UN Secretariat Documentation

The Secretariat is a principal organ of the United Nations. Articles 7-8, 97-101 of the UN Charter primarily concern the Secretariat. Other Articles of the Charter may also relate to the work of the Secretariat.

The Secretary-General heads the Secretariat as the chief administrative officer of the Organization. The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. 

The Secretariat provides service to the other principal organs and carries out the work mandated by them. The Secretariat is organized in departments and offices according to the changing needs of the Organization. Over time, the structure and functions of the Secretariat have changed. 

Staff Regulations are established by the General Assembly and promulgated by the Secretary-General. The Staff Regulations require the Secretary-General to provide and enforce Staff Rules, consistent with the Staff Regulations. The declaration made by staff (formerly the oath of office) is part of the Staff Regulations.

• Current Staff Rules and Staff Regulations: ST/SGB/2023/1/Rev.1

Resources and Links

The UN Secretariat carries out a wide range of activities around the world. The Secretariat is broadly organized into departments and offices by topic (e.g. political affairs, legal affairs, public information), with specialized divisions and units within each larger department. There are also regional offices (e.g. UN Office at Geneva, UN Office at Nairobi).

Over time, the structure of the Secretariat has evolved to reflect the changing needs of the Organization. The first resolution on the Organization of the Secretariat was A/RES/13 (I) of 13 February 1946.

Most programmes and activities carried out by the Secretariat are mandated by a principal organ. An organ's request for an activity or programme often includes a request for a report of the Secretary-General on the actions carried out to fulfill the mandate. The mandate may not specify which department should carry out the activity.

Research on the activities of a particular department, office, division or unit, can be complicated due to changes in name, reporting structure and/or size. In general, identify the time period of interest then use secondary or reference resources to find UN primary materials. Some suggestions for starting research on the Secretariat are:

• Yearbook of the United Nations
• Everyone's United Nations
• Blue Books (on various topics)
• UN Telephone Directories 
  • Document series symbol: ST/CS/--
• UN Documents
  • see box "Documentation related to the Secretariat"

Resources and Links

The Secretariat performs many activities in a wide variety of areas, from servicing meetings to serving in peacekeeping operations. Much of the work of the Secretariat is reflected in documentation about the activities of the organization.  

Key documents related to the Secretariat are:​

• Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization
  • symbol pattern: A/session/1
  • example: A/73/1
  • summarizes major activities of the UN around the world
  • cites to other reports with more in-depth information
  • Supplement 1 of the General Assembly Official Records (GAOR)
• Report of the Secretary-General on the Composition of the Secretariat
  • example: A/72/123
  • provides statistics on nationality, gender, age and other demographic information
    • as of 2014, there are about 40,000 Secretariat staff members
    • about half work in field operations and half in non-field operations
• ​Budget documents
  • detail the programmes and activities of departments
  • see UN Documentation: Regular Budget
• Secretary-General reports to the General Assembly, Economic and Social Council and Security Council
  • see UN Documentation: Overview: Reports of the Secretary-General, in general
• Administrative issuances
  • concern the internal administration of the Secretariat
  • document series symbol: ST/--
  • key series of Administrative Issuances include:
    • Secretary-General Bulletin: ST/SGB/--
      • e.g. Regulations, rules, organization of departments, etc.
    • Administrative Instruction: ST/AI/--
      • e.g. Young professionals programme, staff selection system, family leave, rest and recuperation, etc
    • Information Circular: ST/IC/--
      • e.g. No smoking policy, revised salary scales, index to administrative issuances, etc.
  • the annual "Index of Administrative Issuances" includes a subject index of documents in force at the beginning of each year
  • the UN Human Resources Handbook links to relevant administrative issuances

Resources and Links

To find the original mandate of a UN Secretariat department, office or division can be challenging.

Since the first General Assembly resolution on the Organization of the Secretariat (A/RES/13 (I) of 13 Feb. 1946), the structure and mandates of many parts of the Secretariat have been modified, expanded, re-organized, and otherwise modified. In some cases, the General Assembly adopts a resolution endorsing a new department. In other cases, the Secretary-General may submit information within the proposed programme budget and the General Assembly resolution adopting the budget may not explicitly mention the name of the department or office.

In some cases, the Secretary-General's Bulletin on the Organization of the Secretariat and the related documents issued for each office may provide the mandate.

To get started on researching the mandate of a UN Secretariat department, office or division, check the following:

• Department website
• United Nations Handbook
• Yearbook of the United Nations
• UN Digital Library
  • ST/SGBs with title "Organization of ..."
  • Resolutions with subject "Department of ..."

Historic Note

The symbol assigned to the Organization of the Secretariat Manuals has changed over the years. We have the following information in our files:

• 1945: PC/EX/113/Rev.1
• 1951: ST/AFS/2
• 1959: ST/SGB/122 (ST/ADM/1)
• 1960: ST/SGB/123
• 1961: ST/SGB/124
• 1964: ST/SGB/128
• 1966: ST/SGB/131
• 1974: ST/SGB/Organization

Research Links

Related Research Guides: