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E. Meeting Records

Meeting records contain statements/speeches made and actions taken during United Nations meetings which can be recorded either as verbatim records (identified by the suffix «/PV.» within the document symbol) or summary records (identified by the suffix «/SR.» within the document symbol). A proces verbal (i.e., PV) is a full, first-person account of the proceedings of a meeting whereas a summary record (i.e., SR) is a third-person condensed version. Meetings of principal organs as well as those of selected subsidiary bodies are usually entitled to coverage as either verbatim or summary records, but not both.

It may be useful for indexers to be aware that while most Ãå±±½ûµØdocuments in the general distribution category are not released for distribution until they have been translated in all official or working languages, meeting records in many document series are exempt from the simultaneous language distribution policy. They are publicly available in the Official Document System (ODS) in the original languages before they have been translated into all working languages. Since there are sometimes long delays before English language versions of meeting records are available, the French or Spanish language version may be indexed, to be updated later when the English translation is available.

In analyzing content of verbatim and summary meeting records, indexers should consider the major issues discussed in selecting primary subject headings. The indexer should also give importance to all reports and draft resolutions on which action was taken, as well as all substantive decisions taken during the meeting, in assigning subject terms. There is no limit on the number of primary geographic subjects that may be assigned.

Example 1: Primary subject headings plus geographic subject headings (A/61/PV.81)

610 2 7 $a UNHCR
610 2 7 $a UN. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights $g Staff composition
630 0 7 $a Programme of Action of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (2001)
650 1 7 $a HUMAN RIGHTS
650 1 7 $a HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING
650 1 7 $a IRAN (ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF)
650 1 7 $a BELARUS
650 1 7 $a DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
650 1 7 $a REFUGEE PROTECTION
650 1 7 $a RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
650 2 7 $a PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION

Example 2: Meeting record containing 53 actions taken but with only 6 primary Subjects (A/61/PV.67)

650 1 7 $a DISARMAMENT
650 1 7 $a DISARMAMENT NEGOTIATIONS
650 1 7 $a NUCLEAR WEAPONS
650 1 7 $a ARMS TRANSFERS
650 1 7 $a INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS
650 1 7 $a ILLICIT ARMS TRAFFICKING

When meeting records concern the opening or closure of a session, indexers should assign the corporate or conference subject heading that includes the subheading with session number, year and venue (tag 610 or 611). If meeting records concern organization of work of the session or meeting, election of officers, adoption or amendment of the agenda, consideration and adoption of resolutions and decisions, etc., indexers should assign the corporate or conference subject headings with appropriate modifying terms in subfield $g (Work organization, Officers, Agenda, Resolutions and decisions, etc.). The corporate/conference subject heading for the session is not assigned to meeting records that do not concern the opening, closure, or organizational aspects of the session.

Example:

191 $a PBC/1/OC/SR.1
245 1 0 $a Summary record of the 1st meeting held at Headquarters, New York, on Friday, 23 June 2006 : $b Peacebuilding Commission, Organizational Committee, 1st session
610 2 7 $a UN. Peacebuilding Commission (1st sess. : 2006-2007) : New York) $g Work organization
610 2 7 $a UN. Peacebuilding Commission. Chairman
610 2 7 $a UN. Peacebuilding Commission (1st sess. : 2006-2007) : New York) $g Officers
610 2 7 $a UN. Peacebuilding Commission $g Rules of procedure
650 1 7 $a ELECTION OF OFFICERS

If meeting records contain recorded voting on resolutions or decisions, the Content Code B07 is assigned in addition to the Content Code B03 which is assigned to all meeting records.

Tag 710 or 711 are not assigned to meeting records.

When analyzing meeting records in which action taken at a meeting is summarized, indexers should be attentive to information about amendments to draft resolutions/decisions, agendas, etc., that may require updating records for the draft resolutions/decisions or agendas concerned.

Example 1: A summary record of a meeting of the 4th special session of the Human Rights Council contains the information that three draft resolutions have been withdrawn by their sponsors. Accordingly, a note should be added to the bibliographic records for the three draft resolutions indicating that they have been withdrawn:

191 $a A/HRC/S-4/L.1
515 $a Draft resolution withdrawn by the sponsors (A/HRC/S-4/SR.4: p. 2).

