The recently launched United Nations iLibrary is the place to go to search for content produced by the UN Secretariat and its agencies, funds, programmes and institutes.
The UN has produced, and continues to produce a large amount of research and data, but navigating to what's needed has not always been straightforward. The introduction of the iLibrary is a big step forward in terms of making content easier to find.
From the home screen it is possible to either carry out a search or browse for content - by theme, country or item type. As well as the basic search, there is an Advanced Search option which gives users the ability to specify the type of document, subject area, date range and language they wish to search across, and I would recommend trying out this option.
The Rule of Law web site is aimed at both practitioners and the general public and seeks to promote awareness of the United Nation's work in this area.
The site itself is divided into a number of sections:
* 'About' includes a thorough definition of the rule of law as well as details of UN engagement in the area.
* 'Actors' provides more information on the main organisations working in this field.
* 'Cross-cutting themes' details main areas of operation including transitional justice and gender equality.
* 'Knowledge Resources' includes links to related organisations working in the field and the Document Repository.
The Document Repository contains official UN documents and publications as well as UN rule of law guidance and policy material. The Advanced Search option allows you to limit your search by year and source of publication as well as by document type.
The Library has recently added Hein's UN collection to its electronic resource provision.Included are:* the United Nations Treaty Series (covering 1946 onwards) * the International Court of Justice Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders* Yearbooks, including the Yearbook of the International Law Commission and the International Court of Justice Yearbook (N.B. some content is in French).The collection as a whole can be searched by keyword, whilst treaties can also be located by UN Treaty Series Citation or by entering the popular name (e.g. Warsaw Treaty).
