ARTICLE H 2. ATTRIBUTION OF AUTHORSHIP IN UNITED
NATIONS
PUBLICATIONS, DOCUMENTS AND OTHER PAPERS*
CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I. GENERAL
PRINCIPLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
II. ATTRIBUTION TO UNITS OF THE SECRETARIAT
. . . . . . . . . 474
III. SIGNATURE
OF PREFACES AND FOREWORDS . . . . . . . . . . . 474
IV. LETTERS
OF TRANSMITTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
V. ATTRIBUTION TO CONSULTANTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
VI. PAPERS AND ART ICLF.S BY GOVERNMENT
REPRESENTATIVES AND BY
AUTHORS OUTSIDE
THE UNITED NATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
VII. ATTRIBUTION TO THE UNITED NATIONS AND
OTHER AGENCIES . . . 475
VIII. ATTRIBUTION TO A GOVERNMENT O R
FOUNDATION . . . . . . . . 4 7 5
IX. ATTRIBUTION ON DOCUMENTS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
X. DISCLAIMERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 477
XI. DEPARTURE FROM THE
RULES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
The following
rules on attribution of authorship apply to all United Nations publications and
documents, and also to papers circulated in connection with meetings, seminars
and technical co‑operation projects that do not have sales numbers or
document symbols.
The rules on
attribution should be read in conjunction with those describing the layout of
covers and title‑pages of publications (see article H 1) .
The general
principle to be applied is that publications are issued in the name of the
United Nations, while documents emanating from the Secretariat are attributed
to the Secretary‑General or to the Secretariat.
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Attribution, either direct
or indirect, to individual members of the Secretariat is not permitted in
papers, documents or publications, nor may such attribution be made in a
preface, foreword or introduction.
In certain
reports prepared under express provisions of resolutions of an organ, the title
will necessarily indicate the authorship. If the author is a person, he should
be designated by his official title, not by name.
II. ATTRIBUTION TO UNITS OF THE SECRETARIAT
The cover and
title‑page of publications may bear the name of the department, regional
commission, major conference or other United Nations body in which the
publication originated. Attribution may not normally be made to any unit of the
Secretariat smaller than a department, office or regional commission.
Mention may also
be made, in a preface, foreword or introduction, of any properly identified
organizational unit of the Secretariat, normally not below the level of a
division, which has had a major responsibility in the preparation of the
publication in question.
Technical papers
prepared in the Secretariat for seminars, study tours or similar discussion
groups shall normally be attributed to the substantive unit in which they were
prepared and not to individual staff members.
Prefatory
material in documents may, if appropriate, contain an indication of authorship
according to the rules stated above.
III. SIGNATURE OF PREFACES AND FOREWORDS
Prefaces and
forewords need not necessarily be signed. In publications prepared by the
Secretariat, a preface may be signed only by the Secretary‑General or,
upon his instructions, by an UnderSecretary‑General, Assistant Secretary‑General
or an official who, by virtue of his function, is qualified to assume
responsibility for the publication.
IV. LETTERS OF TRANSMITTAL
Letters of
transmittal addressed to the Secretary‑General by committees or groups
outside the Secretariat shall not normally, in their published form, refer by
name to members of the Secretariat who have provided assistance in the
preparation of a report. When such cohmittees or groups wish to acknowledge
such assistance, they should be advised that the appropriate way of doing so is
by mentioning the department or office concerned.
Article H 2
V. ATTRIBUTION TO CONSULTANTS
Attribution or other
reference to consultants especially engaged for the purpose of preparing a
publication or paper may, at the discretion of the Secretary‑General, be
given in a preface, foreword, introducton or footnote, subject to the rules set
forth below.
When a paper prepared by a
consultant has been heavily revised by a United Nations staff member,
attribution to the consultant should be given in an oblique way, for example,
by a statement in a footnote or preface
that the paper was prepared by the Secretariat with the assistance of the
consultant or that the consultant prepared the original draft that served as
the basis for the paper. Similar formulas may be used to indicate the relative
degree of participation by staff members and consultants in various studies and
publications.
When a consultant
is engaged to prepare a policy paper that is to be issued as a report of the
Secretary‑General, usually in response to a request from a legislative
body, authorship of the paper should not be attributed to the consultant. A
reference may in appropriate cases be made, in a footnote, to the consultant's
contribution to the paper.
VI. PAPERS AND ARTICLES BY GOVERNMENT
REPRESENTATIVES AND BY AUTHORS OUTSIDE THE UNITED NATIONS
.
Except as
indicated elsewhere in this instruction, papers and articles prepared by
government representatives or officials by authors outside the United Nations
Secretariat may be attributed to them.
VII. ATTRIBUTION TO THE UNITED NATIONS AND OTHER
AGENCIES
Where the United Nations and one or more of the specialized agencies
or the International Atomic Energy Agency are jointly responsible for the preparation
of a publication, their names may all appear on the cover and the title‑page
(see article H 1) .
VIII. ATTRIBUTION
TO A GOVERNMENT OR FOUNDATION
Where a Government,
foundation or other body has co‑operated with the United Nations in the
preparation or publication of a paper, it may be given appropriate mention on
the .cover and the title‑page in such terms as the followings
Prepared in co‑operation with the Department
of ... of the Government of ...
Alternatively, acknowledgement
may be made in a preface or foreword
IX. ATTRIBUTION ON DOCUMENTS
United Nations
documents normally bear, in addition to a title corresponding to the agenda
item, a subtitle indicating in general terms the entity of authorship or
sponsorship. In documents prepared for a body that does not have a sessional
agenda, the main title may contain that information.
EXAMPLES:
Report of the Secretary‑General
`Note by the Secretary‑General
Algeria: draft resolution
Working paper prepared by the Secretariat
Letter from the Permanent Representative of ... to
the United Nations addressed to ...
Report of the Special Committee on ...
Documents
originating in the Secretariat should be attributed to the Secretary‑General
if they deal with policy questions that engage his responsibility or if they
involve formal acts carried out by him under a provision of the Charter of the
United Nations or of the rules of procedure of an organ or in accordance with a
request expressly addressed to him. Documents dealing with detailed and
technical matters not requiring policy clearance are normally attributed to the
Secretariat.
Documents may, as
appropriate, be attributed, by official title, to the head of a major
conference or regional commission or to its secretariat or to the chairman or
appropriate officer of any United Nations body. Wen a document is attributed to
a rapporteur or special rapporteur, the name ‑ and, if a rapporteur, the
country ‑ may also be given.
X. DISCLAIMERS
When a
publication contains component parts attributed to individual authors, the
prefatory matter should contain a statement indicating the position of the
United Nations towards such material, usually in the form of a disclaimer
attributing responsibility for such parts to the respective authors. Such a
disclaimer might in a typical case read:
"The views
expressed in signed articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect those of the United Nations."
XI. DEPARTURE FROM THE RULES
Departure from these rules may be made only with the personal written permission of the Secretary‑General or of the Chairman of the Publications Hoard.