treaty body for Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture)
CRC/ — Committee on the Rights of the Child (treaty body for Convention on the Rights of the Child)
CRPD/ — Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (treaty body for Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol)
CMW/ — Committee on Migrant Workers (treaty body for International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families)
CED/ — Committee on Enforced Disappearances (treaty body for International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance)