Writing For The United Nations: A Training Manual For UN Volunteers in Pakistan

Writing
for the United Nations

A Training Manual for UN Volunteers in Pakistan
Prepared by Alanna Jorde, UNV Communications Officer. Adapted from Writing for the United Nations 2007 (New York), which is prepared and maintained for the United Nations under the authority of the Chief of the Editorial, Terminology and Reference Service, Department for General Assembly and Conference Management.
I. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 5 II. Reader and purpose ................................................................................................ 6 A. First steps in writing the report ...................................................................................................................... 6 B. Statement of purpose .......................................................................................................................................... 7 C. Types of United Nations reports ..................................................................................................................... 8 D. Purpose indicated by title ............................................................................................................................... 10 E. Questions your reader might ask ................................................................................................................. 11 III. Pre-writing techniques .......................................................................................... 12 A. Brainstorming ..................................................................................................................................................... 12 B. Mind-mapping or clustering .......................................................................................................................... 12 C. Free-writing .......................................................................................................................................................... 13 D. Outlining ................................................................................................................................................................ 14 IV. Standard report formats ....................................................................................... 15 V. Sentence and paragraph development ................................................................... 16 A. Sentence development ...................................................................................................................................... 16 B. Paragraph development ................................................................................................................................. 16 C. Topic sentences .................................................................................................................................................... 18 D. Paragraph unity ................................................................................................................................................. 19 VI. Clarity in Writing ................................................................................................... 22 Rule 1: State a fact or an idea directly ........................................................................................................... 23 Rule 2: Use definite and specific words or phrases rather than abstract ones ............................ 23 Rule 3: Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs ........................................................ 24 Rule 4: Use the active voice rather than the passive voice .................................................................... 24 Rule 5: Avoid wordy sentences .......................................................................................................................... 25 Rule 6: Use appropriate language ................................................................................................................... 27 Rule 7: Use verbs rather than nouns; verbs are dynamic and action-oriented ............................ 28 Parallel structure .................................................................................................................................................... 31 Misplaced ("dangling") modifiers .................................................................................................................... 33 Reported speech ....................................................................................................................................................... 34 VII. Writing a summary .............................................................................................. 40 Writing a summary ................................................................................................................................................ 40 The process of writing a summary .................................................................................................................. 40 Tips and techniques for writing a summary ................................................................................................ 41 VIII. Writing conclusions and recommendations ......................................................... 42 Drafting conclusions and recommendations .............................................................................................. 42 IX. A few final tips ...................................................................................................... 44 Some useful books ................................................................................................................................................... 44 To take this course online .................................................................................................................................... 45 United Nations Online Editorial Manual ....................................................................................................... 45 Exercises .................................................................................................................... 46 Exercise 1 .................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Exercise 2 .................................................................................................................................................................... 47 Exercise 3 .................................................................................................................................................................... 49 Exercise 4 .................................................................................................................................................................... 50
Writing for the United Nations
To complete this course online go to: http://69.94.137.26/editorialcontrol/training/lessons/introduction1.htm For the latest on UN editorial policy, consult the UN Online Editorial Manual: http://69.94.137.26/editorialcontrol/
Exercise 5 .................................................................................................................................................................... 51 Exercise 6 .................................................................................................................................................................... 52 Exercise 7 .................................................................................................................................................................... 52 Exercise 8 .................................................................................................................................................................... 53 Exercise 9 .................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Exercise 10 .................................................................................................................................................................. 54 Exercise 11 .................................................................................................................................................................. 55 Exercise 12 .................................................................................................................................................................. 55 Exercise 13 .................................................................................................................................................................. 55 Exercise 14 .................................................................................................................................................................. 57 Exercise 15 .................................................................................................................................................................. 58 Exercise 16 .................................................................................................................................................................. 59 Exercise 17 .................................................................................................................................................................. 59 Exercise 18 .................................................................................................................................................................. 60 Exercise 19 .................................................................................................................................................................. 60 Exercise 20 .................................................................................................................................................................. 60 Exercise 21 .................................................................................................................................................................. 61 Exercise 22 .................................................................................................................................................................. 61 Exercise 23 .................................................................................................................................................................. 62 Exercise 24 .................................................................................................................................................................. 63 Exercise 25 .................................................................................................................................................................. 64 Exercise 26 .................................................................................................................................................................. 64 Exercise 27 .................................................................................................................................................................. 65 Exercise 28 .................................................................................................................................................................. 65 Exercise 29 .................................................................................................................................................................. 66 Exercise 30 .................................................................................................................................................................. 67 Exercise 31 .................................................................................................................................................................. 67 Exercise 32 .................................................................................................................................................................. 68 Exercise 33 .................................................................................................................................................................. 69
Answers ..................................................................................................................... 70 Answers to Exercise 1 ............................................................................................................................................ 70 Answers to Exercise 2 ............................................................................................................................................ 70 Answers to Exercise 3 ............................................................................................................................................ 72 Answers to Exercise 4 ............................................................................................................................................ 72 Answers to Exercise 5 ............................................................................................................................................ 73 Answers to Exercise 6 ............................................................................................................................................ 74 Answers to Exercise 7 ............................................................................................................................................ 74 Sample answers to Exercise 8 ............................................................................................................................ 75 Sample answers to Exercise 9 ............................................................................................................................ 76 Answers to Exercise 10 .......................................................................................................................................... 78 Sample answer to Exercise 11 ........................................................................................................................... 79 Sample answer to Exercise 12 ........................................................................................................................... 79 Answers to Exercise 13 .......................................................................................................................................... 80 Answers to Exercise 14 .......................................................................................................................................... 82 Answers to Exercise 15 .......................................................................................................................................... 83 Answers to Exercise 16 .......................................................................................................................................... 83 Sample answers to Exercise 17 ......................................................................................................................... 84 Sample answers to Exercise 18 ......................................................................................................................... 84 Sample answers to Exercise 19 ......................................................................................................................... 85
Sample answers to Exercise 20 ......................................................................................................................... 85 Answers to Exercise 21 .......................................................................................................................................... 86 Answers to Exercise 22 .......................................................................................................................................... 86 Answers to Exercise 23 .......................................................................................................................................... 88 Answers to Exercise 24 .......................................................................................................................................... 88 Answers to Exercise 25 .......................................................................................................................................... 89 Answers to Exercise 26 .......................................................................................................................................... 89 Answers to Exercise 27 .......................................................................................................................................... 90 Answers to Exercise 28 .......................................................................................................................................... 91 Answers to Exercise 29 .......................................................................................................................................... 92 Answers to Exercise 30 .......................................................................................................................................... 94 Answers to Exercise 31 .......................................................................................................................................... 94 Answers to Exercise 32 .......................................................................................................................................... 95 Answers to Exercise 33 .......................................................................................................................................... 97
Appendix ................................................................................................................... 98

I. Introduction
Writing for the United Nations has many purposes, but the main purpose is to provide information. It is therefore factual in nature. That calls for brevity, clarity, simplicity of language and logical organization of material. Those qualities are all the more important because the readers of United Nations reports speak many different languages and come from different backgrounds and cultures. Some readers will be delegates from Member States; others might be university students trying to learn more about the world we live in; yet others might be working for a non-governmental organization. Internal reports will be read by your colleagues, and English might not be their mother tongue. United Nations reports sometimes fail to achieve the ideals of accuracy, clarity, conciseness and consistency. A report might suffer from any of the following problems: a) Unclear purpose and illogical structure; b) Lack of awareness of audience; c) Excessive length from unnecessary padding and repetition; d) Distracting or irrelevant graphics; e) Problems with style and tone; f) Problems with consistency and coherence; g) Mistakes of spelling and grammar; h) Lack of action-oriented conclusions and recommendations. The basic aim of this course is to help you to produce writing that is accurate, action-oriented, clear, concise, simple and well organized1. To achieve this, the course will teach you how to do the following: a) Become more aware of the intended reader and purpose; b) Use one or more pre-writing techniques to get started and to produce an outline of a report; c) Follow standard formats for different kinds of United Nations documents; d) Write well-organized, coherent sentences and paragraphs; e) Avoid common errors of spelling, grammar and style; f) Draft an accurate and concise summary; g) Draw and present conclusions and recommendations.
TIP: Subparagraphs should follow a standard hierarchy: the first set of subparagraphs should be labelled (a), (b), etc., then comes (i), (ii), then a., b., and finally i., ii. The use of bullets should be avoided. This is because they are difficult to refer to in the future ("see the second bullet point in paragraph 21" is not nearly as clear or simple as "see paragraph 21 (b)".

Writing for the United Nations For more tips, consult the UN Online Editorial Manual: http://69.94.137.26/editorialcontrol/
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II. Reader and purpose

Contents A. First steps in writing the report B. Statement of purpose C. Types of United Nations reports D. Purpose indicated by title E. Questions your reader might ask A. First steps in writing the report Ask yourself: Why am I writing this report? What is the subject of the report? Who will be reading it? Your report should not be a mystery. You must be very clear on the reason that you are writing the report and the major points you want to make and you should convey these to the reader in your introduction. You can safely assume that if you do not state the purpose explicitly, at least some of your readers will not realize2 what it is. If you have several purposes of equal importance, state them in parallel structures to indicate their equivalent value. Sometimes, the reason you are writing the report (its statement of purpose) will be very similar to the content of the report (its subject), especially when the purpose is merely to inform the reader. Sometimes, however, the statement of purpose will be quite distinct from the subject. In such cases, your introduction will benefit from keeping these two aspects separate. For example, the purpose of the report of the Secretary-General on the financing of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)3 is to obtain funding for the mission from the General Assembly. The subject of the report in other words, its main content is an account of UNMIL activities and the estimates of the money that will be needed to finance them. Your introduction will need to include both these aspects. TIP: In the United Nations, words that end with the sound "ize" and their derivatives usually use the letter "z". Exceptions are analyse, catalyse and paralyse. TIP: Always write out a term in full the first time it is mentioned, followed by the acronym in parentheses. Then you can use the acronym in the remainder of your report.

Writing for the United Nations For more tips, consult the UN Online Editorial Manual: http://69.94.137.26/editorialcontrol/
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Example: The present4 report on the financing of the United Nations Mission in Liberia is submitted to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session for review and appropriation of the financial resources required for the functioning of the mission for the period July-December 2005. The report outlines the proposed activities to be carried out by the mission and indicates the estimated financial requirements. Note that stating the purpose at the beginning is sometimes essential to indicate legislative authority for the report (General Assembly and Security Council resolutions and so forth) and will be helpful to you as well as your readers. If your report is in response to a specific resolution, make a copy of the resolution and highlight the main points. Keep checking back to make sure you are not deviating from your main purpose. Now take a look at Exercise 1, which shows how the resolution can help you to keep your report focused on its subject. You can check your answers at Answers to Exercise 1. B. Statement of purpose Stick a note with a sentence or two stating the purpose of the report above your computer as a reminder. Defining your purpose at the very beginning keeps you on track and lets the reader see where you are going. You may also find that the process of drafting a statement (or sometimes for a long report, a paragraph) about the purpose helps you to clarify the purpose in your own mind However, bear in mind that there might be some types of writing, usually shorter and more direct internal communications that do not require an explicit statement of purpose. Some of the purposes of United Nations reports are the following: a) To recommend or call for action; b) To educate or inform readers about the situation in a region or for a particular group of people; c) To persuade through logical argument; d) To present a theory and back it up with evidence; e) To describe a procedure; f) To show what progress has been made (over time or geographically) in a programme since the last report;
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TIP: The word "present" is used to make sure that there can be no confusion between the report you
are writing and any other report that might be referred to in the text. It is standard United Nations style.

g) To provide an account of a situation or incident for the official record. Use the examples in subparagraphs (a)-(g) to decide what the purposes of the reports in might be in Exercise 2. C. Types of United Nations reports The various types of United Nations reports5 often have similar purposes. Some examples are given below. 1. Substantive research reports of the Secretary-General Audience: Member States that will be voting on resolutions or deciding on policies, taking the findings of the report into consideration. Reports of the Secretary-General will be submitted to a specific legislative body, such as the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council or the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Purpose: a) To provide information on activities of the United Nations, Member States and other players in the international community, or to update readers on the latest situation or findings if the report is part of a series; b) To formulate conclusions and make recommendations; c) To argue in favour of a course of action. d) 2. Internal department reports Audience: a) Chief of the department; b) Managers or other staff of the department; c) Colleagues throughout the United Nations system working on similar issues. Purpose: a) To explain a procedure; b) To report on the findings of a study of interest to the department; c) To describe a staff member's work on a project, a conference or some other outside assignment. TIP: Should you use the singular or the plural after the phrases "type of", "sort of" and "kind of"? It depends on how the phrase is constructed. Normally, this sort of phrase would be in the singular (not "these sorts of phrases"). In some situations, however, the plural idea is dominant, as it is here in terms of the many types of United Nations reports. The most important thing is to keep to either singular or plural and not mix the two. Consider the following examples: The type of drug that is most commonly abused by young people is "ecstasy." What kinds of concerns do you have on this issue? The sort of ice cream most favoured by children is chocolate. The look on the faces of the delegates showed their enthusiasm.

To complete this course online go to: http://69.94.137.26/editorialcontrol/training/lessons/introduction1.htm For the latest on UN editorial policy, consult the UN Online Editorial Manual: http://69.94.137.26/editorialcontrol/ 5
3. Mission reports Audience: a) The department that sent the staff member on mission; b) Policymaking6 [TIP] units of the United Nations; c) Other departments whose work is related to the mission. Purpose: a) For non-specialist readers, to lay out the situation or problem, summarize the findings of a study and present conclusions and usually recommendations; b) For specialist readers, the above purposes and also to present the details of the study. 4. Other types of United Nations reports a) Public information reports; b) Technical reports; c) Reports on conferences and expert group and working group meetings; d) Inter-agency reports; e) Project proposals; f) Incident reports; g) Analytical reports on application of rules and policies. Staff members are also often required to write notes for the file, summaries of longer documents or articles, summary records of meetings, analytical reports and memorandums and other correspondence. How to write summaries will be covered later in this course. What kind of reports do you write? Take a moment to think about why you write them and who reads them. Proceed to Exercise 3 and Exercise 4.
TIP: Policymaking and policymaker are spelled as one word. Decision-making and decision maker, however, are spelled with a hyphen and as two words respectively. The United Nations follows the most recent edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary. You can also refer to the spelling list for words frequently used in United Nations documents. The list appears in the United Nations Editorial Manual Online at http://69.94.137.26/editorialcontrol/.

D. Purpose indicated by title The title of your report should immediately alert your reader to the subject of the report and why you are writing it. If you include only a general topic statement, the reader is forced to search further for the purpose or even to guess what it might be. An example of a good title is "Measures to strengthen accountability at the United Nations". It tells us what the report will be about (measures to strengthen accountability), and in what context (at the United Nations). In contrast, the title "Human resources development"7 [TIP] is not so clear. We know that the report deals with human resources development, but in what context? The United Nations? We could assume so, especially since the General Assembly indeed considers many such issues in the Secretariat. In fact, the summary of the report says that it "provides an overview of the need for promoting comprehensive and cross-sectoral approaches to human resources development" and that it "emphasizes the mutually reinforcing relationship between human resources development and the realization of the internationally agreed development goals". The agenda item is entitled "Eradication of poverty and other development issues: human resources development". This title could therefore usefully be expanded to read "Contribution of human resources development to the eradication of poverty". If in doubt about how to develop a title, however, the simplest solution is often to follow the wording of the agenda item. For example, the title of the report could read "Eradication of poverty: human resources development". For internal documents, using words such as "recommendation", "request", "proposal" and "authorization" often helps to indicate the purpose. For example, Request for temporary staff assistance Project proposal: cultivation of roses instead of coca bush in Colombia Recommendations for staff training in 2007 Proceed to Exercise 5 and Exercise 6.
TIP: Its or its? The apostrophe is used when the meaning is "it is". The pronoun is "its". For example:
Its sad that country X has not been able to control its opium poppy cultivation. (Note that contractions such as "its" are informal and should therefore be avoided when writing United Nations reports.)

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E. Questions your reader might ask In A Guide to Writing for the United Nations8, W.H. Hindle writes (p. 6): "Accuracy, clarity, conciseness, consistency are fine words, finer and rarer things. How are they to be achieved in United Nations documents? "The first step to this end consists in giving thought, before writing, to why we are going to write, what we are going to write, and how and for whom." If you keep your reader in mind as you draft your report, just as you do when you write a personal letter, you will find it easier to make decisions about what to include (and what to omit), how to organize the material and what tone to adopt. Ask yourself the following questions before you begin to write: a) b) c) d) Proceed to Exercise 7 and Exercise 8. Who requested the report? What information was requested? Is this a new report on the subject or part of a series? How much background information will the reader need?
given between quotation marks.
TIP: The titles of publications and books are given in italics; the titles of articles or documents are

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III. Pre-writing techniques

Planning a report: generating and organizing ideas Do you suffer from writer's block? There are a few ways to overcome the problem. Contents A. Brainstorming B. Mind-mapping or clustering C. Free-writing D. Outlining A. Brainstorming Having established reader and purpose, your next step in planning a text is to collect all your data and thoughts. There are several methods that can help you. One of them is to "brainstorm". Think of this as a "storm in the brain". Focus on your audience and purpose and list ideas as they come to mind, whether general or specific. Do not pay attention to the form your brainstorm takes. You might list words, phrases or sentences or a combination of these. Do not try to organize your thoughts as you brainstorm that will come later. This is just a technique to help free up your mind so that ideas can flow easily. The list of ideas you considered in Exercise 8 with the idea of focusing on the intended reader was the product of a brainstorm. Try brainstorming for yourself. Exercise 9 gives you a list of subjects you could use, or think up one of your own. B. Mind-mapping or clustering Once you have completed a brainstorm, you may want to form those ideas into a "mind map". This is a visual representation of your ideas. Look at your brainstorm

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and decide if you can group some of the ideas into several major categories and subcategories. Remember to eliminate ideas that9 are not vital to the report. Draw a circle in the middle of the paper and write the purpose of your report in the circle. Draw lines out from the circle and label them with the major categories you have chosen. Then draw branches from those lines and include the subcategories. You can continue this process until you are including the actual details on the branches of the map A mind map can help you see your major categories and subdivisions before you make decisions about how to organize the paper. It is also a useful way for you to look at your ideas and decide, again, which ones are not vital to the report. There some good commercial software programmes to help you draw a mind map. Some offer free trials. Search for "mind mapping" on the Internet. Proceed to Exercise 10. C. Free-writing Another technique that helps to generate ideas is to "free-write". Like brainstorming, this technique is a way to free up the mind, to allow it to focus on ideas rather than on accuracy and organization. Choose one of the ideas from your brainstorm or your mind-map and write for 5 to 10 minutes on that one idea. Don't stop writing. If you can't think of anything to write, just write "I can't think of anything else at the moment ...". The goal is to keep writing, to keep the pen or pencil in contact with the paper (or keep your fingers on the keyboard). Don't stop to change or correct anything; just keep going. You might want to set a timer. This technique does not appeal to everyone, but it is worth a try. It often works. See Exercise 11. 9 TIP: Which or that? Use "which" to introduce a non-restrictive clause; use "that" to introduce a
restrictive clause. The difference between the two is that a restrictive clause restricts - or defines - the noun it comes after. "Which" describes and "that" defines. For example: Fresh vegetables, which are difficult to obtain in the duty station, are brought in regularly on United Nations flights. [It is difficult to obtain fresh vegetables in the duty station. However, they are brought in regularly on United Nations flights.] Fresh vegetables that are difficult to obtain in the duty station are brought in regularly on United Nations flights. [Not all fresh vegetables are available in the duty station. Those specific kinds of fresh vegetables are brought in on United Nations flights.]

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D. Outlining Organizing information for long reports is a difficult task. Having decided on the purpose and the audience and on what to include in the report, the next step is to develop an overall plan. If you have created a mind map, you can use it to help to produce an outline. At this point, you might want to think about the method of organization that will be most effective for the report. For example, reports of the Secretary-General often use a "cause-effect" mode or a "problem-solution" mode or a combination of the two. Other reports may call for a "comparison/contrast" type of organization Unlike a mind map, an outline is a linear way of organizing information and may not appeal to all writers. But it can be a very effective way to help you to categorize ideas into major categories and supporting details. Write your title at the top of the page. Then list your major categories as headings, with the details lined up underneath. You can use words, phrases or whole sentences as your major headings. Just be consistent in your choices. Proceed to Exercise 12.

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IV. Standard report formats

Formats of United Nations reports Earlier in the course, we looked at different kinds of reports. Many of those documents follow standard formats. If you work with United Nations documents, you are no doubt familiar with some of them. United Nations legislative documents always have a masthead, which identifies the body for which the document was prepared and gives the scope of distribution, the symbol, the date and the language. There is also a corner notation, which gives the session at which the report is to be considered and the agenda item. Reports of the Secretary-General deal with policy questions or respond to a request addressed to the Secretary-General in a resolution. If neither of these apply, the report would normally carry a secondary title as a note by the Secretariat. All reports of the Secretary-General should start with a summary of the report, contained in a text box on the front page, and end with conclusions and recommendations. Another major category of reports in the United Nations includes the reports of the proceedings of intergovernmental bodies, such as the regional commissions, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. The General Assembly has set out its policy for those reports in a number of resolutions (see for example Assembly resolution 61/236 in Appendix, entitled "Pattern of conferences", in particular section IV of that resolution). Briefly, the reports should be concise, action-oriented and contain precise information confined to a description of the work done by the organ concerned and its conclusions and recommendations or decisions. Each agenda item should be given a separate chapter of the report, which should include a summary of the views expressed during the discussion. Views should not normally be attributed to specific speakers. Other chapters of the report would provide any resolutions adopted by the body or approved for submission to the Economic and Social Council or General Assembly (depending on the parent body), an account of the organization of the session (attendance, election of officers, dates of the session), programme objectives and any budgetary implications arising out of the resolutions adopted. Opening statements may be mentioned in terms of their general theme, but should not be summarized at length or reproduced in the report. The best way to familiarize yourself with the format you should follow for a report is to look at documents prepared the year before.

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V. Sentence and paragraph development

Contents A. Sentence development B. Paragraph development C. Topic sentences D. Paragraph unity A. Sentence development Sentences can be extremely simple or incredibly complicated. Obviously, the more complicated the sentence the more care you need to take to make sure that all the parts are properly constructed and agree with one another. This online course does not aim to give you a grammar lesson; there are many websites10 [TIP] and English language courses available to help you develop your English language skills. However, when you review your work, you should make sure that all of your sentences contain all the necessary elements at the most basic level, at least a subject and a verb. The next chapter of the course gives you some specific help on writing clear and concise sentences. B. Paragraph development Paragraphs should be unified and coherent so they are more easily understood by the reader. There are many paragraph patterns writers can use to help keep their paragraphs unified. For example, a paragraph may focus on the reasons or the causes for a specific event or it may provide examples or illustrations. It may compare and contrast two items or ideas or it may break something down into components. United Nations reports often use the following types of paragraph organization: a) b) c) d) e) f) Definition; Analysis or classification; Time, space or sequence (chronological order); Compare and contrast; Cause and effect; Argument or recommendation.
Paragraphs often combine different patterns of development: chronological order used with comparison/contrast, definitions with recommendations and so forth. TIP: Try searching for "English grammar" or "sentence structure" on the web. For a fun website for learning English, see BBC Learning English (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish), where you will find a variety of resources, including a blog for learners and information on basic pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and more.

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Here are some examples: Definition Located at The Hague, the International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It settles legal disputes between States11 and gives advisory opinions to the United Nations and the specialized agencies. Its Statute is an integral part of the Charter of the United Nations.12 Analysis or classification Conflicts today are a complex mix. Their roots may be essentially internal, but they are complicated by cross-border involvement, either by States or by economic interests and other non-State actors. Recent conflicts in Africa have shown the deadly mix of civil strife and illegal export of natural resources primarily diamonds to fuel arms purchases. In addition, the consequences of conflicts can quickly become international because of illegal arms flows, terrorism, drug trafficking, refugee flows and environmental degradation. Time, space or sequence (chronological order) The Security Council has held several special meetings on Africa at the ministerial level. In 1997, it expressed grave concern over the number and intensity of conflicts on the continent and called for an international effort to promote peace and security. In 1998, meeting at the level of Foreign Ministers, it adopted resolutions on the destabilizing effects of illicit arms flows, on arms embargoes13 and on conflict prevention in Africa. The average age of minors at the time of breaking the law was found to be mainly between 15 and 1814. Nevertheless, there is an emerging tendency for younger offenders, in particular offenders between the ages of 12 and 15, to come into conflict with the law. Compare and contrast Refugees usually find safety, food and shelter in a second country. They are protected by a well-defined body of international laws and conventions and are assisted by UNHCR and other organizations. But the internally displaced TIP: When referring to a country, the word "State" is always capitalized (even in the plural: States). When referring to states within a country, the word "state" is not capitalized. TIP: Never use the "United Nations Charter". Always write the phrase out in full: Charter of the United Nations. TIP 13: In the United Nations, do not use a comma before the word "and" when listing elements in a sequence: "...Governments, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations".
TIP 14: Write out numbers from one to nine: 10 and above are given in figures. However, if you have a sequence of numbers some of which are above 10, use figures for all of them. Writing for the United Nations
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often face far more insecure conditions. They may be trapped in an ongoing internal conflict at the mercy of the warring parties, making the provision of relief hazardous or impossible. Cause and effect Families are the basic units of society and have been transformed to a great degree over the past 50 years as a result of changes in their structure (for example smaller families, later marriage and childbearing, increased divorce rates and single parenthood), global trends in migration, the ageing of the population and HIV/AIDS15. These dynamic social forces have had a manifest impact on the capacities of families to perform such social functions as the socialization of children and caregiving for its younger and older members. Try this for yourself in Exercise 13. C. Topic sentences The topic sentence is the main idea of a paragraph. It is often, but not always, the opening statement and sometimes suggests the pattern of organization16 that is used in the paragraph. A clear topic sentence prepares the reader for what follows. Consider some examples: I continue to follow closely the situation between India and Pakistan. In my contacts with representatives of the two countries, I have urged both Governments17 to resume their bilateral dialogue to find a peaceful solution to the problem of their dispute over Jammu and Kashmir. Last January, I welcomed the agreement between India and Pakistan to hold a comprehensive discussion on bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, at the Foreign Secretary level at Islamabad. I have been encouraged by the efforts of the parties to keep me apprised18 of their respective positions. To bridge the wide gap between their views, the Indo-Pakistani dialogue should continue in a spirit of genuine reconciliation and peace. TIP: You do not need to explain what the acronym HIV/AIDS stands for the first time it appears in your report.
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TIP: The word "organization" is always spelled with a "z", not an "s". When referring to the United
Nations as a whole, it starts with a capital letter: the Organization. TIP: When referring to the Government of a country, the word "Government" should be capitalized. When referring to a local or state government, it is not. A list of words that should start with a capital letter is contained in the United Nations Editorial Manual Online, which can be found at http://69.94.137.26/editorialcontrol/.
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TIP: The word "apprise" (which means to inform) is frequently confused with the word "appraise"
(which means to assess the value, quality or performance of something). Delegations are apprised of developments; but technical assistance projects and antiques are appraised.

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Note that the first sentence in the paragraph above makes for a smooth lead into the paragraph, but the paragraph is about much more than the fact that the Secretary- General is following the situation closely. Organized crime and democracy work according to guiding principles that are in direct conflict with one another. A democratic State upholds the sovereignty of the nation and ensures the protection of the rights of all individuals, regardless of wealth, social status, age or gender. Organized crime as traditionally defined, on the other hand, is build around patronage, carrying on a tradition of feudalism, and does not hesitate to commit human rights abuses. In Exercise 14 and Exercise 15 try to identify some topic sentences and then write some for yourself. D. Paragraph unity A paragraph is unified if all of the sentences are clearly connected and flow logically. Each sentence should relate to the previous sentence in the paragraph or directly back to the topic sentence. Parallel structures, repetition of key words and phrases, pronoun use and transitional words or expressions can help to create this flow. Transitional expressions connect ideas in a sentence and between sentences. Think of them as signposts for the reader. The following paragraph uses transitions to help establish coherence: Monday mornings are difficult for most people. They often wake up groggy, despite the fact that they have had two days of rest. A recent survey showed that, on average, people drink more coffee on Mondays than on any other day of the week. Perhaps having to face the work week yet again is psychologically daunting for most people, even for those of us who like our jobs. Moreover, a lot of people say that they feel depressed on Monday mornings because the weekend seems so far away. For this reason, some jobs offer flextime, allowing their employees to work longer hours Tuesday through Friday so that they can take off a certain number of Mondays during the year. Examples of transitional words and expressions: Contrast Choice
However In contrast Whereas Otherwise On the one hand/on the other hand 19
Example Emphasis Addition Clarification Judgement Explanation Time/space

For example For instance Indeed Undoubtedly Certainly Of course In short To say the least Last but not least Furthermore In addition Moreover Besides In fact Actually Unfortunately Fortunately Therefore Consequently For this/that reason Thus Whereupon Afterwards At the same time Subsequently Finally Nonetheless Even so Despite the fact that 20
Despite a situation Nevertheless
Using transitional words or phrases may not add anything to the meaning of the paragraph, but it does make your writing read more smoothly and more naturally. Look at the first paragraph below. Although it is a perfectly good paragraph, see how the transitional words in bold (in the second paragraph) improve the flow between sentences. The dual challenge is the creation of new productive jobs and the improvement of existing ones. In recent years the employment content of growth seems to have weakened, while the effective supply of labour has increased owing to external opening and the growing participation of developing countries in the world economy, in combination with continued high fertility rates in many developing countries and a rise in participation rates of women. An increasing number of jobs has to be created to absorb the expanding labour force, while, at the same time, higher rates of growth are now needed to generate the same rates of job growth than was the case 15 years ago. Policies are needed that focus both on increasing growth and on increasing its employment content. The dual challenge is the creation of new productive jobs and the improvement of existing ones. In recent years, however, the employment content of growth seems to have weakened, while the effective supply of labour has increased owing to external opening and the growing participation of developing countries in the world economy, in combination with continued high fertility rates in many developing countries and a rise in participation rates of women. Consequently, an increasing number of jobs has to be created to absorb the expanding labour force, while, at the same time, higher rates of growth are now needed to generate the same rates of job growth than was the case 15 years ago. Policies are therefore needed that focus both on increasing growth and on increasing its employment content. In Exercise 16, supply a suitable transition word or phrase.

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VI. Clarity in Writing

"Everything that can be thought at all can be thought clearly. Everything that can be said can be said clearly." Ludwig Wittgenstein Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, proposition 4.116 Consider how the following two paragraphs differ: one is clear and to the point. The other is trying to convey the same concept, but the meaning is obscured by use of jargon and sloppy sentence construction. Note also that the first paragraph is one long sentence, while the second paragraph contains three simple sentences. There is a need for flexible resource allocation procedures to allow updating of investment decisions (capital and revenue) so that at any given point in time of the planning design process an optimum investment decision can be made rather than one which may have been valid at the inception of planning but has become progressively non-optimal. There are several very good reasons why the farmer, busy man as he is, should keep proper records of his business. It is the only way in which he can find out how much profit he has made, and how one year's profit compares with another. It helps him to manage his farm efficiently, and shows him how the various operations compare in outlay and in receipts. From The Complete Plain Words by Sir Ernest Gowers Goals: clear, simple, concise, action-oriented writing In order to achieve the goals of clarity, simplicity and conciseness, W. H. Hindle (A Guide to Writing for the United Nations, pp. 10-12) and Joseph Williams (Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace) recommend the following rules: Seven simple rules for clear writing 1. State a fact or an idea directly. 2. Use concrete rather than abstract words. 3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs. 4. Use the active voice rather than the passive voice. The active voice is action- oriented. 22

5. Avoid wordy sentences. 6. Use appropriate language. 7. Use verbs rather than nouns. Verbs are dynamic and action-oriented. We will now look at each of these rules in turn. Keep in mind that these separate rules all ultimately lead to the same goal: clear, concise, accurate writing Rule 1: State a fact or an idea directly Use the simplest and fewest words possible to express an idea With respect to the question of pets, Mary exercised rights of ownership over a certain juvenile member of the sheep family. Mary had a little lamb. Having enjoyed a social occasion and bonded with your friends by sharing large amounts of alcohol, it is advisable to call a taxi to take you home. Dont drink and drive. Use the affirmative Except when applicants have failed to submit applications with the required documentation, benefits will not be denied. You will receive benefits only if you submit your documents. He was not very often on time. He usually came late. Apply this rule in Exercise 17. Rule 2: Use definite and specific words or phrases rather than abstract ones When not obscured by low clouds and smog, it is possible to perceive details of the landscape over a great distance. On a clear day, you can see for miles. The climate in England is frequently characterized by persistent precipitation. It rains a lot in England.
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Proceed to Exercise 18. Rule 3: Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs Look at these examples: There is, however, a danger inherent in excessive committee activity in that it can be time-consuming and unproductive. Therefore, it has to be emphasized that, while formal discussions have a necessary role, normal working contacts cannot be replaced by such discussions. Formal meetings are sometimes necessary but they should not be held too often and should not replace normal communication among colleagues. A reduction of resources available to the environmental programme has caused delays in the implementation of the work programme. The environmental work programme has been delayed owing to a lack of resources. Try using shorter words and shortening the sentences in Exercise 19. Rule 4: Use the active voice rather than the passive voice; the active voice is action- oriented This rule is illustrated in the following sentences: Passive voice: A statement was made by the representative of France. Active voice: The representative of France made a statement. Passive voice: The candidates were interviewed on 13 February by a panel of four staff members. Active voice: A panel of four staff members interviewed the candidates on 13 February. Note that sometimes the passive voice is useful or even necessary. You might prefer to keep your sentence less forceful or you might not wish to identify the subject of the sentence directly. Look at the following examples: (a) The president was rumoured to have considered resigning. We dont know who is starting these rumours. (b) Confidential documents should be kept in a locked file drawer. This is a general instruction, rather than one directed at a specific person, such as "Sally, you must keep confidential documents in a locked drawer".
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(c) The safety inspection was not monitored; therefore, the mechanism was left unaligned and the driver was killed. We might not want to say who was supposed to monitor the inspection. (d.1) We must decide whether to focus on improving education in the sciences alone or across the curriculum. The weight given to two factors, industrial competitiveness and the value we attach to the liberal arts, will influence this decision. In this example, putting the sentence into the passive voice shifts the emphasis to "decision" and makes the sentence easier to understand, as in the revised text below. (d.2) We must decide whether to focus on improving education in the sciences alone or across the curriculum. This decision will be influenced by the weight given to two factors: industrial competitiveness and the value we attach to the liberal arts. Exercise 20 gives you a chance to practise19 how to use the active rather than the passive voice. Rule 5: Avoid wordy sentences Delete meaningless words Productivity actually depends on certain factors that basically involve psychology more than any particular technology. Productivity involves psychology more than technology. Eliminate redundancies and unnecessary repetition of ideas The doctor still hasnt given a diagnosis yet. The doctor hasnt given a diagnosis yet. Daniel is now employed at a private rehabilitation centre working as a therapist. Daniel now works as a therapist at a private rehabilitation centre. Avoid beginning sentences with "it" and "there" There was a discussion of the health care system by the politicians.
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TIP: The verb "to practise" is spelled with an "s"; the noun "practice" is spelled with a "c". 25

The politicians discussed the health-care system. Note, however, that using "there is" or "there are" is sometimes the most appropriate way to begin a sentence or paragraph. The expression serves to throw weight on the words that follow and thus emphasize the point that the next few sentences will elaborate on a new idea. There is another reason why the South entered into the Civil War: the issue of states rights. [in addition to the ideas already discussed] Avoid formulaic phrases High divorce rates have been observed to occur in areas that have been determined to have low population density. High divorce rates occur in areas with low population density. Replace formulaic phrases with words when possible We will file the appropriate papers in the event that we are unable to meet the deadline. We will file the appropriate papers if we are unable to meet the deadline. Note that like "there is" and "there are", some formulaic phrases can be useful in calling attention to a word or phrase. We use phrases such as "with regard to", "as far as", "where X is concerned", "in the matter of" and "speaking of" to announce that we are moving to a new idea about something that has already been mentioned. As far as the tourism industry in Liberia is concerned, it will take decades to equal that of South Africa. Use hedges ("some", "may", "suggests") and intensifiers ("all", "any") sparingly The example in the sentence below is not very persuasive: There seems to be some evidence that may suggest that certain differences between Eastern and Western rhetoric could derive from historical influences traceable to the countrys long cultural isolation and Europes equally long intercultural interactions. However, the example below is too direct: This evidence proves that Eastern and Western rhetoric differ because of the countrys long cultural isolation and Europes equally long intercultural interactions. The example in the sentence below is a happy compromise:

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This evidence suggests that aspects of Eastern and Western rhetoric differ because of the regions long cultural isolation and Europes equally long intercultural interactions. The sentence below sounds too aggressive because of the use of intensifiers and the lack of hedges: For a century now, liberals have argued against any censorship of art and all courts have found their arguments so persuasive that no one remembers how they were countered. As a result, today, censorship is unquestionably a thing of the past. The sentence below is more moderate and more acceptable to most readers: For about a century, many liberals have argued against censorship of art and most courts have found their arguments persuasive enough that few people may remember exactly how they were countered. As a result, today, censorship is virtually a thing of the past. Note, however, that some of the words in the sentence above fall into the category "meaningless words". Use them sparingly! Combine, condense and reduce clauses and phrases The Dag Hammarskjld Library contains many rare books. The books in the Library are carefully preserved, and the Library also houses a manuscript collection. The Dag Hammarskjld Library carefully preserves many rare books and manuscripts. His mother was a woman who knew exactly what she wanted. His mother knew exactly what she wanted. Exercise 21 is a chance to look carefully at some sentences and remove unnecessary words, and in Exercise 22 find a shorter way to say the same thing. Exercise 23 gives you a chance to think of simpler ways to express formulaic sayings. Rule 6: Use appropriate language Use familiar words and avoid jargon (specialized language) when possible. For years the indigenous body politic of the country attempted to negotiate legal enfranchisement without a result. For years the native population of the country negotiated in vain for the right to vote.

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The mayor will commence his term of office by ameliorating living conditions in economically deprived zones. The mayor will begin his term of office by improving living conditions in poor neighbourhoods. Avoid pretentious language, euphemisms and clichs. When our progenitors reach their silver-haired and golden years, we frequently ensepulchre them in homes for senescent beings. When our parents get old, we frequently put them in old-age homes. When a female of the species ascertains that a male with whom she is acquainted exhibits considerable desire to extend their acquaintance, that female customarily will first engage in protracted discussion with her close confidantes. When a woman realizes that a man is attracted to her, she usually confides in her close friends. Avoid slang and informal language. The Presidents attempt to liberate the hostages was not a very cool move. The Presidents attempt to free the hostages was not a wise move. In Exercise 24, consider what words might be more appropriate than those given in the table. Rule 7: Use verbs rather than nouns; verbs are dynamic and action-oriented Consider how, in the following pairs of sentences, the second sentence is better than the first. World trade continued its expansion. World trade continued to expand. The cause of our educational systems failure at teaching basic skills to children is not understanding the influence of their cultural background on learning. Our educational system has failed to teach children basic skills because we do not understand how their cultural background influences the way they learn. The two sentences above differ in how they use characters and actions. Read the sentences below and notice the differences in the way the characters and actions are expressed.
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This sentence has characters but not a lot of action: Once upon a time, there were Little Red Riding Hood, Grandma, the Woodsman and the Wolf. This sentence has action but no characters: Once upon a time, a walk through the woods happened when a jump from behind a tree caused a fright. What is the problem with the sentence below? Once upon a time, a walk through the woods by Little Red Riding Hood to Grandmas house was occurring when the Wolfs jump out from behind a tree caused fright in her. Why is the sentence below so much better? Once upon a time, Little Red Riding Hood was walking through the woods to Grandmas house when the Wolf jumped out from behind a tree and frightened her. The last sentence is better because (a) the characters are expressed as nouns and the actions are expressed as active verbs; and (b) the main characters are the subjects of the two clauses (Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf). Read the two sentences below and make the same comparisons. Which sentence is clearer? The Federalists argument that the destabilization of government was a consequence of popular democracy was based on their belief in the tendency of factions to further their self-interest at the expense of the common good. The Federalists argued that popular democracy destabilized government because factions tended to further their self-interest at the expense of the common good. In the second sentence, all of the subjects are characters (persons, things) and all of the verbs refer to specific actions. However, in the first sentence, the subjects are abstractions, two of the verbs have little meaning (was, was based) and the important actions are expressed not as verbs but as nouns (destabilization, belief, tendency). Avoid nominalizations (forming a noun from a verb or adjective). Using too many abstract nouns can confuse the reader. Readers generally feel less confused when: 1. You use subjects to name central characters.
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2. You express the characters most important actions as verbs. Verb discover resist react Notice the differences between the following two sentences: Our request is that on your return you do a review of the data. We request that, when you return, you review the data. Actions can often be expressed as adjectives following the verb "to be". This can also confuse the reader. Their decision is indicative of their disagreement with our position. Their decision indicates that they disagree with our position. Verb apply fear reflect doubt Apply rule 7 in Exercise 25. Now look back over the seven rules and try to apply them in Exercise 26, Exercise 27 and Exercise 28. 1. State a fact or an idea directly. 2. Use concrete rather than abstract words. 3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs. 4. Use the active voice rather than the passive voice. The active voice is action- oriented. 5. Avoid wordy sentences.
Nominalization discovery resistance reaction
Adjective careless different proficient
Nominalization carelessness differences proficiency
Adjective applicable fearful of reflective of dubious
Verb deserve hope represent suggest
Adjective deserving of hopeful of representative of suggestive of
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6. Use appropriate language. 7. Use verbs rather than nouns. Verbs are dynamic and action-oriented. Parallel structure If two or more ideas are parallel, they are easier to grasp if expressed in parallel grammatical forms: noun phrases with noun phrases; adjective clauses with adjective clauses; infinitives with infinitives and so on. In addition to making ideas clearer to the reader, parallelism can create emphasis. If the two sides of an idea are expressed differently, the contrast is more difficult to grasp. Look at the examples below. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. Winston Churchill Suppose Churchill had said this instead: In a capitalist society, people do not share blessings equally; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. * * * In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current. Thomas Jefferson Imagine this instead: When it comes to matters of principle, you should stand like a rock but swim with the current in matters of taste. * * * This novel is not to be tossed lightly aside, but to be hurled with great force. Dorothy Parker And this: This book is not to be tossed lightly aside; you should hurl it with great force. * * * It's not the men in my life that count; it's the life in my men. Mae West
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And finally: It's not the men in my life that count; it's whether my men have any life in them. All of the rewritten sentences above are grammatically correct and retain the meaning of the original, but they have less impact20 on the reader. Parallelism is also important when giving a list of ideas or recommendations in subparagraphs. Keep to the same construction in each subparagraph. For example, consider the following: In his address to the staff, the Secretary-General stated: (a) His intention to study the possibility of out-sourcing of certain non-core administrative functions; (b) That he would recommend to Member States that a buyout be offered to certain staff members; (c) New technology was an important aspect of improving efficiency. Based on the principle of parallelism, the above text would be amended as shown below. In his address to the staff, the Secretary-General stated his intention: (a) To study the possibility of out-sourcing of certain non-core administrative functions; (b) To recommend to Member States that a buyout be offered to certain staff members; (c) To introduce new technology as part of efforts to improve efficiency. Below you will find examples of sentences with faulty parallelism and the revised versions of those sentences. I am working to improve the functioning and
TIP: The word impact is mostly used as a noun, and it has only recently become more common to use it as a verb. Use of the word to mean "have a strong effect on" is chiefly North American (see the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, twelfth edition) and is widely associated with business jargon. So, in United Nations documents, it is better to write, "the high rate of inflation had a negative impact on social conditions" than "the high rate of inflation negatively impacted on social conditions".
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I am working to improve the functioning and effectiveness of the country's key governing institutions

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effectiveness of the country's key governing institutions and ensure that they can depend on more reliable funding arrangements. The French, the Italians, Portuguese and Spanish
and to ensure that they can depend on more reliable funding arrangements.
The French, the Italians, the Portuguese and the Spanish or The French, Italians, Portuguese and Spanish
It was both a The ceremony was both long and long ceremony tedious. and very tedious. A time not for words, but action. A time not for words, but for action.
My income is smaller than my My income is smaller than my wife's. wife. Let me know the time and place we Let me know the can meet. time and where or we can meet. Let me know when and where we can meet. Correct the faulty parallelism in Exercise 29. Misplaced ("dangling") modifiers Modifiers (words that modify other words) should point clearly to the words they modify. If they are placed too far from those words, the reader may be confused. Often, the sentence might mean something quite different from what the author intended. 1. Lasers only destroy the target, leaving the surrounding tissue intact. Lasers destroy only the target, leaving the surrounding tissue intact. 33

3.
[Destroying targets is not the only thing that lasers do.]
2. All teachers are not perfect. Not all teachers are perfect. [In the first sentence, there are no perfect teachers; in the second some are perfect and some are not.]
There are many pictures of comedians who have performed at Gavin's on the walls. On the walls are many pictures of comedians who have performed at Gavin's. [The pictures are on the walls, not the comedians.]
4. I always almost finish the work on time. I almost always finish the work on time. When I was a teenager, I could always go to my grandmother to talk. [Who is the teenager?] [In the first sentence, I never finish the work on time, but I always almost do; in the second, most of the time I finish the work on time.]
5. As a teenager, my grandmother was always open to talking to me.
Now correct the dangling modifiers in Exercise 30. Reported speech Many writers find it difficult to produce an account of a meeting without some errors of tense because of the need to use reported speech. Indirect or reported speech conveys a report of something that was said or written rather than the exact words that were spoken or written. It is used in many United Nations documents, including summary records and reports on the proceedings of intergovernmental bodies. Indirect speech is not enclosed in quotation marks. When converting direct (quoted) speech to indirect (reported) speech, several changes must be made. First, it is necessary to add a principal (reporting) clause that contains a verb of saying, thinking or reporting in the past tense (She stated
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that ...). Next, a corresponding shift is made in the verb tenses, pronouns and certain other words in the original statement: Direct: Indirect: The election is being held today. The Acting President confirmed that the election was being held that day [or on a specific date].
In a summary of a speech or discussion, the reporting clause must be added initially to establish the pattern of indirect speech but should not be included in every subsequent sentence. The shift in verb tenses, pronouns and other words signals the fact that the words are being reported. The examples below illustrate the tenses that need to be changed. Present to past tense Even though the original statement may still be valid at the time of reporting, the verb is changed from the present to the past tense since it must agree with the verb in the main clause, which, whether stated or understood, is in the past tense. Present perfect to past perfect tense Direct: The investigators have been conducting hearings on security issues for several days. Direct: Indirect: Fifteen States are members of the working group. The Secretary of the Council reported that 15 States were members of the working group.
The Director noted that the investigators had been conducting Indirect: hearings on security issues for several days. Direct: The Chairman resigned last week.
Past to past perfect tense Indirect: It was announced that the Chairman had resigned the previous week.
Past perfect tense (no change) Direct: The Board had been following the question closely for some time. 35

Indirect: Direct: Direct:
The Director-General acknowledged that the Board had been following the question closely for some time. We will honour the ceasefire. By 2015 the number will have doubled.
Future to secondary future tense Indirect: The insurgents stated that they would honour the ceasefire.
Future perfect to secondary future perfect tense Indirect: It was estimated that by 2015 the number would have doubled.
Conditional tense (no change) Special verb forms. Some auxiliary verbs, such as must and ought to, have only one form, which is used in both direct and indirect speech. When should is used as an auxiliary, it does not change either. Direct: Speakers [must/ought to/should] limit their statements to five minutes. Direct: Indirect: If the necessary funds were available, the programme would be put into operation. The Director said that if the necessary funds were available, the programme would be put into operation.
The Chairperson emphasized that speakers Indirect: [must/ought to/should] limit their statements to five minutes. Or: The infinitive form can often be used to avoid cumbersome or awkward constructions in reported speech.
The Chairperson emphasized that speakers were obliged to limit their statements to five minutes.
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Direct: Indirect:
It is reported that the situation is grave. She told the Council that the situation was reported to be grave.
Pronouns, possessives and demonstratives The changes required in pronouns, possessive adjectives and demonstratives are as follows: Direct speech I me my mine we us our ours you your yours this these Adverbs and adjectives Adverbs and adjectives denoting time and place may have to be changed as follows: Direct speech here now, at the present time present
Indirect speech he, she him, her his, her, the his, hers they them their, the theirs they, them their, the theirs that, the those, the
Indirect speech there then, at the time existing, current 37
today tomorrow yesterday ago Questions and exclamations
that day, at the time the day after, the next day the day before, the previous day
before, earlier
The rules set out above also apply to questions and exclamations. In addition, the final punctuation mark (question mark or exclamation point) should be changed to a full stop (period) in an indirect statement. In some cases, the word order may have to be changed slightly. When converting a direct question to an indirect one, the subject and verb often have to be inverted. Question Direct: Indirect: Why should we include this question in the agenda? Several Committee members asked why they should include the question in the agenda. Such acts of aggression should not be tolerated by the international community! The representative declared that such acts of aggression should not be tolerated by the international community.
Exclamation Take a look at the following example: Mr. X: Nothing is further from my desire than to start a debate on procedure but, in fact, we had this morning adopted a provisional procedure which, under article 68 and those which follow, lays down rules for the elections and for voting. We also agreed this morning that this matter of nominations should be referred to the Sixth Committee for discussion and for an agreed solution before the close of our meetings. In the meantime, I think we should do well to adhere to the rules that we have adopted and proceed as originally scheduled. Mr. X said that nothing was is further from his my desire than to start a debate on procedure. but, in fact, we He noted, however, that the meeting had that thismorning adopted a provisional procedure which, under article 68 and those which followed, laid lays down rules for the elections and for voting. The
Direct: Indirect:
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meeting had We also agreed that this morning that the this matter of nominations should be referred to the Sixth Committee for discussion and for an agreed solution before the close of the our meetings. He felt that in the meantime I think we should the meeting would do well to adhere to the rules that we have had been adopted and proceed as originally scheduled. Exercise 31 gives you a chance to turn three paragraphs into reported speech.

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VII. Writing a summary

Writing a summary Summarizing is a basic writing skill required in many functions in the United Nations. All reports of the Secretary-General should have a very short summary at the beginning of the report. In addition, you may frequently be called upon to summarize the contents of a long report or a speech to share with colleagues. When asked to summarize a full report or speech, the summary should read smoothly and cohesively as a document on its own merits and provide an objective and concise version of the original. It should be between one quarter and one third of the length of the original document. Note, however, that the summary provided at the beginning of all reports of the Secretary-General is much shorter. It is intended to give a very brief outline of the content of the report and will often consist of a simple account of the purpose of the report and a sentence giving the main content of each chapter. The process of writing a summary Read quickly through the entire document to be summarized. Make sure you have understood the main ideas. Take a pencil or highlighter and mark the most important words and phrases. Write down in a paragraph what you have understood to be the main purpose or conclusion of the document. Having formulated your initial response, now go back and read the document again, this time with two aims in mind: o Check whether your conclusion about the main purpose was correct; change it if necessary; o Make an outline of the main points being made (from your highlighted words): keep these in the original order but paraphrase them rather than quoting verbatim throughout. If you have time, put the work aside for a day so that you can approach it with a fresh eye the next time. Read through your purpose and outline. Write the first draft of the summary, working only from what you have written so far. Re-read the document and note any main points you may have missed, making sure that you have presented the main ideas as they occur in the text. Incorporate the missing points into your draft and revise for coherence and paragraph organization, making sure that your summary makes sense as an independent text. Revise the final summary for errors; delete any unnecessary words.
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Tips and techniques for writing a summary Use the most economical wording possible. Always write your summary in the past tense, using reported speech. Be careful to preserve the original meaning; do not oversimplify or misrepresent. Be careful to keep any essential conditions or distinctions. Do not give any examples. Do not draw conclusions of your own. Now try writing a summary in Exercise 32.

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VIII. Writing conclusions and recommendations

Drafting conclusions and recommendations Whether your report includes conclusions and recommendations will depend on the type of report. Reports of the Secretary-General will almost always include both and must include a section with conclusions drawn from the body of the report. Normally reports prepared for the legislative bodies should include recommendations on action to be taken by the Member States. Reports of the legislative bodies on their meetings should present the conclusions and recommendations reached by the Member States at the session. A report of a mission you have taken should present your conclusions and recommendations in a separate section at the end of the report. Many people find drafting conclusions and recommendations difficult. It helps to keep them separate in your mind. In essence, your conclusions should be a logical extension of the information contained in the report and your recommendations should be a logical extension of the conclusions. The conclusions in your report will be the main "discoveries" that appear naturally from the text. For example, if your report analyses trends in abuse of narcotic drugs in the various regions of the world and research shows that in each region there has been an increase in young people between the ages of 16 and 25 being arrested for drug possession or use, it is safe for your report to conclude that abuse of narcotic drugs among that age group is on the rise worldwide. If, however, evidence shows that the number of young people seeking treatment in drug rehabilitation centres is rising, you might in fact conclude that more people are getting help and that drug abuse is therefore decreasing among young people. Your recommendations, on the other hand, seek to propose specific solutions. If you have concluded that drug abuse among young people is a growing problem, then you should recommend steps to address the problem. It is not enough to recommend simply that action be taken; try to be more specific. Your recommendations could range from a high-profile media campaign focused to reach young people (with information spots airing on MTV rather than BBC World, for example) to a project to gather more detailed information. The following example is an extract from Afghanistan: Opium Survey 2006, published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: Either Afghanistan destroys opium or opium will destroy Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai has warned. As this survey shows, we are coming dangerously close to the second option. This year, opium cultivation rose to 165,000 hectares, a 59 per cent increase over 2005. An unprecedented 6,100 tons of opium has been harvested, making Afghanistan virtually the sole supplier to the world. "Revenue from the harvest will be over three billion dollars this year, making a
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handful of criminals and corrupt officials extremely rich" Mr. Costa said. "This money is also dragging the rest of Afghanistan into a bottomless pit of destruction and despair." This year, the largest cultivation took place in the south, especially Halmand and Kandahar provisions, where governance has collapsed under the weight of insurgency, drugs, crime and corruption. In other provinces, like Bahakhshan in the north-east, opium crop increases are the fault of greedy officials and arrogant warlords. Around the country, the number of people involved in opium cultivation increased to almost a third to 2.9 million - 12.6 per cent of the total population. In this case, the report concludes that urgent measures are needed in three areas: political, strategic and health, and it also provides a number of recommendations, including improving security and the rule of law; making farmers think twice about planting opium; and increasing and improving development assistance. Exercise 33 consists of a simple text: try to draw one conclusion and make one recommendation.

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IX. A few final tips

In closing, here is some final advice to help you to produce a perfect report! When you have finished writing, take some time to read your report through carefully and revise it. It is always a good idea to put your work aside and do something else for a while. It is very easy to miss mistakes in your own work. Here are some other tips: It helps to read the report aloud. Read line by line, trying to concentrate on every word. Read your report several times, looking for specific errors (tenses, for example, or spelling errors). Edit for clarity and conciseness, remembering the seven rules. Do not rely entirely on the spell checker use the list of frequent spelling errors on the UNOV/UNODC Intranet (click on "Writing for the United Nations") and remember to look for typos that the spell check will not notice ("Untied Nations", for example).
Some useful books There are some excellent books to help you to become a better writer. Some you might use just to check a point of grammar. Others you might read for fun! Here are just a few to look for. James Cochrane, Between You and I: a Little Book of Bad English (Naperville, Illinois, Sourcebooks, Inc., 2004). Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots and Leaves: the Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (New York, Gotham Books, 2003). Fowler's Modern English Usage, R.W. Burchfield, editor, revised 3rd edition (New York, Oxford University Press, 2004). Ernest Gowers, The Complete Plain Words (Boston, David R. Godine, 2002). The Economist Style Guide: A Concise Guide for All Your Business Communications (New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996). William Strunk, Jr., E.B. White and Roger Angell, The Elements of Style, 4th edition (New York, Pearson Higher Education, 2000). Marjorie E. Skillin, Words into Type, 3rd edition (New York, Prentice Hall, 1974).
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Spelling Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 12th edition (New York, Oxford University Press, 2011). Note: The twelfth edition is the current authority for spelling in the United Nations. The spelling list supplements and indicates exceptions to the twelfth edition. To take this course online Go to http://69.94.137.26/editorialcontrol/training/lessons/introduction1.htm United Nations Online Editorial Manual See http://69.94.137.26/editorialcontrol/

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Exercises
Exercise 1 This exercise is intended to give you some practical experience of following your legislative mandate in the form of a resolution. It provides links to the report prepared pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 2003/XX and the resolution itself. Glance through the report and then, referring to the resolution, answer the questions. In the example of Economic and Social Council resolution 2003/XX, the request is to report on the implementation of the resolution (paragraph 7). Your report should therefore cover what has been done to respond to the requests and suggestions the Council has made in the resolution. Remember the advice of your former teachers and professors: answer the question you have been set, not the one you wish had been set. It is always a good idea to keep firmly in mind also the preambular (unnumbered) paragraphs. The Council is recalling and bearing in mind these previous declarations and reports for a purpose because they contain the fundamental background information and principles relating to the subject. Take a look at the first, second and third preambular paragraphs of resolution 2003/XX (located in the appendix). The introduction to the report (E/CN.7/2004/XX) reads as follows: 1. The present report has been prepared pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 2003/XX of 22 July 2003, entitled "International assistance to the States affected by the transit of illicit drugs". The aim of the strategy of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is to assist transit States in the upgrading of legislation and judicial procedures; the strengthening of the technical skills of law enforcement agencies; the improving of data collection by national agencies to support informed responses to combat illicit drug trafficking and the problems associated with it; the provision of equipment to front-line operations; and the strengthening of cross-border and regional cooperation and assistance to develop self- sustaining training in the best operating practices for government law enforcement services. Question A: The first sentence announces the legislative mandate. Now compare the introduction of the report and the resolution. Does this introduction indicate that the report will provide all the information that you might expect based on the resolution Answer "yes" or "no".
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Question B: Now glance through the report itself (located in the appendix). Does the report in fact cover this information, even though it is not mentioned in the introduction? Does the report provide information on all the issues highlighted in the resolution? Take a look at the sixth preambular paragraph of the resolution: "Noting the fact that the transit States continue to face grave and multifaceted challenges, owing to both the problems related to illicit drug trafficking and supply and the rising levels of drug abuse resulting from the transiting of illicit drugs through their territories," Essentially, does the report focus on the challenges faced by the transit States? Answer "yes" or "no".
Exercise 2 What are the purposes of the reports below likely to be? Choose a purpose for each from the list on the previous page. Indicate whether or not each report would need a statement of purpose. Then write a statement of purpose for each report that needs one. 1. A report to your supervisor about the benefits of flexible working hours. Purpose_______________________________________________________________________________________ Statement of purpose needed? Yes/No _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. A report on a survey mission in preparation for a two-year mission in Liberia. Purpose_______________________________________________________________________________________ Statement of purpose needed? Yes/No _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. A report on the human rights situation in Myanmar. Purpose_______________________________________________________________________________________ Statement of purpose needed? Yes/No
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_________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. A report on a working group meeting on staff development. Purpose_______________________________________________________________________________________ Statement of purpose needed? Yes/No _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. A report on progress made in the implementation of a UNICEF project to make primary level education available to all children in Kenya. Purpose_______________________________________________________________________________________ Statement of purpose needed? Yes/No _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. The minutes of a meeting. Purpose_______________________________________________________________________________________ Statement of purpose needed? Yes/No _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. A report on strategies to protect United Nations staff serving in Pakistan and the implications for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in that country. Purpose_______________________________________________________________________________________ Statement of purpose needed? Yes/No _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________
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8. A report on a conference that the writer attended. Purpose_______________________________________________________________________________________ Statement of purpose needed? Yes/No _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. A report on data indicating that synthetic illicit drugs manufactured in the United States of America have become more potent over recent years and presenting a possible reason why this might have occurred. Purpose_______________________________________________________________________________________ Statement of purpose needed? Yes/No _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Exercise 3 Read the following introduction to a report submitted to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and underline sentences or phrases that indicate the purpose of the report. At what point of the text is the purpose of the report stated? Assistance to least developed countries to ensure their participation in the sessions of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the sessions of conferences of States parties (E/CN.15/2005/XX) I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 59/XX of 20 December 2004, entitled "Assistance to least developed countries to ensure their participation in the sessions of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the sessions of conferences of States parties", the General Assembly called on Member States, international organizations and funding institutions to redouble their efforts to increase their voluntary contributions to assist the Secretary-General in covering the cost of travel and daily subsistence allowance for the participation of representatives of least developed countries in the sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and requested the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to intensify efforts to ensure the increased participation of representatives of least developed countries in those meetings.
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2. The list of least developed countries is provided in the annex to the present report, with an indication of membership in the Commission and ratification of the United Nations crime conventions. 3. The present report is submitted to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice at its fourteenth session in order to keep it apprised of progress in the implementation of resolution 59/XX. Exercise 4 Note how the statement of purpose is divided in the following introduction. What is the purpose of this report? I. Introduction 1. The International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), in its eleventh annual report, informed the General Assembly of the United Nations that the margin between the net remuneration of the United Nations staff in the Professional and higher categories in New York and that of the United States federal civil service in Washington was estimated at 117.6 for the period from 1 January to 31 December 1992. 2. Following consideration of the Commissions eighteenth annual report, the General Assembly, by its resolution 47/XX of 23 December 1992, took note of the Commissions study of the methodology for determining the cost-of-living differential between New York and Washington and requested the Commission to take into account the views expressed by the Member States on the completion of the above study. 3. The purpose of the present document is: (a) To inform the Commission of the developments affecting the margin within the two services since the Commission last considered the margin issue at its thirty- sixth session (July 1992); (b) To provide a forecast of the margin between the net remuneration for the two services for the period from 1 January to 31 December 1993. 4. With regard to the forecast of the margin provided in paragraph 11 below, it may be noted that a document on the procedure for the determination of the cost-of- living differential between New York and Washington (ICSC/37/R.4 and Add.1) is before the Commission.

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Exercise 5 Each example below gives the title of a United Nations report and the statement of purpose of the report as contained in the introduction. Do you think that the title gives you a clear idea of what the report will cover? Suggest a more descriptive title that would give the reader a better idea of what the report is all about. Actual title: Globalization and interdependence (A/60/XX) Statement of purpose: Ways to forge greater coherence in order to advance internationally agreed development goals, addressing the specific question of how to promote the institutional and policy coherence required to achieve the broad array of development goals in a globalizing world economy. Suggested title:_______________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Actual title: Status of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery (A/61/XX) Statement of purpose: Update on the financial status and activities of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery and recommendations adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Fund. Suggested title:_______________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Actual title: United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (A/62/XX) Statement of purpose: Report of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala on the implementation of the 1996 peace agreements, prior to the closure of the mission in December 2004. Suggested title:_______________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Exercise 6 You have been asked to write a report on the external debt crisis and the results of debt relief on the development of the recipient countries. Bearing in mind the general goals of the United Nations in this field (sustainable implementation of the Millennium Development Goals), lets assume that the purpose of the report might be to persuade developed countries to expand their debt relief to the most affected countries. Suggest two titles for the report, one giving the basic subject matter and the other giving the subject and an idea of the purpose of the report. Subject only: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Subject and purpose: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 7 Read through the text below. Does it tell the reader the main things he or she needs to know about the report? Who requested the report? What information was requested? Is this a new report on the subject or part of a series? Does the report provide all the necessary background to the subject, or will the reader have to look at previous reports? Sixth progress report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in Cte dIvoire I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution XX (2005), by which the Council requested to be regularly informed of the development of the situation in Cte dIvoire and the implementation of the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Cte dIvoire (UNOCI) and of the Linas-Marcoussis and Pretoria Agreements. The report covers major developments in the peace process since my report to the Security Council of 17 June 2005 (S/2005/XX). During that period, the Council received the fortnightly reports prepared by the Monitoring
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Group established under the Accra III Agreement comprising the representatives in Cte dIvoire of the United Nations, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Exercise 8 Imagine that you have been asked to write an analytical paper for the Director of your Division on the status of women in country X. Below is a list of questions that might be covered in the report. How would you group some of those questions together when planning the report? Are there any other questions you think should be covered? Look through the list and choose the questions that you consider vital, bearing in mind the subject you have been asked to analyse and who will be reading the report. Cross out those questions, which should not be covered in the report. Then group the remaining questions into sections, giving each section a separate title and number (I, II, III etc.). At the end of each question that should be covered in the report, indicate in which section of the report (sect. I, sect. II etc.) the question should be covered. 1) 2) 3) 4) What is the geography of the region? What are the social and economic conditions? What is the status of the Government? What proportion of girls complete primary education? Secondary education? University education? 5) How have the statistics on education for girls changed in the past 10 years? 6) Are women allowed to vote? 7) Are there any women in the Government? 8) Is the region peaceful? 9) If there is armed conflict, is it localized? Is it tribal? 10)What is the crime situation in the country? Does this differ in the urban areas and the rural areas? 11)Are women more likely to be victims of crime than men? 12)When did women gain the right to vote in country X? 13)Are there any elections coming up? 14)Do women usually work outside the home in country X? 15)What is the country's culture like? 16)Have there been any changes in the situation recently? 17)What is the meaning of these changes? 18)What are the population statistics of the country? 19)What kind of employment opportunities do women have? 20)Do women have access to credit? 21)If they do, what kind of businesses do they run? 22)What are the statistics on mother and child mortality? 23)How many children do women have on average? 24)Do many citizens of country X try to migrate abroad? 25)What is the Government doing to promote the advancement of women?
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26)Has country X ratified any of the international legal instruments aimed at improving the status of women? 27)If not, is the United Nations providing any encouragement for it to do so? 28)If yes, is the United Nations providing any assistance to help country X to comply with those international instruments? 29)Have there been any United Nations technical assistance programmes in the country related to the advancement of women? 30)If yes, have they been successful? 31)What problems have been encountered? 32)What is the complete history of the country? 33)What options are available for the United Nations to expand its assistance? 34)Which options are the most feasible? 35)Are there any drawbacks to the options? 36)How would we consider the arguments against the options? 37)Are there any recommendations to be made? 38)Any other questions:_________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ Exercise 9 Try brainstorming for yourself. You can use any topic you like, or one of the topics below. State of the environment Implementation of the Millennium Development Goals United Nations reform Mobility of staff in the United Nations system Benefits of teleworking Knowledge-sharing in the United Nations Celebrity sponsors and the United Nations
Note: This is a very personal exercise. The idea is for you to try the technique for yourself. The sample answers are just for the third and the seventh topic and are meant to let you know if you are on the right track. Exercise 10 Try drawing a mind map of your own. Use the topic you used for brainstorming in exercise 9, or the list from exercise 8. The sample answer is a mind map on the status of women in country X.

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Exercise 11 Now try free writing. Again, you can base it on the topic you used for the previous exercises. The sample answer uses the topic of the status of women in country X. Exercise 12 Now try making an outline of your report. Again, you can base it on the topic you used for the previous exercises. The sample answer uses the topic of the status of women in country X. Exercise 13 Identify the patterns used to organize the following paragraphs (definition; analysis or classification; time, space or sequence; compare and contrast; cause and effect; argument or recommendation): 1. Five clusters of major crime have been identified: organized crime in its multiple manifestations and in particular, in the illicit drug trade; terrorism, including state terrorism; economic crime of a transboundary nature; ecological and environmental crimes that transcend national frontiers; and illicit international trade in objects belonging to the national heritage of countries. Pattern(s): ___________________________________________________________________________________ 2. As population numbers increase and it becomes harder and harder to coax a good crop from the depleted land, people migrate to the city to find an alternative way of making a living. Pattern(s): ___________________________________________________________________________________ 3. It is vital to provide alternatives to joining armed groups or forces for unaccompanied and separated girls and boys. Preventive or rehabilitative measures include enrolment in formal, non-formal and vocational education, although it is disturbing to note that schools have at times been targeted for the purpose of forcibly recruiting children. Other measures include income-generating activities, family reunification, psychosocial services and recreational activities. The provision of adequate food rations and other assistance also reduces the vulnerability to recruitment of displaced and war-affected children. Pattern(s): ___________________________________________________________________________________ 4. The exploitation of the prostitution of women is prosecuted as a criminal offence of pandering, which is understood to mean any action by which another person is hired, forced or seduced to engage in prostitution, as well as any action consisting in the exploitation (gaining material or other benefit) of the prostitution of another person.
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Pattern(s): ___________________________________________________________________________________ 5. At its first session, in 1994, the Forum adopted priorities for action for the effective implementation of the programme areas set out in chapter 19 of Agenda 21. The recommendations contained in the priorities for action were addressed to Governments and also provided guidance to international bodies for the development of tools for use by Governments in meeting their national targets. At the second session, held in Ottawa in February 1997, the Forum reviewed activities carried out since the first session and provided further recommendations to the General Assembly. Pattern(s): ___________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Research on economic growth and education shows that failing to invest in women's education can affect the growth of the gross national product (GNP). Everything else being equal, countries in which the ratio of female-to-male enrolment in primary or secondary education is less than .75 can expect levels of GNP that are roughly 25 per cent lower than countries in which there is less gender disparity in education. Pattern(s): ___________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Ms. X is 25 years old. When she was born, her mother was malnourished and overworked, so Ms. X had a very low birth weight. She grew slowly. During childhood, she had little nourishing food, even less than her brothers. She could not go to school as her brothers did, but remained home with her mother to help with the housework and child-rearing. By adolescence, she had not grown as she should have; her bones had not developed properly and she was very short. As was the tradition of her culture, she was married and had her first baby at the age of 14, even before she had fully developed. It was a difficult birth, but she survived it and many subsequent births. Pattern(s): ___________________________________________________________________________________ 8. On several occasions the two leaders have successfully overcome deadlocked situations in the ongoing negotiations, and their cooperation has led to the implementation of many activities called for in the timetable. With the initiation of the cantonment of troops, the peace process has entered into a new phase. However, major problems still remain to be resolved in the immediate future. These include the opening of the remaining 14 assembly areas; initiation and subsequent completion of the actual demobilization; transfer of weapons from assembly areas to regional warehouses; dismantling of the paramilitary forces; provision of financial support for the transformation of RENAMO from a military movement into a political party; and formation of a well-functioning national defence force. Pattern(s): ___________________________________________________________________________________

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9. In October 1992, I sent a fact-finding mission to Armenia and Azerbaijan to report on the situation there regarding the conflicts over Nagorny Karabakh, an enclave within Azerbaijan. In March 1993, the conflict escalated further when the Kelbadzhar district of Azerbaijan, between Armenia and Nagorny Karabakh, was occupied. That development resulted in a sudden increase in the number of displaced persons in Azerbaijan. Pattern(s): ___________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Prison remains the standard response, regardless of the gravity of the crime committed. Prison sentences were pronounced in 35 per cent of cases in 2000, while probation was provided for in only 6.4 per cent of cases, re-education in 6.3 per cent and various protection measures in 3.8 per cent of cases. Pattern(s): ___________________________________________________________________________________ 11. In other developments, the Georgian side protested the large-scale Abkhaz military exercises held from 15 to 19 August, drawing attention to the impact of what it called the militarization of and outside support for such activities in the conflict-ridden regions of Georgia. For its part, the Abkhaz side continued to question the peaceful intentions of Tibilisi and reiterated its intention to seek closer relations with the Russian Federation. In his statement to the General Assembly on 15 September, President Saakashivili appealed to the United Nations to put an end to "the forcible annexation of Abkhazia" and expressed his hope that Georgia and the Russian Federation would cooperate in the peaceful settlement of conflicts in Georgia. On 11 October, the Parliament of Georgia adopted a resolution providing for the possible start of the withdrawal of peacekeeping forces from the Georgian- South Ossetian and Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zones during 2006. Pattern(s): ___________________________________________________________________________________ Exercise 14 Underline the topic sentence in each of the paragraphs below. 1. There is no doubt that the country faces a number of serious economic problems. Donor contributions are falling, foreign and domestic debt is increasing and there is little or no foreign investment to fill the gap. By the end of the year, the country could be in the grip of a severe domestic debt crisis. The country is racing against time and there is no choice but to increase the pace of domestic reform. * * * 2. Interaction between the United Nations and civil society has grown significantly in the past decade. Thousands of non-governmental organizations now have formal consultative status. Their contribution has enriched the debates and influenced the outcome of many intergovernmental deliberations. However, there have been many
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problems along the way. The time has come to take stock and find better ways of organizing the relationship. * * * 3. In the past decade, the region has been transformed from a largely self-sufficient mixed agricultural economy into one of predominately illicit coca. The intensification of coca bush cultivation in the region flood plain and adjacent low hills as well as vigorous expansion into highland forest environments is responsible for the annihilation of nearly 1 million hectares of tropical forest resources. The coca cultivators of the region are rapidly eliminating one of the most genetically prosperous ecosystems of the entire Amazon river basin. * * * Exercise 15 Write topic sentences for each of the paragraphs below. 1. The process of assembly of soldiers of the Government and the National Resistance Movement has been concluded and the demobilization of these soldiers is almost complete. A number of decisions have been taken with regard to the formation of the new army. More than three quarters of the estimated eligible voter population has been registered for elections. Despite the many challenging tasks that lie ahead, I believe that the major political conditions for holding elections as planned on 27 and 28 October 2003 are in place. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Based on the replies received from Member States21, these criteria include non- remuneration, minimum age, relationship between the organ donor and the recipient, voluntary donation, written consent, prior information about possible risks, anonymity and the right to withdraw from the operation. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. In 1945, democracy was a clear concept as defined by the Allied nations in opposition to fascism. With the onset of the cold war, democracy came to be propounded from two perspectives, East and West. As the third world took its place on the international stage, its members strove to find their own methods of
21TIP: The word "apprise" (which means to inform) is frequently confused with the word "appraise" (which means to assess the value, quality or performance of something). Delegations are apprised of developments; but technical assistance projects and antiques are appraised.

