United Nations Handbook 2018-19

The UN Handbook is a valuable reference guide that helps everyone working with or within the United Nations navigate the UN system effectively.

The UN Handbook app makes the content more useable and accessible. An updated version of the app has now been released.

New Zealand has demonstrated its long-standing commitment and practical support for the United Nations by producing the UN Handbook since 1961.

Mobile app available to download

The UN Handbook was made available as a mobile app in 2013 to make the content more useable and accessible. An updated version of the app is now available.

• Download the UN Handbook app from the App Store (external link)
• Download the UN Handbook app from Google Play (external link)

Features of the updated UN Handbook app

• New 2018-19 content
• Updated for the latest versions of iOS and Android
• Improved loading speeds
• Text shown in app can be copied
• App can display as multi-window on Android devices

Other features

• Search the UN Handbook and see results listed by relevancy
• Quickly access lists of acronyms and abbreviations
• Bookmark regularly read information
• Access information in offline mode

PDF

United Nations Handook 2018-19 [PDF, 4.8 MB]

Print copy

To order a print copy:

Within New Zealand

NZ$30.00 (including New Zealand postage)

Provide a cheque, a note saying how many copies you need and a New Zealand delivery address. Send to:

Communications Division
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Private Bag 18-901
Wellington, New Zealand

If you can’t pay by cheque and need other payment options, email us at:
publications@mfat.govt.nz

Rest of the world

The UN Handbook is available from selected bookstores, including:

United Nations Bookshop
42nd Street & 1st Avenue
Location: L1B-105
New York, NY 10017
USA

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EU citizens living in the UK and eligibility to vote in the 2019 EP elections

EDC Information Update

© European Parliament. Licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

European Union citizens who live in the UK are being urged to check their eligibility to vote in the European Parliament elections which take place between the 23rd to 26th of May next year.

UK citizens will no longer be eligible to vote due to the UK decision to leave the EU on the 29th of March 2019.   However, citizens of the other EU Countries living in the UK are eligible to vote, subject to certain conditions.  A set of country factsheets, produced by the European Parliament, listing voting conditions and national contact points is available here.  While some background information on European Parliament elections is here.

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Westminster Lens: Brexit Statutory Instruments dashboard

Is the government on track to meet its legislative target of at least 800 Statutory Instruments by exit day? How many Brexit SIs are being laid before Parliament each week? Which departments are laying the most SIs? Which Acts of Parliament are being used to lay them? How many SIs actually amend Acts of Parliament? How is Parliament scrutinising the legislation? Find out the answers to these questions and more on this  new data dashboard produced by the Hansard Society.

 

Well travelled

Pictured recently in Catalonia!!  Good to know our 25th Anniversary tote bags, produced in 2014, are still going strong and are enjoying the sunshine whilst the rest of us are bracing ourselves for winter.

Keep your eyes open. You never know where one will pop up next.

 

 

Brexit Unknowns, Scottish Health Survey, and Young People’s Career Aspirations Versus Reality – New Official Publications 01.10.18

University of Glasgow Library

Newly published official publications from :

Westminster and the UK Government

House of Lords Library: The Queen’s Room (c) Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament

The gender pay gap – “This briefing paper provides statistics on the size of the gender pay gap in the UK, looks at some of the reasons why the gender pay gap arises and discusses the duty on large employers to report on the size of the gender pay gap in their workforce.”

Brexit Unknowns (update) – “What do we still not know about the Brexit process or the withdrawal agreement with the EU that is currently being negotiated? This paper looks at some of the main unknowns.”

Scotland: Public spending and revenue – “Public spending and taxation in Scotland was a hotly debated issue in the run up to the Scottish independence referendum, and has remained so since. A range…

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Plans for Scotland’s Census 2021

For the first time in 2021, people in Scotland will be encouraged to fill out their census questionnaire primarily online, with support and help available for those who need it.

‘Plans for Scotland’s Census 2021’, published by National Records of Scotland, lays out proposals for how the census will be conducted and the questions it will ask.
Under the proposals, the census will ask new questions, including whether the respondent is a veteran. It is also proposed that questions on sexual orientation and transgender status and history will be asked. As set out in 2018-19  Programme for Government, a Bill will be introduced this parliamentary session to allow sexual orientation and transgender questions to be asked on a voluntary basis.

 

Orders of the Day

Reformation to Referendum: Writing a New History of Parliament

O is for orders of the day, those items of business relating to matters that have already been introduced into the House and which the House has decided should be dealt with on a particular day. The most obvious example is the second or third reading, or the report stage, of a bill. They are to be contrasted with notices of motion, which are new items of business that a Member has put on the House’s agenda for a particular day: as Spencer Perceval put it in 1811, orders ‘were a portion of the public business fixed by the House to come forward on a particular day’; notices ‘were only fixed at the pleasure of a particular member’. The distinction between these two elements used to be the basis for the construction of the House’s daily agenda (confusingly and unhelpfully known as an order paper). The terminology has largely…

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SCOOP Survey 2018

SCOOP is canvassing members (and non-members) for thoughts on its current and future activities.

OfficialPapersUK

The Standing Committee On Official Publications (SCOOP) is canvassing its members (and non-members) to find out what they think of its current activities and what they would like to see us do in the future.

