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Referencing - International Law: UN Diplomatic Conference

How do I reference a document from a UN Diplomatic Conference?

This guidance applies whether you found the document in print or online.

author | title | (date) | UN Doc | document number

Footnote and bibliography:
e.g. United Nations (UN) Final Act of the UN Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (17 July 1998) UN Doc A/CONF.183/10

To pinpoint, follow the citation with a comma and the page number. To pinpoint several pages, insert a dash between the page numbers:
e.g. United Nations (UN) Final Act of the UN Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (17 July 1998) UN Doc A/CONF.183/10, 5

Author

The first time you reference the document, give the name of the author in full, e.g. United Nations (UN). After that, it can be given in abbreviated form, e.g. UN.

Title

  • Abbreviate resolution to 'Res'
  • Do not cite resolution titles
  • Do not include 'The' at the beginning of the title
  • Use capitals for the major words.

Date

The date is always given in (round brackets).

Document number

Each UN document has a unique reference number ('symbol') located at the top right of the document.

You can find a guide on what UN symbols mean on the UN website.