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government, appropriate to their needs, providing in the process alternative perspectives on democracy. Today, the rapidly changing global scene has set the age-old concept of democracy in a new light. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Exercise 16 Fill in the blanks with an appropriate word or phrase. 1. Some actions will take effect immediately, ____________ others will be implemented over time. 2. Tucked within some of the least spoiled countryside in Hampshire, Alton is a town of two halves. __________________, it remains a traditional English market town, complete with an ancient parish church, three independent butchers, a brewery, a toyshop, a weekly market and a local museum. ________________, its Georgian high street was brutally assaulted in the 1960s and 1970s by a wave of witless concrete design, and is now packed with aggressive traffic. 3. A key ingredient of any successful organization is an ethical and accountable culture pervading its staff from top to bottom. For the United Nations, as an organization founded on the high ideals of its Charter and seeking to set an example in the countries where it works throughout the world, this is doubly important. ______________, in recent years it has become clear that we have too often fallen short of these high standards. Exercise 17 Rewrite the following sentences and paragraphs to make them simpler and more direct: 1. It is anticipated that the preliminary results of the study could be available to report to the Commission at its twenty-fourth session. 2. The optimal period of the year to take an extended absence from the office is during the warmer months of June to August. 3. The Committee decided not to allow the use of cellular telephones during its meetings.

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Exercise 18 Rewrite the following sentences replacing abstract words and phrases with concrete ones: 1. Isabel made a lot of very loud noises and the man with a knife disappeared into the darkness. 2. After many hours of discussions and argument, the members of the Council eventually harmonized their different points of view and therefore were able to agree on a proposed text. 3. Among the scientific academic community, there are many people who are convinced of the idea that the emission of chemicals is a source of harmful warming of the atmosphere. Exercise 19 Rewrite the following sentences replacing long words with shorter ones and using shorter sentences: 1. New York is a huge and bustling metropolis, where the General Assembly of the United Nations is attended by important personages every year who spend several months debating important issues. 2. The air passenger transportation industry has suffered a number of serious setbacks in the form of highly priced petroleum and the need to put in place various additional security screening and prevention procedures, and has therefore once more increased the price of a ticket. 3. Everyday the children are hit by new trials and tribulations, as their bodies suffer the ravages of malnutrition, with dirty water spreading terrible sickness among them like wildfire and the daily violence and fear of death and destruction from the militias. Exercise 20 Practise how to use the active rather than the passive voice: 1. The proposal was approved by the Committee last week. 2. The decision to increase working hours was found to be unacceptable by the staff. 3. Staff were encouraged by the Director to take advantage of the many staff development programmes that were being offered by the Office of Human Resources Management.
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Exercise 21 Shorten the following sentences by eliminating unnecessary words: 1. Any specific decision that the committee makes will be acceptable. 2. For all intents and purposes, the American education system lacks clear objectives and goals. 3. Without some sort of additional aid, the country will be unable to achieve its desired goal of freeing itself once and for all from its oppressors. 4. Any person or persons who have an interest in the position should write to the address above. 5. There was a decision taken by the committee members last week to postpone the debate. 6. The general consensus is that action needs to be taken with a view to further advancing the progress that has already been made in the area of the empowerment of women. 7. In the event that the situation proves to be too excessively difficult to be handled by the existing numbers of troops, their numbers will be increased. Exercise 22 Below is a list of common redundancies in English. What would be a more direct way to say the same thing? Redundancy an honour and a privilege any and all absolutely essential continue on basic essentials close proximity first priority combine into one current status equally as well
Substitution
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final outcome goals and objectives joined together one and the same point in time personal opinion first and foremost repeat again refer back to true facts this particular instance take action by means of adding together small in size past history necessary requisite as a general rule actual experience range all the way from Exercise 23 Suggest a more concise way to express these formulaic expressions: Formulaic at the present time at this point in time because of the fact that due to the fact that
Concise
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for the reason that prior to, in anticipation of subsequent to, following on at the same time as simultaneously with along the lines of by means of for the purpose of are of the opinion that have the ability to in spite of the fact that despite the fact that notwithstanding the fact that as regards with regard to concerning the matter of last but not least in the event that until such time as Exercise 24 What simple and more direct words could be used instead of the ones in the table below? ameliorate commence components endeavour (v.) exit (v.) facilitate
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indicator initiate (v.) optimal practically primary proceed Exercise 25 Try to make the following sentences more dynamic and interesting by replacing nouns and adjectives with verbs. 1. The data are showing an upward trend. 2. I am dubious that what you say is true. 3. The tragedy of drug abuse and crime is found in the destruction of the lives of so many people who would otherwise be contributors to society. Exercise 26 1. Independence is gained by those on welfare when skills that are valued by the marketplace are taught. 2. When fewer goods are made available to consumers, those goods that are most needed are hoarded. 3. Before Mr. X was elected President, people attacked him as a bleeding heart liberal. 4. In this article, it is argued that the Civil War was fought not to end slavery in the United States, but so that the Union would not be divided. 5. It was felt that further discussion was needed in order for the matter to be clarified. 6. The Advisory Committee notes the proactive approach that has been taken by the Department in how it has dealt with the issue of compliance with deadlines and page limits and, in particular, the efforts by the Department to get involved in enhancing the drafting skills of staff members in the Secretariat who are responsible for preparing reports, with the aim of producing reports that are of higher quality and are more concise, as it would be easier for the Department to process such reports in a timely manner.
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Exercise 27 Shorten and otherwise improve the following sentences: 1. Beyond the immediate issue of agricultural subsidies, it is my strong view that France and the United Kingdom should be encouraged to continue on the path of dialogue. 2. My suggestion is that our discussion of the issue be done in the immediate future. 3. There is public opposition to nuclear power plants near population centres because of a widespread belief in their threat to human health. 4. An important part is putting in place appropriate institutional infrastructure for capacity-building, investment promotion and in bringing about qualitative improvements in the manufactured goods. 5. Several joint activities were identified, including the following: The development of joint training activities and awareness raising on the nature and role of organized crime and its impact in a variety of illicit markets, including the illicit trafficking of protected species of wild flora and fauna. 6. With help from UNIDO on food safety measure (absence of quality central labs for standards specification), Uganda restored the export market for fish products to Europe. Exercise 28 Apply the seven rules in the following sentences: 1. Included among an extensive range of far-reaching ideas, the Secretary-General has put forward a proposal to expand the use of outsourcing for various non-core activities within the Secretariat. 2. Heavy demands have been placed on the Section in recent years as a result of a constantly growing workload, which seems to increase steadily. The growth in the workload has resulted primarily from quantitative factors to do with numbers. With regard to the quantitative factors, it may be recalled that about three years ago only three of the five treaty bodies now being serviced by the Section were in existence. 3. Some services were provided for the planning of the project concerned and other services were provided for the implementation of the project. In addition, some advisory services were concerned with the follow-up activities related to the completed projects. 4. Reporting to intergovernmental bodies should be done biennially instead of annually in view of the fact that changes in this field occur slowly rather than rapidly and therefore would be better reflected through a two-year reporting cycle.
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5. During the 1980 census decade, technical cooperation activities were carried out in the following four major areas: the provision of technical advisory services through country, regional or interregional advisers; the provision of training through workshops, fellowships and study tours; the provision of funds for the purchase of equipment; and the provision of funds for selected local costs. Exercise 29 Correct the faulty parallelisms in the sentences below. 1. The shape of the rock, how big it was and its colour reminded me of a small elephant. 2. Your job consists of arranging the books, cataloguing new arrivals and the pamphlets have to be alphabetized. 3. I object to the injustice of the measure and because it is unconstitutional. 4. One might have thought that the management has been addressing this issue over the last 10 years by offering buyouts, earmarking posts for retrenchment and, most recently, the formulation of the reform package. 5. The mission report focused on several promising developments: the ceasefire had held, both parties had continued to exercise restraint and a strong need for peace was felt among the population. 6. The Director told the staff to collect material, prepare it for analysis and that they should send it the Office of Institutional Research. 7. This department would prefer to carry out the study itself rather than being a source of information. 8. Five of the applicants were approved while rejections were made in the three other cases. 9. The section priorities for the following quarter include the preparation of the monthly status report, following up on items referred back by the Division and to compile a summary of inter-agency developments. 10. The discussion focused more on how to reconcile the differences between the two leaders rather than on coming to a formal settlement of the conflict. 11. Additional support is crucial in consolidating progress made in the area of conflict resolution and to maintain the momentum gained since the inception of the Field Offices Secretariat.

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Exercise 30 Rewrite the sentences below, correcting any misplaced ("dangling") modifiers. Think about what the sentence really means. 1. The king returned to the clinic where he had undergone heart surgery in 1992 in a limousine sent by the White House. 2. Scratching their bellies and swinging by their tails, the visitors watched the playful apes. 3. She gracefully descended the stairs and approached her husband wearing an elegant evening gown. Exercise 31 Reported speech: rewrite the following paragraphs in reported speech, changing tense and expressions of time and place as necessary. The findings are also backed up by more recent analysis undertaken by us on data from employment and income growth in industrial district and non-district settings. This allows us to determine if clustering leads to more rapidly increasing employment and better and faster rising wages. We turn to country X to address the question for two simple reasons. First, the countrys experience has driven much of the research in the developing world and provided the classic reference point for developing country industrial clusters. Second, the country is one of the few countries where wage and employment data are available at the level of clusters. * * * In this modern era, we have seen tremendous progress in science and technology. We have seen democracy spread to people it has never previously touched, and we have seen people on many continents move from a past of extreme poverty to a future of hope. However, terrible inequalities continue to scar our world. Too many people continue to suffer and die from poverty, conflict and disaster despite all the means at our disposal to create and share wealth, protect people from the violence of man or nature and deepen respect for the dignity of every human being. * * * Criticism, while fully justified, is not enough. We have a duty to help those in need. In keeping with the recommendations of my envoy, the United Nations will urgently seek agreement with the Government to mobilize immediate humanitarian assistance on the scale that is required to avert further suffering. I urge the international community to respond generously to this call. For its part, the Government must recognize the virtual state of emergency that now exists, allow unhindered access for humanitarian operations and create conditions for sustainable relief and reconstruction.
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Exercise 32 Summarize the text below. Your summary should have between 120 and 160 words. Message of the Secretary-General on International Migrants Day, 18 December 2003 Every day, in countries all over the world, people leave their home countries in search of a better life for themselves and their families. The phenomenon of migration has a profound effect on the countries migrants leave, those through which they transit and those to which they move. A key challenge for our world in the twenty-first century is to manage migration better. We need to maximize its many real benefits and minimize the difficulties it can cause. Many United Nations agencies, as well as the International Organization for Migration, work hard to do just that. The recently launched Global Commission on International Migration can help us take international cooperation to a new level. The Commission is the initiative of States from both North and South and has my full support. I hope its final report will contribute to better public understanding of migration and help to build a framework for greater cooperation among States to manage migration for the benefit of all. In building that framework, let us remember the people at the heart of this issue migrants themselves. Many migrate under duress, endure a perilous journey and face hardships in their new home countries. Many remain vulnerable to exploitation and abuse by unscrupulous traffickers, smugglers and employers. Moreover, in recent years, migrants have been vilified in certain societies, while some have been denied their rights in the name of national security. Despite all these obstacles, the vast majority of migrants contribute greatly to their new societies, and many send back remittances, which support the economies of their countries of origin. More must be done to ensure the respect of the human rights of migrant workers and their families be they regular or irregular, documented or undocumented. That is why I call on States to become parties to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, which entered into force this July. The Convention establishes for its ratifying countries the obligation to respect the core human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrant workers in their State of immigration. It is a vital part of efforts to combat exploitation of migrant workers and members of their families. The States that are already parties to the Convention held their first session on 11 December 2003 in New York, where they elected the members of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families. This Committee will consider reports on measures taken by participating
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States to give effect to the Convention. I encourage all participating States to recognize the Committees competence to receive and consider communications from individuals subject to their jurisdiction who claim that their rights under the Convention have been violated. On this fourth International Migrants Day, let us resolve to manage migration better, and redouble our efforts to protect the human rights of migrants. Exercise 33 Read the paragraph below and draw one conclusion and make one recommendation. There is no consistency in the way in which humanitarian needs are assessed. This is reflected in the variation in the amounts requested per beneficiary in country appeals. In 2002, 8 out of 22 appeals requested amounts of between $20 and $50 per head, 9 requested between $50 and $100 per head, and 1 requested over $200 per head. This variation exists not just between countries but also from year to year. Needs tend to be assumed rather than diagnosed, with the result that donors mistrust the value of assessments and agencies have an insufficiently firm basis for challenging the assumptions or preferences of individual donors. As a result, humanitarian assistance is far more inequitably distributed than it should be.

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Answers
Answers to Exercise 1 Question A: If you said "no", you are correct The introduction describes the objectives of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (strengthening the legislation, judicial procedures, technical skills of law enforcement and data collection of transit States; providing equipment to those States; and strengthening regional cooperation to develop training and best operating practices for law enforcement). However, it does not say that the report will include information on what the transit States themselves have done or information on financing assistance from donors. Question B: Again, if you said "no" you are correct. The report could focus on the challenges faced by transit States. Only in a few places does the report identify which States are transit States. When describing projects and initiatives, the report should identify more clearly how those activities focus on the problems faced by the transit States to suppress drug trafficking and reduce demand. Answers to Exercise 2 1) A report to your supervisor about the benefits of flexible working Purpose: to persuade, explain or inform Statement of purpose needed? Yes. The present report provides an analysis of the benefits of flextime for the management and staff of the Editorial Control Section. 2) A report on a survey mission in preparation for a two-year mission in Liberia Purpose: to inform, recommend Statement of purpose needed? Yes. In its resolution 2005/XX (2005), the Security Council decided to establish the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Liberia and requested the Office for Mission Support of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to submit a report on the resources and preparations necessary for the immediate deployment of the Mission. The present report provides information on current conditions in Liberia and recommends, for the approval of the General Assembly, a proposed deployment plan and resource requirements 3) A report on the human rights situation in Myanmar. Purpose: to inform, recommend, call for action Statement of purpose needed? Yes. The present report provides information on the human rights situation in Myanmar and calls for urgent action on the part of the international
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4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
community to protect the rights of the minority indigenous population of the western provinces of the country. A report on a working group meeting on staff development. Purpose: to summarize, recommend, serve as a basis for programme development Statement of purpose needed? Yes. The present report summarizes the deliberations at the meetings of the working group on staff development held in June and July 2007. The conclusions of the working group are recommended as an input for the preparation of the annual staff development plan for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. A report on progress made in the implementation of a UNICEF project to make primary level education available to all children in Kenya. Purpose: to inform, update, compare, contrast, analyse Statement of purpose needed? Yes. The present report provides an account of progress made in the implementation of the Universal Primary Education Project in Kenya during the biennium 2003-2004 and proposes, for the consideration and approval of the Governing Board, amended terms of reference for the project. The minutes of a meeting. Purpose: to inform, summarize, provide an official record Statement of purpose needed? No. A report on strategies being implemented to protect United Nations staff serving in Pakistan and the implications for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in that country. Purpose: to inform, persuade, describe a procedure, recommend Statement of purpose needed? Yes. The present report describes strategies for the security of United Nations staff in Pakistan and outlines the impact those strategies are having on the administrative functioning and project implementation of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Proposals to mitigate the effects of the security situation in Pakistan are submitted for the consideration of the Executive Committee. A report on a conference that the writer attended. Purpose: to inform Statement of purpose needed? No. A report on data indicating that synthetic illicit drugs manufactured in the United States of America have become more potent over recent years and presenting a possible reason why this might have occurred. Purpose: to present a theory and back it up with evidence 71

Statement of purpose needed? Yes. The present report describes the trend towards greater potency of synthetic drugs manufactured in Europe and theorizes that the trend is the result of efforts among dealers to expand their customer base through quicker addiction of first-time drug users.
Answers to Exercise 3 The purpose of the report is to report to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 59/XX. The report should address the issues outlined in the resolution: (a) The status of voluntary contributions to allow the participation of representatives of least developed countries in the meetings; (b) The efforts of the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to ensure such participation. 1. In its resolution 59/XX of 20 December 2004, entitled "Assistance to least developed countries to ensure their participation in the sessions of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the sessions of conferences of States parties", the General Assembly called on Member States, international organizations and funding institutions to redouble their efforts to increase their voluntary contributions to assist the Secretary-General in covering the cost of travel and daily subsistence allowance for the participation of representatives of least developed countries in the sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and requested the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to intensify efforts to ensure the increased participation of representatives of least developed countries in those meetings. 2. The list of least developed countries is provided in the annex to the present report, with an indication of membership in the Commission and ratification of the United Nations crime conventions. 3. The present report is submitted to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice at its fourteenth session in order to keep it apprised of progress in the implementation of resolution 59/XX. Answers to Exercise 4 The purpose of the report is clearly stated in paragraph 3. 1. The International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), in its eleventh annual report, informed the General Assembly of the United Nations that the margin between the
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net remuneration of the United Nations staff in the Professional and higher categories in New York and that of the United States federal civil service in Washington was estimated at 117.6 for the period from 1 January to 31 December 1992. 2. Following consideration of the Commissions eighteenth annual report, the General Assembly, by its resolution 47/XX of 23 December 1992, took note of the Commissions study of the methodology for determining the cost-of-living differential between New York and Washington and requested the Commission to take into account the views expressed by the Member States on the completion of the above study. 3. The purpose of the present document is: (a) To inform the Commission of the developments affecting the margin within the two services since the Commission last considered the margin issue at its thirty- sixth session (July 1992); (b) To provide a forecast of the margin between the net remuneration for the two services for the period from 1 January to 31 December 1993. 4. With regard to the forecast of the margin provided in paragraph 11 below, it may be noted that a document on the procedure for the determination of the cost-of- living differential between New York and Washington (ICSC/37/R.4 and Add.1) is before the Commission.
Answers to Exercise 5 Actual title: Globalization and interdependence (A/59/XX) Statement of purpose: Ways to forge greater coherence in order to advance internationally agreed development goals, addressing the specific question of how to promote the institutional and policy coherence required to achieve the broad array of development goals in a globalizing world economy Suggested title: Promoting institutional and policy coherence to achieve international development goals in a globalizing world economy Actual title: Status of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery (A/59/XX) Statement of purpose: Update on the financial status and activities of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery and recommendations adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Fund. Suggested title: Current financial status and activities of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery Actual title: United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala
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Statement of purpose: Report of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala on the implementation of the 1996 peace agreements, prior to the closure of the Mission in December 2004. Suggested title: Final report of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala on the implementation of the 1996 peace agreements Answers to Exercise 6 Subject only: External debt crisis and development Subject and purpose: Increased debt relief as a means of promoting sustainable implementation of the Millennium Development Goals Answers to Exercise 7 1. Who requested the report? The Security Council 2. What information was requested? A regular update on the development of the situation in Cte dIvoire and the implementation of the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Cte dIvoire (UNOCI) and of the Linas-Marcoussis and Pretoria Agreements 3. Is this a new report on the subject area or part of a series? Part of a series 4. How much background information will the readers need? Very little. This report covers only what has happened since the previous report. The reader is expected to read the previous reports in the series if he or she wishes to have any background information on the situation. 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution XX (2005), by which the Council requested to be regularly informed of the development of the situation in Cte dIvoire and the implementation of the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Cte dIvoire (UNOCI) and of the Linas-Marcoussis and Pretoria Agreements. The report covers major developments in the peace process since my report to the Security Council of 17 June 2005 (S/2005/XX). During that period, the Council received the fortnightly reports prepared by the Monitoring Group established under the Accra III Agreement comprising the representatives in Cte dIvoire of the United Nations, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