We would like to hear your views on SCOOP and get feedback on what we can do for (and with) our members so we have put together a short survey here.

We will be grateful if as many people as possible can complete it: if you have colleagues who you think might be interested in taking part in the survey, please send the link on to them.

Thanks in advance.

Steven Hartshorne

Secretary of SCOOP

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Being 18 in 2018, marine litter, and ‘fake news’ – New Official Publications 17.09.18

University of Glasgow Library

Newly published official publications from :

The European Union

General view of the Plenary chamber in Brussels – PHS Hemicycle – Plenary session week 46 2014

‘Fake news: What Think Tanks are thinking’. “This note offers links to recent commentaries and reports published by international think tanks on ‘fake news’ and broader related issues.”

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain – Legal context and implications for financial crime, money laundering and tax evasion – Study. “More and more regulators are worrying about criminals who are increasingly using cryptocurrencies for illegitimate activities like money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion. This paper elaborates on this phenomenon from a legal perspective, focusing on the use of cryptocurrencies for financial crime, money laundering and tax evasion. It contains policy recommendations for future EU standards.”

Reuse, recycling and marine litter : impact assessment of measures to reduce litter from single use plastics : final…

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Parliamentary monitor from the Institute for Government

Parliamentary Monitor is a new Institute for Government project taking a data-driven look at the work of Parliament to improve effectiveness of government. It examines the resources involved in running the Houses of Parliament, how legislation is passed, and how government is scrutinized. This is the first of an annual series.

You can also read a summary of this work.

 

 

The Inclusion Project: Human Rights dilemmas in the negotiation of Peace Agreements and Human Rights

The Global Justice Academy, University of Edinburgh is holding a free event to celebrate the launch of the new PA-X Peace Agreement Database on the occasion of the Association of Human Rights Conference Edinburgh.

The Inclusion Project: Peace Agreements, Inclusion and Human Rights, Professor Christine Bell, Programme Director, Political Settlement Research Programme (www.politicalsettlements.org; www.peaceagreements.org)

Booking and more details via Eventbrite

Thu 6 September 2018

17:00 – 18:00 BST

North Sea oil, e-cigarettes and humanism – New Official Publications 28.08.18

University of Glasgow Library

Newly published official publications from :

The European Union

General view of the Plenary chamber in Brussels – PHS Hemicycle – Plenary session week 46 2014

Research study into provision for recreation and leisure in areas affected by oil-related industry in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. “The discovery of oil and gas under the North Sea has proved to be the most important single event in Scotland’s post-war economic history. In such circumstances of rapid economic and social change it is clear that if the communities in the areas affected are to reap the potential benefits of oil-related developments without dislocation of their distinctive patterns of life, they must match the encouragement of industrial development with the conservation and adaptation of their social fabric.”

The Future of the European Defence Agency (EDA): In-depth analysis. “The aim of the workshop, held on 22 November 2017, was to discuss…

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Downie Allison Downie book repair course

Well done to Kirstie – highly recommend the courses. DAD do a great job.

SLLG Blog

SLLG member, Kirstie Hustler of the Advocates Library, reviews one of Downie Allison Downie’s bookbinding courses which are taught on Saturdays throughout the year at their workshop in Glasgow.

This was the second course I had attended at DAD Bookbinders and I was really looking forward to it. I had given my dad a place on the course as a birthday present so it turned out to be a very enjoyable “Daddy Daughter Day” as well as a day for learning new library related skills.

Take this hammer: book repair in action

The workshop was easy to find and close to the station. There was a cup of coffee and introductions on arrival and then we got stuck in. On this particular day there were four students and two teachers (Karen and Gemma) which ensured everyone had help when they required it. The atmosphere was friendly and supportive and we…

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Animal Sentience, Bathing Water Quality, and the Sale of Student Loans – New Official Publications 13.08.18

University of Glasgow Library

Newly published official publications from :

Westminster and the UK Government

House of Lords Library: The Queen’s Room (c) Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament

Voting age – “Under current legislation, a person must be 18 or over to vote in elections to the UK Parliament. This Note gives details of calls for a change in the law to reduce the voting age to 16 in recent years.”

Animal Sentience and Brexit – “The Government is reviewing the recognition of animal sentience and the need for UK legislation after Brexit. It has also announced it will legislate to increase the maximum sentence for animal cruelty offences.

The EU Withdrawal Act 2008 did not include provision to transfer the principle contained in Article 13 of the Lisbon Treaty recognising animals as sentient beings into UK legislation. This raised concerns amongst animal welfare campaigners as UK law, under…

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Festival of Politics 10-13 October 2018

On Wednesday 10 October, Conservative grandee Lord Heseltine will open the Festival with an “in conversation”-style event with Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh.  He will talk about his life serving in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major as well as his current political views on issues such as Brexit. The Festival will also feature best-selling author and academic Professor Mary Beard. Professor Beard will feature on day four of the Festival talking about her book Woman and Power as well as the BBC Civilisations series which she co-wrote and presented.
Booker Prize-winning novelist and poet Ben Okri, social commentator and Orwell Prize-winner Darren McGarvey aka Loki, and historian Professor Emeritus Sir Tom Devine OBE will also appear. Book you tickets now.