A rough guide to UN ODS codes

United Nations Official Document System (UN ODS) document codes are structured in a specific way to facilitate easy identification and retrieval of documents. Here’s how these codes are generally formatted:

1. Symbol: This is the primary identifier for documents within the UN system. It usually consists of multiple parts:
   • Body identifier: Indicates the UN body or agency that issued the document (e.g., S/ for Security Council, A/ for General Assembly).
   • Session number: This can indicate the session of the body during which the document was issued, often following the body identifier with a slash and then the session number (e.g., A/75/ for the 75th session of the General Assembly).
   • Document number: A sequential number or a more descriptive identifier that indicates the type of document (e.g., RES for resolution, PV for Verbatim Record of a meeting).

2. Year: Sometimes, especially in older documents, the year of the document might be included in the symbol, often at the end.

3. Supplement number: For some documents, especially those related to reports or annexes, a supplement number might be included to indicate additional or supporting material (e.g., A/75/50 would be a supplement to documents from the 75th session of the General Assembly).

4. Addendum: Documents that have additional information or corrections might include “Add.” followed by a number to indicate an addendum to the original document.

5. Corrigendum: Similar to addenda, if a document requires corrections post-publication, it will be issued with a “Corr.” followed by a sequence number.

6. Reissue for technical reasons: Sometimes, a document is reissued not for additional content but for technical corrections, indicated by “/Rev.” followed by a revision number.

Here’s an example of a full UN document code:

• A/RES/70/1: This would indicate a resolution (RES) from the General Assembly (A), adopted in the 70th session (/70/), with 1 as the specific document number within that type.

Each part of the code helps in cataloging and locating documents within the vast archives of the UN ODS, ensuring precise and efficient document management and retrieval.