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Sample answers to Exercise 8 You can assume that the Director of your Division is fully aware of the political situation, economic and social conditions and history of country X. Nevertheless, you need to give a short introduction stating the purpose of the report and a section outlining the present situation and, especially, any recent changes that have had an impact on the status of women in the country. After grouping the questions into numbered sections, your outline of the report might look like this: I. Introduction II. Current situation of women in country X (A. Political factors; B. Social factors: 1. Education; 2. Work; 3. Health; 4. Crime against women) III. Status of country Xs acceptance of and compliance with international legal instruments on the status of women IV. Support by the Government and the international community for further progress in advancing the status of women V. Conclusions and recommendations Questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. What is the geography of the region? [Do not include] What are the social and economic conditions? [Cover in sect. I] What is the status of the Government? [Do not include] What proportion of girls complete primary education? Secondary education? University education? [Cover in sect. II.B.1]. 5. How have the statistics on education for girls changed in the past 10 years? [Cover in sect. II.B.1] 6. Are women allowed to vote? [Cover in sect. II.A] 7. Are there any women in the Government? [Cover in sect. II.A] 8. Is the region peaceful? [Do not include] 9. If there is armed conflict, is it localized? Is it tribal? [Do not include] 10. What is the crime situation in the country? Does this differ in the urban areas and the rural areas? [Cover in sect. II.B.4] 11. Are women more likely to be victims of crime than men? [Cover in sect. II.B.4] 12. When did women gain the right to vote in country X? [Cover in sect. II.A] 13. Are there any elections coming up? [Do not include] 14. Do women usually work outside the home in country X? [Cover in sect. II.B.2] 15. What is the countrys culture like? [Cover in sect. I] 16. Have there been any changes in the situation recently? [Do not include] 17. What is the meaning of these changes? [Do not include] 18. What are the population statistics of the country? [Cover in sect. I]
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19. What kind of employment opportunities do women have? [Cover in sect. II.B.2] 20. Do women have access to credit? [Cover in sect. II.B.2] 21. If they do, what kind of businesses do they run? [Cover in sect. II.B.2] 22. What are the statistics on mother and child mortality? [Cover in sect. II.B.3] 23. How many children do women have on average? [Cover in sect. II.B.3 or perhaps sect. I] 24. Do many citizens of country X try to migrate abroad? [Do not include] 25. What is the Government doing to promote the advancement of women? [Cover in sect. IV] 26. Has country X ratified any of the international legal instruments aimed at improving the status of women? [Cover in sect. III] 27. If not, is the United Nations providing any encouragement for it to do so? [Cover in sect. III] 28. If yes, is the United Nations providing any assistance to help country X to comply with those international instruments? [Cover in sect. III] 29. Have there been any United Nations technical assistance programmes in the country related to the advancement of women? [Cover in sect. IV] 30. If yes, have they been successful? [Cover in sect. IV] 31. What problems have been encountered? [Cover in sect. IV] 32. What is the complete history of the country? [Do not include] 33. What options are available for the United Nations to expand its assistance? [Cover in sect. IV] 34. Which options are the most feasible? [Cover in sect. IV] 35. Are there any drawbacks to the options? [Cover in sect. IV] 36. How would we consider the arguments against the options? [Cover in sect. IV] 37. Are there any recommendations to be made? [Do not include this is what you are doing in points 33-36] 38. Any other questions: Sample answers to Exercise 9 United Nations reform History of reform efforts Background Purpose of reform Problems encountered Areas of reform Role of the General Assembly Role of the Secretary-General Role of the Secretariat The way forward Celebrity sponsors and the United Nations
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Principles behind celebrity sponsorship Benefits of celebrity sponsorship Areas of the work of the United Nations suitable for celebrity sponsorship Current sponsors Selection process Achievements to date Problems encountered to date Proposals for expanding celebrity sponsorship

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Answers to Exercise 10

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Sample answer to Exercise 11 Status of women in country X Women in country X have been able to vote for only the last five years, during which only elections for local government office have been held. Two women are members of local councils. None have been elected to State bodies. Women traditionally stay at home and have babies, work in the fields, etc. Some have started small business in areas such as kiosk sales of soft drinks; vegetable stalls; handicrafts. Health is a problem. Very few maternal/child health clinics. Even basic health care limited, esp. in rural areas. In urban areas, crime against women not a specific problem but they are victims as any other citizen. Government is party to Convention to prevent discrimination against women (check title and date of signature/ratification). Also other instruments ? Technical assistance includes efforts to ensure that all girl children have access to at least primary education. Role of civil society groups . Government has made recent efforts to expand business opportunities have these been equal for both men and women? UN has technical assistance programmes in following areas: (a), (b), (c) etc. More can be done in area of access to health, water, sanitation, etc., esp. in rural areas (Millennium Development Goals). Note that in free-writing you might well come up with additional ideas. In this example, note that the role of civil society groups did not appear in the brainstorming list of topics. Sample answer to Exercise 12 Increased opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan I. Introduction A. Give an overview of the situation B. Say what has changed recently II. Current situation A. Facts and figures B. Who grows/buys/process/smuggles/sells/abuses C. Conflict and players D. Involvement of organized crime III. The Government A. Status of local government B. Administration of justice
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IV.
The international community A. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime B. Other system organizations C. Coordination
D. Funding E. Legislative organs
V.
Conclusions and recommendations
You have now seen how to get ideas for your report and organize them into a basic structure. Next we will look at the format of some major types of United Nations reports. Move on to chapter IV of the course, which will give you some information on the formats to follow.
Answers to Exercise 13 Identify the patterns used to organize the following paragraphs: 1. Five clusters of major crime have been identified: organized crime in its multiple manifestations and in particular, in the illicit drug trade; terrorism, including state terrorism; economic crime of a transboundary nature; ecological and environmental crimes that transcend national frontiers; and illicit international trade in objects belonging to the national heritage of countries. Pattern(s): Analysis or classification 2. As population numbers increase and it becomes harder and harder to coax a good crop from the depleted land, people migrate to the city to find an alternative way of making a living. Pattern(s): Cause and effect 3. It is vital to provide alternatives to joining armed groups or forces for unaccompanied and separated girls and boys. Preventive or rehabilitative measures include enrolment in formal, non-formal and vocational education, although it is disturbing to note that schools have at times been targeted for the purpose of forcibly recruiting children. Other measures include income-generating activities, family reunification, psychosocial services and recreational activities. The provision of adequate food rations and other assistance also reduces the vulnerability to recruitment of displaced and war-affected children. Pattern(s): Argument or recommendation 4. The exploitation of the prostitution of women is prosecuted as a criminal offence of pandering, which is understood to mean any action by which another person is hired, forced or seduced to engage in prostitution, as well as any action consisting in
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the exploitation (gaining material or other benefit) of the prostitution of another person. Pattern(s): Definition 5. At its first session, in 1994, the Forum adopted priorities for action for the effective implementation of the programme areas set out in chapter 19 of Agenda 21. The recommendations contained in the priorities for action were addressed to Governments and also provided guidance to international bodies for the development of tools for use by Governments in meeting their national targets. At the second session, held in Ottawa in February 1997, the Forum reviewed activities carried out since the first session and provided further recommendations to the General Assembly. Pattern(s): Time, space or sequence (chronological order) 6. Research on economic growth and education shows that failing to invest in women's education can affect the growth of the gross national product (GNP). Everything else being equal, countries in which the ratio of female-to-male enrolment in primary or secondary education is less than .75 can expect levels of GNP that are roughly 25 per cent lower than countries in which there is less gender disparity in education. Pattern(s): Definition; analysis or classification 7. Ms. X is 25 years old. When she was born, her mother was malnourished and overworked, so Ms. X had a very low birth weight. She grew slowly. During childhood, she had little nourishing food, even less than her brothers. She could not go to school as her brothers did, but remained home with her mother to help with the housework and child-rearing. By adolescence, she had not grown as she should have; her bones had not developed properly and she was very short. As was the tradition of her culture, she was married and had her first baby at the age of 14, even before she had fully developed. It was a difficult birth, but she survived it and many subsequent births. Pattern(s): Time, space or sequence; cause and effect 8. On several occasions the two leaders have successfully overcome deadlocked situations in the ongoing negotiations, and their cooperation has led to the implementation of many activities called for in the timetable. With the initiation of the cantonment of troops, the peace process has entered into a new phase. However, major problems still remain to be resolved in the immediate future. These include the opening of the remaining 14 assembly areas; initiation and subsequent completion of the actual demobilization; transfer of weapons from assembly areas to regional warehouses; dismantling of the paramilitary forces; provision of financial support for the transformation of RENAMO from a military movement into a political party; and formation of a well-functioning national defence force. Pattern(s): Time and space; argument or recommendation 9. In October 1992, I sent a fact-finding mission to Armenia and Azerbaijan to report on the situation there regarding the conflicts over Nagorny Karabakh, an enclave
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within Azerbaijan. In March 1993, the conflict escalated further when the Kelbadzhar district of Azerbaijan, between Armenia and Nagorny Karabakh, was occupied. That development resulted in a sudden increase in the number of displaced persons in Azerbaijan. Pattern(s): Time and space; cause and effect 10. Prison remains the standard response, regardless of the gravity of the crime committed. Prison sentences were pronounced in 35 per cent of cases in 2000, while probation was provided for in only 6.4 per cent of cases, re-education in 6.3 per cent and various protection measures in 3.8 per cent of cases. Pattern(s): Sequence (chronological order) 11. In other developments, the Georgian side protested the large-scale Abkhaz military exercises held from 15 to 19 August, drawing attention to the impact of what it called the militarization of and outside support for such activities in the conflict-ridden regions of Georgia. For its part, the Abkhaz side continued to question the peaceful intentions of Tibilisi and reiterated its intention to seek closer relations with the Russian Federation. In his statement to the General Assembly on 15 September, President Saakashivili appealed to the United Nations to put an end to "the forcible annexation of Abkhazia" and expressed his hope that Georgia and the Russian Federation would cooperate in the peaceful settlement of conflicts in Georgia. On 11 October, the Parliament of Georgia adopted a resolution providing for the possible start of the withdrawal of peacekeeping forces from the Georgian- South Ossetian and Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zones during 2006. Pattern(s): Compare and contrast; recommendation
Answers to Exercise 14 1. There is no doubt that the country faces a number of serious economic problems. Donor contributions are falling, foreign and domestic debt is increasing and there is little or no foreign investment to fill the gap. By the end of the year, the country could be in the grip of a severe domestic debt crisis. The country is racing against time and there is no choice but to increase the pace of domestic reform. * * * 2. Interaction between the United Nations and civil society has grown significantly in the past decade. Thousands of non-governmental organizations now have formal consultative status. Their contribution has enriched the debates and influenced the outcome of many intergovernmental deliberations. However, there have been many problems along the way. The time has come to take stock and find better ways of organizing the relationship. * * * 3. In the past decade, the region has been transformed from a largely self-sufficient mixed agricultural economy into one of predominately illicit coca. The
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intensification of coca bush cultivation in the region flood plain and adjacent low hills as well as vigorous expansion into highland forest environments is responsible for the annihilation of nearly 1 million hectares of tropical forest resources. The coca cultivators of the region are rapidly eliminating one of the most genetically prosperous ecosystems of the entire Amazon river basin. * * * Answers to Exercise 15 1. Considerable progress has been made in the peace process and preparing for elections in country X. The process of assembly of soldiers of the Government and the National Resistance Movement has been concluded and the demobilization of these soldiers is almost complete. A number of decisions have been taken with regard to the formation of the new army. More than three quarters of the estimated eligible voter population has been registered for elections. Despite the many challenging tasks that lie ahead, I believe that the major political conditions for holding elections as planned on 27 and 28 October 2003 are in place. 2. Specific criteria that must be met to allow organ donation differ from country to country. Based on the replies received from Member States, these criteria include non-remuneration, minimum age, relationship between the organ donor and the recipient, voluntary donation, written consent, prior information about possible risks, anonymity and the right to withdraw from the operation. 3. Over the last half-century, the meaning of democracy has shifted considerably in world affairs. In 1945, democracy was a clear concept as defined by the Allied nations in opposition to fascism. With the onset of the cold war, democracy came to be propounded from two perspectives, East and West. As the third world took its place on the international stage, its members strove to find their own methods of government, appropriate to their needs, providing in the process alternative perspectives on democracy. Today, the rapidly changing global scene has set the age-old concept of democracy in a new light.
Answers to Exercise 16 Fill in the blanks with an appropriate word or phrase. 1. Some actions will take effect immediately, whereas others will be implemented over time. 2. Tucked within some of the least spoiled countryside in Hampshire, Alton is a town of two halves. On the one hand it remains a traditional English market town, complete with an ancient parish church, three independent butchers, a brewery, a toyshop, a weekly market and a local museum. On the other, its Georgian high

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street was brutally assaulted in the 1960s and 1970s by a wave of witless concrete design, and is now packed with aggressive traffic. 3. A key ingredient of any successful organization is an ethical and accountable culture pervading its staff from top to bottom. For the United Nations, as an organization founded on the high ideals of its Charter and seeking to set an example in the countries where it works throughout the world, this is doubly important. Unfortunately, in recent years it has become clear that we have too often fallen short of these high standards. Now we return to the theme of sentence development and look at how to write good, clear sentences. Move on to chapter VI of the course.
Sample answers to Exercise 17 1. It is anticipated that the preliminary results of the study could be available to report to the Commission at its twenty-fourth session. The preliminary results of the study are expected to be before the Commission at its twenty-fourth session. 2. The optimal period of the year to take an extended absence from the office is during the warmer months of June to August. The best time to take a holiday is during the summer. 3. The Committee decided not to allow the use of cellular telephones during its meetings. The Committee decided to prohibit the use of cellular telephones during its meetings. Sample answers to Exercise 18 Rewrite the following sentences replacing abstract words and phrases with concrete ones: 1. Isabel made a lot of very loud noises and the man with a knife disappeared into the darkness. Isabel screamed and her attacker ran away. 2. After many hours of discussions and argument, the members of the Council eventually harmonized their different points of view and therefore were able to agree on a proposed text. Following an extensive debate, the Council finally reached consensus and adopted the resolution.
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3. Among the scientific academic community, there are many people who are convinced of the idea that the emission of chemicals is a source of harmful warming of the atmosphere. Many respected scientists believe that greenhouse gases cause global warming. Sample answers to Exercise 19 Rewrite the following sentences replacing long words with shorter ones and using shorter sentences: 1. New York is a huge and bustling metropolis, where the General Assembly of the United Nations is attended by important personages every year who spend several months debating important issues. New York is a large, busy city. For several months every year, it is the site of important debate by dignitaries at the United Nations General Assembly. 2. The air passenger transportation industry has suffered a number of serious setbacks in the form of highly priced petroleum and the need to put in place various additional security screening and prevention procedures, and has therefore once more increased the price of a ticket. The airlines, reeling from the costs of fuel and new security measures, have again raised prices. 3. Every day the children are hit by new trials and tribulations, as their bodies suffer the ravages of malnutrition, with dirty water spreading terrible sickness among them like wildfire and the daily violence and fear of death and destruction from the militias. The suffering of the children is acute. Malnutrition is common, water- borne diseases are rampant, and security in the camp is non-existent. Sample answers to Exercise 20 1. The proposal was approved by the Committee last week. The Committee approved the proposal last week. 2. The decision to increase working hours was found to be unacceptable by the staff. The staff found the decision to increase working hours unacceptable.

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3. Staff were encouraged by the Director to take advantage of the many staff development programmes that were being offered by the Office of Human Resources Management. The Director encouraged staff to take advantage of the many staff development programmes offered by the Office of Human Resources Management. Answers to Exercise 21 Shorten the following sentences by eliminating unnecessary words: 1. Any specific decision that the committee makes will be acceptable. 2. For all intents and purposes, the American education system lacks clear objectives and goals. 3. Without some sort of additional aid, the country will be unable to achieve its desired goal of freeing itself once and for all from its oppressors. 4. Any person or persons who have an interest interested in the position should write to the address above. 5. There was a decision taken by the committee members decided last week to postpone the debate. 6. The general consensus is that action needs to be taken with a view to further advancing the progress that has already been made in the area of the empowerment of empower women. 7. In the event that If the situation proves to be too excessively difficult to be cannot be handled by the existing numbers of troops, those their numbers will be increased. Answers to Exercise 22 Redundancy an honour and a privilege any and all absolutely essential continue on
Substitution an honour all essential continue 86
basic essentials close proximity first priority combine into one current status equally as well final outcome goals and objectives joined together one and the same point in time personal opinion first and foremost repeat again refer back to true facts this particular instance take action by means of adding together small in size past history necessary requisite as a general rule actual experience range all the way from
essentials close priority combine status equally outcome objectives joined the same now opinion first repeat refer facts this instance act by adding small history necessary generally experience range from

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Answers to Exercise 23 Formulaic at the present time at this point in time because of the fact that due to the fact that for the reason that prior to, in anticipation of subsequent to, following on at the same time as simultaneously with along the lines of by means of for the purpose of are of the opinion that have the ability to in spite of the fact that despite the fact that notwithstanding the fact that as regards with regard to concerning the matter of last but not least in the event that until such time as Answers to Exercise 24 ameliorate commence components improve begin parts now Concise
because before after when like by for believe can although, despite
about finally if until

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endeavour (v.) exit (v.) facilitate indicator initiate (v.) optimal practically primary proceed Answers to Exercise 25 1. The data are showing an upward trend. The data show an upward trend. 2. I am dubious that what you say is true. I doubt that what you say is true.
try leave help sign start, begin best almost, nearly main go
3. The tragedy of drug abuse and crime is found in the destruction of the lives of so many people who would otherwise be contributors to society. The tragedy of drug abuse is that it destroys the lives of so many people who would otherwise contribute to society. Answers to Exercise 26 1. Independence is gained by those on welfare when skills that are valued by the marketplace are taught. Welfare recipients gain independence when they learn skills that are valued by the marketplace. 2. When fewer goods are made available to consumers, those goods that are most needed are hoarded. Consumers hoard essential goods that are in short supply.

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3. Before Mr. X was elected President, people attacked him as a bleeding heart liberal. Before he was elected, President X was attacked as a "bleeding heart liberal". 4. In this article, it is argued that the Civil War was fought not to end slavery in the United States, but so that the Union would not be divided. The author argues that the Civil War was fought to prevent division of the Union rather than to end slavery in the United States. 5. It was felt that further discussion was needed in order for the matter to be clarified. Clarification of the matter would require further discussion. 6. The Advisory Committee notes the proactive approach that has been taken by the Department in how it has dealt with the issue of compliance with deadlines and page limits and, in particular, the efforts by the Department to get involved in enhancing the drafting skills of staff members in the Secretariat who are responsible for preparing reports, with the aim of producing reports that are of higher quality and are more concise, as it would be easier for the Department to process such reports in a timely manner. The Advisory Committee notes that the Department is taking a proactive approach in dealing with the issue of compliance with deadlines and page limits; in particular, the Department is involved in enhancing the drafting skills of staff members in the Secretariat responsible for preparing reports, with the aim of producing higher quality, more concise reports that would be easier for the Department to process in a timely manner. Answers to Exercise 27 1. Beyond the immediate issue of agricultural subsidies, it is my strong view that France and the United Kingdom should be encouraged to continue on the path of dialogue. The issue of agricultural trade aside, France and the United Kingdom should be encouraged to continue their discussions. 2. My suggestion is that our discussion of the issue be done in the immediate future. I suggest that we discuss the issue as soon as possible. 3. There is public opposition to nuclear power plants near population centres because of a widespread belief in their threat to human health.
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The public opposes nuclear power plants near population centres because it believes that they threaten human health. 4. An important part is putting in place appropriate institutional infrastructure for capacity-building, investment promotion and in bringing about qualitative improvements in the manufactured goods. An important element is appropriate institutional infrastructure for capacity-building, investment promotion and improvement of the quality of manufactured goods. 5. Several joint activities were identified, including the following: The development of joint training activities and awareness raising on the nature and role of organized crime and its impact in a variety of illicit markets, including the illicit trafficking of protected species of wild flora and fauna. Joint training and awareness-raising activities will be developed on the nature and role of organized crime and its impact in a variety of illicit markets, including trafficking in protected species of wild flora and fauna. 6. With help from UNIDO on food safety measure (absence of quality central labs for standards specification), Uganda restored the export market for fish products to Europe. In Uganda, where the lack of central laboratories had prevented the Government from establishing food standards specifications, UNIDO has assisted the country in establishing food safety measures, with the result that the export market for fish products to Europe has been restored. Answers to Exercise 28 1. Included among an extensive range of far-reaching ideas, the Secretary-General has put forward a proposal to expand the use of outsourcing for various non-core activities within the Secretariat. One of many ideas proposed by the Secretary-General is increased outsourcing of non-core Secretariat functions. 2. Heavy demands have been placed on the Section in recent years as a result of a constantly growing workload which seems to increase steadily. The growth in the workload has resulted primarily from quantitative factors to do with numbers. With regard to the quantitative factors, it may be recalled that about three years ago only three of the five treaty bodies now being serviced by the Section were in existence.

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The workload of the Section has increased steadily in recent years, mainly because of the need to service two additional treaty bodies. 3. Some services were provided for the planning of the project concerned and other services were provided for the implementation of the project. In addition, some advisory services were concerned with the follow-up activities related to the completed projects. Various services were provided for project planning, implementation and follow-up. 4. Reporting to intergovernmental bodies should be done biennially instead of annually in view of the fact that changes in this field occur slowly rather than rapidly and therefore would be better reflected through a two-year reporting cycle. Owing to the slow pace of change in this area, reporting to intergovernmental bodies should be done biennially. 5. During the 1980 census decade, technical cooperation activities were carried out in the following four major areas: the provision of technical advisory services through country, regional or interregional advisers; the provision of training through workshops, fellowships and study tours; the provision of funds for the purchase of equipment; and the provision of funds for selected local costs. During the 1980s, technical cooperation assistance was provided in a number of ways: through technical advisers at the local, regional and international levels; in workshops, fellowships and study tours; and by purchasing equipment and covering selected local expenses. Answers to Exercise 29 1. The shape of the rock, how big it was and its colour reminded me of a small elephant. The shape, size and colour of the rock reminded me of a small elephant. 2. Your job consists of arranging the books, cataloguing new arrivals and the pamphlets have to be alphabetized. Your job is to arrange the books, catalogue the new arrivals and alphabetize the pamphlets. 3. I object to the injustice of the measure and because it is unconstitutional. I object to the measure because it is unjust and unconstitutional. 4. One might have thought that the management has been addressing this issue over the last 10 years by offering buyouts, earmarking posts for retrenchment and, most recently, the formulation of the reform package.
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One might have thought that the management had been addressing this issue over the last 10 years by offering buyouts, earmarking posts for retrenchment and, most recently, by formulating the reform package. 5. The mission report focused on several promising developments: the ceasefire had held, both parties had continued to exercise restraint and a strong need for peace was felt among the population. The mission report focused on several promising developments: the ceasefire had held, both parties had continued to exercise restraint and the people felt a strong need for peace. 6. The Director told the staff to collect material, prepare it for analysis and that they should send it the Office of Institutional Research. The Director told the staff to collect material, prepare it for analysis and send it the Office of Institutional Research. 7. This department would prefer to carry out the study itself rather than being a source of information. This department would prefer to carry out the study itself rather than provide information. 8. Five of the applicants were approved while rejections were made in the three other cases. Five applicants were approved and three rejected. 9. The section priorities for the following quarter include the preparation of the monthly status report, following up on items referred back by the Division and to compile a summary of inter-agency developments. The section priorities for the following quarter include preparing the monthly status report, following up on items referred back by the Division and compiling a summary of inter-agency developments. 10. The discussion focused more on how to reconcile the differences between the two leaders rather than on coming to a formal settlement of the conflict. The discussion focused more on reconciling the differences between the two leaders than on coming to a formal settlement of the conflict. 11. Additional support is crucial in consolidating progress made in the area of conflict resolution and to maintain the momentum gained since the inception of the Field Office secretariat. Additional support is crucial to consolidate progress made in the area of conflict resolution and to maintain the momentum gained since the inception of the Field Office secretariat.
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Answers to Exercise 30 1. The king returned to the clinic where he had undergone heart surgery in 1992 in a limousine sent by the White House. Travelling in a limousine sent by the White House, the king returned to the clinic where he had undergone heart surgery in 1992. 2. Scratching their bellies and swinging by their tails, the visitors watched the playful apes. The visitors watched the playful apes scratching their bellies and swinging by their tails. 3. She gracefully descended the stairs and approached her husband wearing an elegant evening gown. Wearing an elegant evening gown, she gracefully descended the stairs and approached her husband. 4. Having recovered from his illness, his mother took him to the circus. When he had recovered from his illness, his mother took him to the circus. Answers to Exercise 31 It was reported that the findings are were also backed up by more recent analysis undertaken by us the team on data from employment and income growth in industrial district and non-district settings. ThisThat alloweds us the team to determine whether does clustering led lead to more rapidly increasing employment and better and faster rising wages. The team turned We turn to country X to address the question for two simple reasons. First, because the countrys experience has had driven much of the research in the developing world and had provided the classic reference point for developing country industrial clusters. Second, the country was is one of the few countries where wage and employment data were are available at the level of clusters. *** The Secretary-General said that In this modern era, we have had seen tremendous progress in science and technology. We have seen dDemocracy had spread to people it has had never previously touched, and we have seen people on many continents had moved from a past of extreme poverty to a future of hope. However, terrible inequalities continued to scar our the world. Too many people continued to suffer and die from poverty, conflict and disaster Writing for the United Nations
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despite all the means at our disposal available to create and share wealth, protect people from the violence of man or nature and deepen respect for the dignity of every human being. *** The Secretary-General said that Ccriticism, while fully justified, is was not enough. The United Nations had We have a duty to help those in need. In keeping with the recommendations of my his envoy, the United Nations will would urgently seek agreement with the Government to mobilize immediate humanitarian assistance on the scale that wasis required to avert further suffering. I He urged the international community to respond generously to this that call. For its part, the Government must needed to recognize the virtual state of emergency that now existeds, allow unhindered access for humanitarian operations and create conditions for sustainable relief and reconstruction. Answers to Exercise 32 Summarize the following statement. A. Underlined text - points that may be included in the summary Message of the Secretary-General on International Migrants Day, 18 December 2003 Every day, in countries all over the world, people leave their home countries in search of a better life for themselves and their families. The phenomenon of migration has a profound effect on the countries migrants leave, those through which they transit and those to which they move. A key challenge for our world in the twenty-first century is to manage migration better. We need to maximize its many real benefits and minimize the difficulties it can cause. Many United Nations agencies, as well as the International Organization for Migration, work hard to do just that. The recently launched Global Commission on International Migration can help us take international cooperation to a new level. The Commission is the initiative of States from both North and South and has my full support. I hope its final report will contribute to better public understanding of migration and help to build a framework for greater cooperation among States to manage migration for the benefit of all. In building that framework, let us remember the people at the heart of this issue - migrants themselves. Many migrate under duress, endure a perilous journey and face hardships in their new home countries. Many remain vulnerable
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to exploitation and abuse by unscrupulous traffickers, smugglers and employers. Moreover, in recent years, migrants have been vilified in certain societies, while some have been denied their rights in the name of national security. Despite all these obstacles, the vast majority of migrants contribute greatly to their new societies, and many send back remittances, which support the economies of their countries of origin. More must be done to ensure the respect of the human rights of migrant workers and their families - be they regular or irregular, documented or undocumented. That is why I call on States to become parties to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, which entered into force this July. The Convention establishes for its ratifying countries the obligation to respect the core human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrant workers in their State of immigration. It is a vital part of efforts to combat exploitation of migrant workers and members of their families. The States that are already parties to the Convention held their first session on 11 December 2003 in New York, where they elected the members of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families. This Committee will consider reports on measures taken by participating States to give effect to the Convention. I encourage all participating States to recognize the Committees competence to receive and consider communications from individuals subject to their jurisdiction who claim that their rights under the Convention have been violated. On this fourth International Migrants Day, let us resolve to manage migration better, and redouble our efforts to protect the human rights of migrants. B. Summary On International Migrants Day, the Secretary-General said that migration was a phenomenon that had a profound effect on sending, transit and recipient countries and it must be managed better. The new Global Commission, an initiative of North and South, had his support and its report should improve public understanding and create a framework for cooperation. That framework needed to respond to the suffering, exploitation and abuse of migrants. Many migrants remained vulnerable to unscrupulous individuals. Some migrants had been denied their rights based on national security concerns. Most migrants, however, had made significant contributions to their new societies and supported their home economy through remittances. The Secretary-General stated that efforts to ensure respect of the human rights of migrants must be redoubled. States should become parties to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers
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and Members of Their Families. He encouraged participating States to recognize the competence of the Committee under that Convention to review claims from migrants who felt their rights had been violated. Answers to Exercise 33 There is no consistency in the way in which humanitarian needs are assessed. This is reflected in the variation in the amounts requested per beneficiary in country appeals. In 2002, 8 out of 22 appeals requested amounts of between $20 and $50 per head, 9 requested between $50 and $100 per head, and 1 requested over $200 per head. This variation exists not just between countries but also from year to year. Needs tend to be assumed rather than diagnosed, with the result that donors mistrust the value of assessments and agencies have an insufficiently firm basis for challenging the assumptions or preferences of individual donors. As a result, humanitarian assistance is far more inequitably distributed than it should be. Conclusion There is a need for greater consistency in the way humanitarian needs are assessed in order to provide both donors and humanitarian agencies with more accurate estimates that are backed up with substantiated information. Recommendation A standardized methodology should be developed for itemizing and costing various needs for assistance in response to disasters.

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Appendix
2003/XX International assistance to the States affected by the transit of illicit drugs The Economic and Social Council,
Recalling its resolution 2002/XX of 24 July 2002 and the Political Declaration adopted by the General Assembly at its twentieth special session, devoted to countering the world drug problem together,22 the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction23 and the measures to enhance international cooperation to counter the world drug problem,24 Reaffirming Economic and Social Council resolution 2001/XX of 24 July 2001 on international assistance to the States most affected by transit of drugs, Taking note of the second biennial report of the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on the implementation of the outcome of the twentieth special session of the General Assembly,25 his report on international assistance to the States most affected by the transit of drugs26 and other relevant reports submitted to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at its forty-sixth session, Bearing in mind the principle of shared responsibility and the need for all States to promote and implement the actions necessary to counter the world drug problem and crimes related to that problem, Acknowledging efforts by national authorities and the international community, including the United Nations International Drug Control Programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, to reduce the demand for, and to combat international trafficking in, illicit drugs, Noting the fact that the transit States continue to face grave and multifaceted challenges, owing to both the problems related to illicit drug trafficking and supply and the rising levels of drug abuse resulting from the transiting of illicit drugs through their territories,

22 General Assembly resolution S-20/2, annex. 23 General Assembly resolution 54/132, annex. 24 General Assembly resolutions S-20/4 A to E. 25 E/CN.7/2003/2 and Add.1-6. 26 E/CN.7/2003/11.

Bearing in mind the need to strengthen law enforcement capacities at all levels and the importance of inter-agency coordination to the achievement of effective drug control strategies addressing all aspects of the world drug problem, Recognizing the need to provide, for that purpose, international assistance to the States affected by the transit of illicit drugs, 1. Encourages the States affected by the transit of illicit drugs to continue to implement and strengthen law enforcement initiatives at all levels and cross-border cooperation between transit States, as well as countries of destination, with a view to promoting coordinated drug control activities and unified responses to drug trafficking; 2. Also encourages the States affected by the transit of illicit drugs to continue to implement and strengthen comprehensive policies for the reduction of illicit drug demand; 3. Calls upon the States affected by the transit of illicit drugs to ensure well-coordinated and focused policies to suppress drug trafficking through greater coordination between key agencies responsible for drug law enforcement; 4. Calls upon the United Nations International Drug Control Programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, subject to the availability of voluntary funds and in accordance with the guidelines adopted by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs for the use of general-purpose funds,27 and Member States to facilitate such initiatives by providing assistance and technical support to the drug control authorities of the States affected by the transit of illicit drugs, in particular developing countries, including countries with economies in transition, that are in need of such assistance and support; 5. Requests the United Nations International Drug Control Programme and Member States, in providing such assistance to the States affected by the transit of illicit drugs, to integrate, subject to availability of voluntary funds and in accordance with guidelines adopted by the Commission for the use of general-purpose funds, projects for the reduction of illicit drug demand and the strengthening of treatment and rehabilitation services for drug abusers; 6. Urges the international financial institutions and other potential donors to provide financial assistance to the States affected by the transit of illicit drugs, including for empowering and building the capacity of locally available human resources, so that those States may intensify their efforts to combat drug trafficking and deal with its consequences, in particular increased drug addiction;

27 Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2001, Supplement No. 8, Part
Two (E/2001/28/Rev.1 (Part II)), chap. I, resolution 44/20, annex.

7. Requests the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to report to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at its forty-seventh session on the implementation of the present resolution.

44th plenary meeting 22 July 2003 Commission on Narcotic Drugs Forty-seventh session Vienna, 15-22 March 2004 Item 6 of the provisional agenda Illicit drug traffic and supply
International assistance to the States affected by the transit of illicit drugs Report of the Executive Director Contents Introduction Africa Asia and the Pacific Central and Eastern Europe Central Asia Latin America and the Caribbean Paragrap Page hs 1 2-14 15-20 21-29 30-60 61-71 2 2 4 5 7 13
E/CN.7/2004/1.

