This text is a revised edition and contains new material documenting the extensive and rapid innovations in the UN Security Council's procedures of the past two decades. It provides insight into the inside workings of the world's pre-eminent body for the maintenance of international peace and security. Grounded in the history and politics of the Council, it describes the ways the Council has responded through its working methods to a changing world. It explains the Council's role in its wider UN Charter context and examines its relations with other UN organs and its own subsidiary bodies.

The book is a study of the rules of procedure of international conferences. It examines the legal basis of these rules of procedure and the history of their development since the end of the Second World War. The central part of the work consists of an examination of the practical application of rules of procedure at international conferences. The book also compares the application of rules at conferences with the relevant practice of the UN General Assembly, and the assemblies of international organisations such as the WHO and ILO. The book examines whether certain procedural rules and applications have become so well established that they have by now attained the status of customary international law.

An up-to-date manual on procedure and conduct of business at the UN General Assembly and at international conferences.

This manual is intended to be usefull to conference participants of all levels, from the most junior to delegation leaders and chairmen, as well as all those who are interested in how international conference reach their decisions.

The United Nations Special Procedures system is a key element of the evolving international framework for human rights protection and promotion. However, despite the system’s expansion, the range of roles and functions performed by mandate holders, and the mounting evidence of its strengths and limitations, there has been very little academic interrogation or analysis of Special Procedures. This lacuna is ever-more problematic given the growing profile and effectiveness of the Special Procedures’ work, as well as the increasing attention and challenges that they face, both externally from States and internally from within the UN system. Given the current ‘state of play’ of Special Procedures, it is essential that scholarly attention be focussed upon the system. How does it contribute to international human rights protection? How, when and why does it fail to do so? What steps can and should be taken to address shortcomings both within the system and in terms of the legal and political context within which it operates? Featuring expert contributions from key players within, and expert commentators on, the Special Procedures system, this volume addresses these questions in an in-depth and rigorous scholarly manner.

"Everything you always wanted to know about the United Nations in one book! This primer to the United Nations is designed for all global citizens. It covers the history of the UN, what it does and how it does it. As the world's only truly global organization, the United Nations is where countries meet to address universal issues that cannot be resolved by any one of them acting alone. From international peace and security to sustainable development, climate change, human rights, and humanitarian action, the United Nations acts on our behalf around the world." --