Example 2:

191 $a A/C.3/62/L.85
515 $a The draft resolution was withdrawn by its sponsor in the light of the adoption of draft resolution A/C.3/62/L.16/Rev.2 (A/62/433(Part II)).

If a decision is taken at a meeting to add new agenda items, it may be necessary to create new agenda item authority records. Revised agenda documents are not always issued when amendments to agendas are adopted; sometimes amendments to agendas are decided orally during meetings.

In addition to assigning subject terms for reports and draft resolutions on which action was taken at meetings, and for substantive decisions taken during meetings, indexing depth or exhaustivity in assigning subject terms to meeting records depends on several factors. The following guidelines may be helpful in deciding on the depth of indexing for different types of meeting records.

Subject terms should be assigned at the appropriate level of specificity.
For example, summary records of the International Law Commission (ILC) are indexed at the level of the main specific legal topics discussed at meetings (STATE RESPONSIBILITY, DIPLOMATIC PROTECTION, etc.). The general subject INTERNATIONAL LAW is not assigned unless there is a general discussion of international law, since all ILC summary records concern international law topics.

Agenda item titles appearing on the title page of meetings records are often helpful in indicating the main subject(s) discussed at the meeting; for example, a summary record of the International Law Commission (A/CN.4/SR.2926) issued under the agenda item titles “Expulsion of aliens” and “Effects of armed conflicts on treaties” is indexed with primary subject terms NON-CITIZENS, DEPORTATION, ARMED CONFLICTS and TREATIES. However, agenda item titles on the title page do not always indicate the main subject(s) of the meeting at the appropriate level of specificity. For example, a meeting record of the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/4/SR.18) bears a very general agenda item title, Implementation of General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 entitled “Human Rights Council”, while the main specific subject of the meeting, assigned as a primary subject term, is DISAPPEARANCE OF PERSONS.

The document distribution category should be taken into consideration in deciding on indexing depth for meeting records. Restricted summary records are indexed with minimal depth, at the level of primary subject terms only. Summary records of the International Law Commission have limited distribution (Participants only) and are indexed mainly at the level of primary subject terms, although secondary subject terms may be assigned when a substantial part of discussion focuses on particular aspects of the main topics.

Summary records of human rights treaty bodies for meetings at which periodic reports of States parties were considered are mainly indexed with the primary subjects for the overall subject area of the treaty and reports, the term PERIODIC REPORTS, and the geographic subject terms for the States parties concerned. In addition, secondary subject terms may be assigned to the extent that there is a focus on specific issues, or when Governments provide information on their policies in specific areas. If a meeting record discusses many issues in a periodic report but without apparent focus on particular issues and without providing substantive information on specific issues, it is better to assign primary subject terms only.

Example 1: Meeting record of the Committee against Torture (CAT/C/SR.794), secondary subjects assigned for specific issues addressed

245 1 0 $a Compte rendu analytique de la 794e séance tenue au Palais Wilson, à Genève, le mardi 13 novembre 2007 : $b Comité contre la torture, 39e session
650 1 7 $a PRISONER TREATMENT
650 1 7 $a PERIODIC REPORTS
650 1 7 $a TORTURE PREVENTION
650 1 7 $a NORWAY
650 2 7 $a ASYLUM SEEKERS
650 2 7 $a DETAINED PERSONS
650 2 7 $a DETENTION ON GROUNDS OF MENTAL ILLNESS

Example 2: Meeting record of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/2007/SR.34), only primary subjects assigned since the discussion covers many topics but without major focus or substantive information on specific issues

245 1 0 $a Summary record of the 34th meeting, held at the Palais Wilson, Geneva, on Tuesday, 6 November 2007 : $b Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 39th session
650 1 7 $a ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
650 1 7 $a PERIODIC REPORTS
650 1 7 $a COSTA RICA

When summary records are indexed in depth, it is helpful to assign secondary subject terms in the order in which topics occur in the meeting records, to the extent possible, so that topics can be more easily located in the document. In some cases the preferred order may depend on the topical subjects that precede geographic subjects; while the indexing rules on geographic subject linkage apply only to primary subject terms, it is helpful when secondary geographic subject terms immediately follow the topical subject terms that concern them. Subject terms should not be repeated in the same indexing record.

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Last updated: 8 July 2008