UN Press releases serve information purposes only and are not considered official documents. Because press releases are usually issued in advance of official documents, they are a valuable tool for research, especially on current topics. Check the UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases (circa 1995- present) website for online access, 1995-present.
Press release symbols consist of a letter and number combination. The letters in the press release symbol indicate the topic or the UN body. Some key press release series are:
| Press Release Symbol* | Type of Press Release |
|---|---|
| BIO/ | Biographies |
| DSG/SM/ | Deputy Secretary-General: statements and messages |
| ENV/DEV/ | Environment/ Sustainable Development |
| GA/ | General Assembly |
| GA/AB/ | 5th Committee of the General Assembly (Administrative/Budgetary) |
| GA/DIS/ | 1st Committee of the General Assembly (Disarmament) |
| GA/EF/ | 2nd Committee of the General Assembly (Economic/Financial) |
| GA/L/ | 6th Committee of the General Assembly (Legal) |
| GA/PAL/ | Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People |
| GA/SHC/ | 3rd Committee of the General Assembly (Social/Humanitarian/Cultural) |
| GA/SPD/ | 4th Committee of the General Assembly (Special Political/Decolonization) |
| HQ/ & HQC/ | UN Headquarters in New York, including gifts and host country, 1946- |
| HR/ | Human Rights |
| L/ | Legal |
| ORG/ | Organization matters |
| PAL/ | Middle East, including Palestine |
| PKO/ | Peacekeeping |
| SC/ | Security Council |
| SG/ | Secretary-General |
| SG/A/ | Secretary-General appointments, 1964-present |
| SG/SM/ | Secretary-General statements and messages, 1964-present |
| SG/T/ | Secretary-General travel, 1964-present |
| WOM/ | Women and gender |
* symbols with links: Links go to searches in the UN Digital Library for that press release series. The Library is working to index select series of current and historic UNHQ Press Releases and records for these press releases can be found in the UN Digital Library, sometimes with files or with links to online versions, sometimes only a description.
At the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, UNHQ (New York) Press Releases are assigned call number ST/DPI/PRESS/-- , and shelved by year, then press release symbol within each year.
The main types of press releases are listed here.
Background press releases are issued prior to sessions of major UN bodies and list:
Meetings coverage press releases are issued shortly after a meeting of a UN body and provide:
Round-up press releases are published shortly after the conclusion of a session and provide:
Secretary-General statements (SG/SM/-) are issued for:
Biographies (BIO/-) are issued for:
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