UN 2001 YEARBOOK PUBLISHED, PROVIDING COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNT OF ORGANIZATION’S EFFORTS TO ADDRESS
GLOBAL PROBLEMS
NEW YORK, 25 August (UN Headquarters) -- The fifty-fifth volume of the Yearbook of the United Nations, covering the year 2001, has been published by the Department of Public Information (DPI). This 1,530-page reference work, which covers all major activities undertaken in the United Nations system, is the primary comprehensive and authoritative source of information on the United Nations and is widely consulted by diplomats, government officials, scholars, journalists and others with a serious interest in international and United Nations affairs.
Included with the volume is a demo version of the Yearbook CD-ROM Collection, which, although it only covers a few years, allows users to experience firsthand the benefits of having at their fingertips the full range of 54 Yearbooks, the first edition of which covers the year 1946-47. The user can thus become acquainted with many of the features of the complete Collection, which may be ordered by using the form included on the disc. The United Nations Yearbook Collection on CD-ROM 1946-2000 was recently honoured by the American Library Association with the prestigious “Notable Government Documents” award.
The 2001 edition, which is fully indexed and reproduces in their entirety the texts of, and votes on, all major General Assembly, Security Council and Economic and Social Council resolutions and decisions, comprises 52 chapters covering political and security questions; human rights; economic and social questions; legal questions; institutional, administrative and budgetary questions; and intergovernmental organizations related to the United Nations.
Highlighted is the United Nations response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September in the United States, including the establishment of a counter-terrorism committee to monitor implementation of Security Council measures against terrorism, as well as efforts to elaborate a comprehensive convention on international terrorism.
The ongoing work of some 47,000 military and civilian personnel deployed in 15 United Nations missions around the world is chronicled, as is the reinforcement of peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-building efforts in response to conflict situations in several States. The award of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations and its Secretary-General, Kofi A. Annan, in recognition of their efforts to safeguard world peace, is also covered.
The 2001 Yearbook also provides full coverage of United Nations efforts to address the armed conflicts in several African countries, including Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea and Ethiopia, and the Mano River Union countries (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone).
Other important developments covered include: the establishment of the Afghan Interim Administration following the toppling of the Taliban regime in that country by a United States-led military coalition; the process of transition towards independence and self-government in East Timor; Iraq=s continued defiance of Security Council resolutions concerning its programmes of weapons of mass destruction; international efforts to break the deadlocked Middle East peace process and the continuing plight of Palestinians in the occupied territories; and the United Nations-run electoral process in Kosovo province, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The 2001 Yearbook reports on a major event in the area of disarmament -- the United Nations Conference on Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, which adopted a Programme of Action for curbing the global scourge of small arms. In the human rights field, the Yearbook covers the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance and its adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, by which Member States condemned racism in all its aspects and committed the international community to combating it.
Yearbook coverage of United Nations work in economic and social areas focuses on the sharp decline in world economic growth and its particular significance in the context of economic globalization and interdependence. It describes such major 2001 events as the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries and its programme of action for the decade 2001-2010 containing measures for improving the dire situation of the 49 officially recognized least developed countries; a special session of the General Assembly that reviewed the outcome of the 1996 United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II); and another special session of the Assembly that discussed HIV/AIDS in all is aspects in an effort to secure a global commitment to combat the epidemic comprehensively.
In general, the 2001 edition of the Yearbook of the United Nations provides a comprehensive account of United Nations efforts to address pressing global problems and strengthen international cooperation.
Note: The Yearbook of the United Nations 2001 will soon be available for $150 (Sales No. E.03.I.1, ISBN 92-1-100897-2) from United Nations Publications, Two United Nations Plaza, Room DC2-853, Dept. PRES, New York, NY 10017, USA. (tel. 800-253-9646 or 212-963-8302, fax. 212-963-3489, e-mail: publications@un.org) or from Section des Ventes et Commercialisation, Bureau E-4, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland. (tel. 41-22-917-2614, fax. 41-22-917-0027, e-mail: unpubli@unog.ch; Internet: http://www.un.org/publications.)
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