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UN Document Symbols & Series Symbols

A/C.1/

The First Committee, one of the six Main Committees of the General Assembly, is allocated agenda items related to disarmament and international security.

  • Document series symbol for working documents
  • Verbatim records, starting with the 22nd session, with the exception of the 48th session
  • Press release series symbol

The First Committee submits a separate report to the plenary on every agenda item allocated to it. Each report:

  • indicates the meetings at which the item was considered
  • summarizes the committee's consideration of the item
  • identifies the sponsors of draft resolutions
  • reports the vote, if any, of Member States on draft texts
  • transmits the final version of draft resolutions and/or decisions recommended to the plenary for adoption
  • symbol pattern

The plenary considers each report and votes on the draft resolutions or decisions it contains.

For example, the General Assembly adopted resolutions 69/68, 69/69, 69/70, 69/71, 69/72, 69/7369/74 and 69/75 based on the report of the First Committee (A/69/441).

Available translations:

A/C.2/

The Second Committee, one of the six Main Committees of the General Assembly, is allocated agenda items related to economic and financial matters.

  • Document series symbol for working documents
  • Summary records
  • Press release series symbol

The Second Committee submits a separate report to the plenary on every agenda item allocated to it. Each report:

  • indicates the meetings at which the item was considered
  • summarizes the committee's consideration of the item
  • Identifies the sponsors of draft resolutions
  • reports the vote, if any, of Member States on draft texts
  • transmits the final version of draft resolutions and/or decisions recommended to the plenary for adoption
  • symbol pattern

The plenary considers each report and votes on the draft resolutions or decisions it contains.

For example, the General Assembly adopted resolutions 69/209, 69/210, 69/211, 69/212 and 69/213 based on the report of the Second Committee (A/69/468).

Available translations:

A/C.3/

The Third Committee, one of the six Main Committees of the General Assembly, is allocated agenda items related to social, humanitarian and cultural matters, including human rights.

  • Document series symbol for working documents
  • Summary records
  • Press release series symbol

The Third Committee submits a separate report to the plenary on every agenda item allocated to it. Each report:

  • indicates the meetings at which the item was considered
  • summarizes the committee's consideration of the item
  • identifies the sponsors of draft resolutions
  • reports the vote, if any, of Member States on draft texts
  • transmits the final version of draft resolutions and/or decisions recommended to the plenary for adoption
  • symbol pattern

The plenary considers each report and votes on the draft resolutions or decisions it contains.

For example, the General Assembly adopted resolutions 69/163, 69/164 and 69/165 based on the report of the Third Committee (A/69/487).

Available translations:

A/C.4/

The Fourth Committee, one of the six Main Committees of the General Assembly, is allocated agenda items related to special political and decolonization matters, including peacekeeping.

  • Document series symbol for working documents
  • Summary records
  • Press release series symbol

The Fourth Committee submits a separate report to the plenary on every agenda item allocated to it, including the item "comprehensive review of peacekeeping operations".

Each report:

  • indicates the meetings at which the item was considered
  • summarizes the committee's consideration of the item
  • identifies the sponsors of draft resolutions
  • reports the vote, if any, of Member States on draft texts
  • transmits the final version of draft resolutions and/or decisions recommended to the plenary for adoption
  • symbol pattern

The plenary considers each report and votes on the draft resolutions or decisions it contains.

For example, the General Assembly adopted resolution 70/92 based on the report of the Fourth Committee (A/70/499).

Historical note

Prior to the 48th session (1993), the Fourth Committee handled only decolonization questions. An additional Main Committee, the Special Political Committee (SPC), handled political questions.

  • symbol pattern: A/SPC/-
  • press release series symbol: GA/SPC/-

Until 1993, the SPC was listed in UN documents and publications after the First Committee. When the SPC and the Fourth Committee merged in accordance with General Assembly resolution 47/233, the Fourth Committee moved to the second spot. Today, in some publications such as the Journal, the order of the Committees is: First, Fourth, Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth.

Related Research Guides:

Available translations:

A/C.5/

The Fifth Committee, one of the six Main Committees of the General Assembly, is allocated agenda items related to administrative and budgetary matters.

  • Chapter IV, Article 17 of the UN Charter concerns the budget and finances;
  • General Assembly resolution 45/248 B, Sect. VI, reaffirmed the Fifth Committee's role in administrative and budgetary matters;
  • The Fifth Committee meets in 3 sessions throughout the year:

    • from September - December, during the General Assembly main session
    • in March of the following year in resumed session
    • in May for its second resumed session:
      • while the Committee may consider urgent matters relating to the financing of a peacekeeping mission authorized by the Security Council at any of its sessions, the second resumed session deals exclusively with administrative and budgetary aspects of UN peacekeeping
    • reviews reports of Secretary-General, ACABQ, and other bodies regarding budget and finances and reports to the plenary
    • the Links and Resources section of the website has useful information about the budget process and peacekeeping financing
  • Document series symbol for working documents
  • Summary records
  • Press release series symbol 

The Fifth Committee submits a separate report to the plenary on every agenda item allocated to it. Each report:

  • indicates the meetings at which the item was considered
  • summarizes the committee's consideration of the item
  • identifies the sponsors of draft resolutions
  • reports the vote, if any, of Member States on draft texts
  • transmits the final version of draft resolutions and/or decisions recommended to the plenary for adoption
  • symbol pattern

The plenary considers each report and votes on the draft resolutions or decisions it contains.

For example, the General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/72/266 A based on the report of the Fifth Committee (A/72/682).

Available translations:

A/C.6/

The Sixth Committee, one of the six Main Committees of the General Assembly, is allocated agenda items related to legal matters.

  • Document series symbol for working documents
  • Summary records
  • Press release series symbol 

The Sixth Committee submits a separate report to the plenary on every agenda item allocated to it. Each report:

  • indicates the meetings at which the item was considered
  • summarizes the committee's consideration of the item
  • identifies the sponsors of draft resolutions
  • reports the vote, if any, of Member States on draft texts
  • transmits the final version of draft resolutions and/or decisions recommended to the plenary for adoption
  • symbol pattern

The plenary considers each report and votes on the draft resolutions or decisions it contains.

For example, the General Assembly adopted resolution 69/123 based on the report of the Sixth Committee (A/69/502).

Available translations: