A collection of United Nations documents associated with the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, these volumes facilitate research into the scope of, meaning of and intent behind the instrument's provisions. It permits an examination of the various drafts of what became the thirty articles of the Declaration, including one of the earliest documents – a compilation of human rights provisions from national constitutions, organised thematically. The documents are organised chronologically and thorough thematic indexing facilitates research into the origins of specific rights and norms. It is also annotated in order to provide information relating to names, places, events and concepts that might have been familiar in the late 1940s but are today more obscure.

"The present guide offers information related to norms and mechanisms developed to protect the rights of persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities. It includes detailed information about procedures and forums in which minority issues may be raised to minorities and by also covering selected specialized agencies and regional mechanisms, the present Guide complements information contained in Working with the United Nations Human Rights Programme: A Handbook for Civil Society"--Introduction.

The author presided over the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review and Extension Conference (NPTREC) in 1995, which decided to extend the treaty indefinitely. The conference also reviewed the performance of the treaty over the 1990-1995 period. This book is an analytical record of a major multilateral conference, involving 175 countries, that succeeded in adopting final decisions without a vote. With the 2005 review taking place in May 2005, amid major concerns over non-adherence to the treaty and non-disclosure by several states, this is a relevant dissection of elements that can lead to successful outcomes in such multilateral conferences.