United Nations
A/RES/61/236
Distr.: General
General Assembly
31 January 2007
Sixty-first session
Agenda item 121 I. Introduction
The present report has been prepared pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 2003/XX of 22 July 2003, entitled International assistance to the States affected by the transit of illicit drugs. The aim of the strategy of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is to assist transit States in the upgrading of legislation and judicial procedures; the strengthening of the technical skills of law enforcement agencies; the improving of data collection by national agencies to support informed responses to combat illicit drug trafficking and the problems associated with it; the provision of equipment to front-line operations; and the strengthening of cross-border and regional cooperation and assistance to develop self-sustaining training in the best operating practices for government law enforcement services. II. Africa
In Africa, several new initiatives have been launched by African Governments and regional organizations with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and other partners. The initiatives are aimed at strengthening national and regional law enforcement capacities. The inaugural session of the African Union, held in Durban, South Africa, from 8 to 10 July 2002, adopted the Declaration and Plan of Action on Drug Abuse Control and Illicit Drug Trafficking in Africa, which was later renamed the Plan of Action on Drug Control in Africa, 2002-2006. The Declaration benefited from earlier support and technical guidance from the Office on Drugs and Crime and the revised Plan of Action reflects emerging drug trends on the continent and focuses on key drug control areas, including (a) information, research and networking; (b) legal systems and implementation of the law; (c) national and regional law enforcement and control measures; and (d) international cooperation. It also introduced two new dimensions to drug control in Africa: (a) the mainstreaming of drug control in political agenda in Africa and (b) the introduction of monitoring and review mechanisms in the implementation of the Plan of Action. In 2003, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime launched an Africa-wide project to support the Plan of Action. A new liaison office established by the Office in Addis Ababa in
August 2003 will work to maintain close cooperation between the Office and the Unit for Drug Control and Crime Prevention of the African Union. It will offer expertise, advisory services and financial support for the implementation of the Plan of Action. The project is to strengthen the commitment and capacity of Governments of African countries, other African partners, regional organizations and United Nations entities to address the drug problems of the continent. A regional law enforcement adviser was recruited in late 2002 as part of a continent-wide project to offer Governments of African countries advisory services and assistance in developing capacities in drug law enforcement and countering organized crime. In partnership with the Government of Nigeria, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has launched a project to support the creation of a regional law enforcement training academy in West Africa. The Government of Nigeria has offered to establish the training academy within the existing premises of the Training Academy of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency of Nigeria. Significant government resources have already been invested in the renovation and upgrading of the Academy. The project will offer support to the subregion in the areas of training in drug law enforcement, the investigation of money-laundering, drug demand reduction, the establishment of networks and the facilitation of exchanges of strategic information among law enforcement agencies in the subregion. In August 2002, the Southern African Development Community and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime held a regional conference on the Strategic Programme Framework on Crime and Drugs for Southern Africa to identify programme needs and resources. The conclusions of the conference contributed to the formulation of the Offices 2003 strategic programme framework on crime and drugs for Southern Africa. In collaboration with the Customs Co-operation Council (also called the World Customs Organization), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has launched a regional seaport project, which has led to the creation of specialized, joint port control teams in several ports of East and Southern Africa, including at Djibouti, Dar es Salaam, Mombassa, Durban, Cape Town, Port Elisabeth, Johannesburg dry port and Port Louis. In some cases, the creation of the joint teams marked breakthroughs in national law enforcement agency cooperation and also paved the way for concluding similar inter-agency agreements at other border posts. The project of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on Countermeasures against Illicit Drug Trafficking and Cross-Border Crime along Southern and East African Land Borders, which commenced in 2002, continued to be implemented as planned. The project provides expert advisory services, training and logistical support to six border posts in Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia. In East Africa, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is engaged in a regional project addressing the control of licit drugs and precursors. In 2003, the project continued to assist Governments of counties in the region in developing, training and equipping national drug regulatory authorities, thereby enhancing supervision and control of the licit supply and distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Needs assessments were carried out in Burundi, Eritrea, Madagascar and the United Republic of Tanzania. Guidelines for estimating
licit drug requirements are being finalized. In 2003, the United Republic of Tanzania revised its licit drug legislation and Madagascar enacted relevant provisions for the control of precursors and adopted a national drug control master plan. The training of judges, magistrates, prosecutors and investigators from 19 countries in East and Southern Africa continued under a regional legal assistance project launched by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to improve the handling of drug-related cases. The project provides training and the transfer of knowledge related to national drug control legislation and the legal and procedural prerequisites for more effective international cooperation. It aims at improving cross-border casework cooperation and performance; enhancing more effective and frequent cooperation in matters of international requests for mutual legal assistance; improving national trial and conviction rates for serious drug offences; enhancing current court systems and capacities through a legal training programme; and establishing a sustainable training capacity in the subregions through the use of training facilities. A regional drug demand reduction project launched by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, aimed at enhancing the capacity of Governments and non-governmental organizations in East Africa, continued to provide training on drug demand reduction to police, prison and probation staff in East Africa and to promote collaboration between the criminal justice system and the health and social services in dealing with drug abusers. In North Africa, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime launched a project on strengthening the national and legal institutional capacities of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya through multisectoral drug control assistance. The project aims to increase the drug control planning and policy formulation capacity in that country. Similar policy development support projects were developed for Algeria and the Sudan. The project of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on the development of an action programme against illicit drugs and organized crime in Morocco commenced delivery in 2003. The project will assist the Moroccan authorities in designing drug control policies with a view to addressing the problem of illicit cultivation of cannabis in northern Morocco. III. Asia and the Pacific
The Office has addressed assistance to transit States in Asia and the Pacific by developing drug control agreements and a framework of subregional activities. There has been a high level of demand from Member States for technical assistance. Within the framework of the subregional action plan agreed upon in the 1993 memorandum of understanding on drug control between the countries in the Mekong area (Cambodia, China, the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Office has continued to play a coordinating role in the field of drug control. That has included providing technical assistance in the formulation and
implementation of subregional and national drug control projects, in close collaboration with other United Nations agencies, national and international institutions and non-governmental organizations. A ministerial meeting on drug control and cooperation was held in Hanoi in September 2003 to strengthen the cooperation and coordination between the six States that have signed the memorandum of understanding and to build upon recent achievements. Since 1999, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has had an ongoing programme to develop and strengthen cross-border cooperation between the six signatory States of the 1993 memorandum of understanding. To date, 24 border liaison offices have been established and basic equipment for communication and transportation provided. A large number of border liaison officers have been trained through the Offices computer-based training programme. Agreement has been reached between the participating countries to develop an action plan and procedures for operational law enforcement cooperation to be followed in border areas. A second phase of the project has been approved and funding has been pledged for two more years. In the second phase, the focus will be on strengthening the drug control capacity along the Mekong, which is a major drug and precursor trafficking route. Activities will include the establishment of new border liaison offices and additional training. Within the objectives of the Association of South-East Asian Nations and China Cooperative Operations in Response to Dangerous Drugs (ACCORD) Plan of Action, the computer-based training programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime was expanded in the second phase to include Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Implementation has commenced. Furthermore, an existing project on precursor control, which commenced in 2001 and assists the six States that had signed the memorandum of understanding, has been extended to involve Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. A memorandum of understanding was signed in July 2002 between the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, acting through its Department for International Development, to designate the Regional Centre for East Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Bangkok as the implementing agency for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Anti-Money-Laundering Initiative. The project, which covers 10 Asian countries, is aimed at developing sustainable institutional capacity in Asia to address money-laundering concerns at the national, regional and international levels. A comprehensive needs analysis has been carried out in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. The project will focus on law enforcement training in the field of money-laundering. The topics of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) from Myanmar and the smuggling of the ATS precursors ephedrine and pseudoephedrine from China and India into Myanmar were discussed at a regional meeting attended by representatives from China, India and Myanmar and organized jointly by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Views and information were exchanged and representatives of the three countries agreed to work in closer cooperation and organize a joint training programme for law enforcement officers of India and Myanmar.
IV. Central and Eastern Europe
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has continued its close cooperation and coordination role with the drug control agencies throughout Central and Eastern Europe. The Office is working closely to strengthen cooperation with the Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation (CARDS) programme of the European Union operating in the western Balkans. The Paris Pact arising from the International Conference on Drug Routes from Central Asia to Europe, held in Paris on 21 and 22 May 2003, under which ministers from 55 States affected by the traffic in opium and heroin produced in Afghanistan and originating in Central and South-West Asia agreed to combine their States efforts to step up national capabilities and develop regional partnerships to tackle all the aspects of the problem, has focused regional and donor attention on the current manifestations of the threat and the countermeasures required. A region-specific Paris Pact round-table meeting on the Balkan route was held in Brussels in September 2003; another round-table meeting was held in October 2003 on the effects of the Afghanistan opium economy on the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Paris Pact process in 2003 culminated in a senior policy-level consultative group meeting, which was held in Rome on 21 November 2003. Further meetings are planned for 2004. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime completed a school-based prevention project in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The prevention materials used were designed to address the shortage of information tools in the Baltic States, where drug-related problems among youth have rapidly become a matter of serious concern. Country teams have developed materials for use by both students and teachers that have been positively received in classrooms. The project has been externally evaluated and found to be an exemplary model activity. A project on strengthening law enforcement capacities in Central Europe was concluded in August 2003 with a policy-level meeting hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna. The five countries addressed by the project (the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, Poland and Slovenia) concluded that it had been fully and successfully implemented. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has continued its support to drug law enforcement agencies of the Balkan States through its project on strengthening the capacities of south-eastern European States in the collection and analysis of criminal intelligence related to drug trafficking and organized crime. Criminal intelligence units have been established in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and criminal intelligence analysts have been trained. Technical equipment and software have been supplied to facilitate the work of the units and the project will now focus on establishing national-level training capacities for front-line officers, analysts and senior managers. The participating countries have already expressed their satisfaction with the progress that has been made and the launch of a second phase will be considered in the coming months.

In Albania, the project on improvement of control measures and enhanced cooperation among drug-related institutions in Albania has focused on strengthening the drug interdiction and seizure capacities of the law enforcement agencies of Albania. As a result, an anti-drug unit has been established and its staff trained, the technical capacities of the police and customs have been further developed and closer and more effective cooperation among law enforcement agencies has been established. This work has facilitated the undertaking of a number of joint investigations and the sharing of intelligence. In terms of other initiatives launched by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Office is currently working with the authorities of the Russian Federation on integrating their epidemiological surveillance within the framework of the Global Assessment Programme on Drug Abuse and on extending the surveillance parameters to include linkages with the criminal justice system. A regional project designed to diversify HIV-prevention and drug treatment services for drug users in Belarus, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation and Ukraine aims to minimize the adverse health and social consequences of drug injecting, including prevention of the transmission of HIV and other blood-borne infections among injecting drug users. The training capacity of the federal training centre in the Russian Federation was further increased through the provision of computer-based learning equipment for staff training and the production of a training manual. Furthermore, advanced training for regional drug control units has also been agreed and two seminars have been held, covering topics on the handling of special operations, including intelligence analysis and risk assessment. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has been actively promoting computer-based law enforcement training to the newly established State Drug Control Committee and other law enforcement agencies and facilitating cooperation between the Turkish International Academy against Drugs and Organized Crime (TADOC) and the Russian Advanced Training Institute of the Ministry of the Interior at Domodedovo (located near Moscow). The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime provided training on pre-trial investigation and adjudication of drug-related cases for judges in Armenia and Georgia and, together with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, in Azerbaijan. Legal assistance provided under the Southern Caucasus Anti-Drug programme of the European Union has resulted in the adoption of new laws in Armenia and Georgia. The European Union has requested expert assistance from the Office in implementing the legal component of the European Union Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova Anti-Drug Programme. At the annual summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), held in Yalta, Ukraine, in September 2003, the strategic platform for stronger cooperation between the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and CIS was further developed at the Council of Heads of State and the Council of Foreign Ministers in Yalta. It was recognized that utilizing existing CIS machinery, including the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly and other CIS common legislative bodies, would generate maximum benefit from resources committed by the Office in the future to meet the needs of the COS member States. The Office on Drugs and Crime regional office in Moscow, together with the regional office of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Tashkent, is designing projects that strengthen cooperation among law enforcement agencies of Central
Asian States in the areas of controlled delivery enhancing capacity and cross-border cooperation in drug law enforcement. V. Central Asia
In 2002 and 2003, Afghanistan once again became the worlds largest source of illicit opium. Central Asia is one of the worlds key transit routes for opiates, heroin and certain chemical precursors. Rapidly growing illicit drug trafficking and related crime problems, and the resulting wide availability of morphine and heroin have increased drug misuse and accelerated the spread of HIV/AIDS related to injecting drug use in Central Asia. Responding to that threat to human security and stability in the region, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has expanded its Central Asia programme significantly in terms of volume and thematic coverage. In addition to a law enforcement project package worth more than US$ 18 million, which was launched in the first half of 2003, other law enforcement projects for more than $8 million have been prepared for commencement in 2004. A new subprogramme on demand reduction was approved in mid-2003 and implementation will commence in 2004 once funding has been secured. Much of the programme focus in Central Asia continues to be on drug law enforcement, notably (a) the strengthening of national enforcement institutions capacities, legal frameworks and structures, (b) the creation of adequate border control measures and structures along the most affected borders with, or close to, Afghanistan and (c) the fostering of operational law enforcement cooperation and information exchange at the national level and within the region, as well as with countries affected by the Afghan opium economy. Demand reduction action is aimed at improving the prevention and treatment services throughout the region and the reduction of drug-related HIV/AIDS. In the area of legal development, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime operated within the framework of established cooperation with the Interparliamentary Assembly of CIS. A joint workshop on harmonization of national drug control legislation brought together lawmakers, judicial practitioners and drug control administrators from 11 countries of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in Velikiy Novgorod, Russian Federation. The workshop identified national legislation and practices in need of improvement and harmonization at the regional level and delivered a set of practical recommendations to Governments of CIS member States for their consideration and implementation. The Legal Assistance Programme for Central Asia also conducted work in CIS member States in the Caucasus and Europe. For precursor control, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reviewed the relevant legislation of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, made recommendations on how to improve chemical control regimes and assisted in the drafting of amended national legislation. Customs and law enforcement personnel and laboratory technicians were trained on different aspects of precursor control, and specialized equipment
and information materials for chemical analysis were distributed among agencies and national forensic laboratories. In Afghanistan, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has initiated projects in the priority areas of legal and judicial reform; law enforcement; mainstreaming of the drug control element in development assistance; drug demand reduction; and monitoring and assessment. The projects are being implemented in close cooperation with relevant Afghan counterparts and other stakeholders. Institutional capacity for drug control in Afghanistan is one of the main priorities for tackling the drug problem in the country. Following the creation of the Counter-Narcotics Directorate in October 2002, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, under the capacity-building project, has been providing continuous support to the Directorate to enhance its working capability in the areas of the recruitment of professional staff, the drafting of terms of reference, the training of staff and the provision of office equipment, including vehicles. An effort is also under way to assist the Directorate in establishing satellite offices in key provinces. In the field of drug law enforcement, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has established a good working relationship with the Ministry of the Interior of Afghanistan. However, frequent changes within the Ministry, from the Minister downwards, have slowed progress. On a number of occasions the process of dialogue has had to be restarted. Despite such setbacks, the Office has pushed forward the creation of a Drug Investigation Unit in Kabul, which, together with a replication of investigation and intelligence functions in seven key locations, is the basis of national drug law enforcement. In Kabul, staff members for the unit have been selected and have undergone basic training in drug investigation; they are currently acquiring basic computing and English skills. The first of the provincial units has been formed in Kandahar and is receiving basic training in drug investigation. The Transitional Authority of Afghanistan has also started the recruitment process for drug law enforcement staff in other key provincial locations. A further strengthening of the law enforcement capacity in Afghanistan is planned through the development of more projects. These will be designed and implemented as the absorption capacity of the relevant Afghan counterparts increases. In a new project, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is assisting the Afghan authorities in establishing an interdiction unit, which is to be an operational arm in support of the drug investigation and intelligence units. The Illicit Crop Monitoring Programme in Afghanistan actively sought the participation of the Counter-Narcotics Directorate in conducting the Annual Opium Poppy Survey of 2003. A significant element in the 2003 survey was the fact that all survey activities were conducted jointly with the Directorate. The goal is to build, over a period of 3 to 5 years, the capacity of the Directorate to execute illicit crop monitoring programmes and to enable its professional staff to take a leading responsibility in survey activities. Once again, the annual Afghan opium poppy survey provided accurate estimates of the level of opium poppy cultivation, enabling a calculation of the likely production potential to be made. A farmers intention survey was also carried out by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in the major opium-growing
provinces of Afghanistan to assess the potential for opium poppy cultivation in the 2003/2004 planting season and to identify the different factors that have influenced the cultivation. In the period 2002-2003, the demand reduction programme in Afghanistan continued to provide considerable resources in terms of advice, drug prevention education and training and community-based drug treatment to a wide range of agencies and organizations, including the Counter-Narcotics Directorate, the Ministry of Public Health, United Nations entities, donor agencies and non-governmental organizations. An outreach referral system and home-based detoxification and treatment services for drug addicts in Kabul have been developed and established, in collaboration with the local mental health hospital and non-governmental organizations. In response to increasing opium poppy cultivation and opium trafficking in the northern provinces of Afghanistan, particularly Badakhshan, with its direct routes into and through Central Asia, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has expanded its projects strengthening border control measures in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Since summer 2003, four projects have been delivering modern equipment, training and expert advice on effective border control procedures and practices. They have also been developing forensic and chemical analysis capacities, strengthening the existing units of handlers of drug detector dogs, and improving existing information and analytical capacities in support of law enforcement operations. In Tajikistan, a special focus has been placed on the control checkpoints at Dushanbe, Kulyab and Khodjent airports and at the railway station in Dushanbe. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has continued to build consensus among the potential stakeholders for the establishment of a Central Asian regional intelligence coordination centre to support cross-border and regional drug law enforcement operations. A number of technical meetings were held during 2003, as a result of which a full project document was developed and subsequently circulated for donor comment. The centre will serve as a regional focal point for the exchange of operational information between law enforcement agencies and will assist in facilitating cross-border and regional operations. It will also provide analysis of information and coordinate joint operational activities. The regional intelligence coordination centre initiative is also designed to build upon an ongoing project of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime aimed at establishing systems for national intelligence collection, analysis and exchange. In 2003, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime convened two regional seminars on drug demand reduction at the technical level in Central Asia. The first was a regional expert group meeting on setting up a Central Asian regional drug epidemiology network; it was attended by representatives from all the Central Asian countries and held in Tashkent in March 2003. The second was held in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, on 31 May and 1 June 2003 and attended by national focal points and other key experts from the region, who met for initial deliberations on the way forward in the diversification of HIV prevention and drug treatment services for injecting drug users.

With support from the regional office of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, a meeting of the Foreign Anti-Narcotic Community took place in March 2003 in Tashkent. Several sessions of the Mini-Dublin Group were also held in the region. Member States of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) identified the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as the most qualified and impartial implementer of technical assistance programmes related to drug control in the region, a view supported by a number of donor countries that provided funding for the implementation of the Offices technical assistance projects. The second phase of the Offices project to strengthen the Drug Control Coordination Unit at the ECO secretariat (2001-2004), is aimed at enhancing drug control cooperation and coordination among ECO member States by strengthening the technical capabilities of the Drug Control Coordination Unit in providing to national focal points of ECO member States coordination services related to drug control. That project complements work undertaken in the national projects that the Office is currently implementing in ECO member States. In Kazakhstan, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is working with the Government and international donors to strengthen drug control on the Russian-Kazakh border. In close coordination with the State Drug Control Commission, the Office is also developing a project on enhancing control along the southern border of Kazakhstan, which has recently seen heavy trafficking activity and low opiate prices. Future activities of the Office will focus on the strengthening of the operational and interdiction capacities of selected drug control bodies in Kazakhstan. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is implementing a project on the establishment of a drug control agency in Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz agency is modelled on the drug control agency that was successfully established in Tajikistan and that was recommended as a model for all Central Asian countries in an independent evaluation. The Kyrgyz drug control agency will be under the direct authority of the President of Kyrgyzstan and will enjoy a high degree of political support. Since summer 2003, the project has been providing expertise, advisory services, logistical and training support to Kyrgyz officials in the creation of a solid, well- managed and self-sustaining drug control agency. In addition, the Office is currently reviewing a project to establish a system for gathering data and other information, to strengthen border control in drug trafficking bottlenecks and to upgrade forensic laboratories and training capacities in the country. In Tajikistan, the two major ongoing projects of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, on strengthening drug interdiction along the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan and on the development of a specialized drug control agency, are both entering their second phases. In the second phase, specific services are planned to assist the Government of Tajikistan in developing management plans, legal provisions, budget and administrative frameworks and the structures required to maintain the agency from national budget sources. The goal is to develop national provisions and adequately trained staff for the drug control agency to become a self- sustaining agency by the end of the project. The second phase also includes components to develop mechanisms for operational cooperation between Afghan and Tajik law enforcement
authorities in joint border areas. Future activities will also assist the Government of Tajikistan in the improvement of forensic laboratory capacities. In Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, new projects focusing on border control were launched. In Turkmenistan, assistance provided by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is aimed at the strengthening of border control and interdiction capacities in drug trafficking bottlenecks. Specialized equipment, communication facilities and training in modern interdiction techniques are being provided. Special attention is also being given to developing and implementing drug abuse prevention and treatment policies. In addition, funds have been pledged for a project on strengthening control along the Turkmen-Afghan border. The major initiative for Uzbekistan entails improving the sharing and exchange of information between national drug law enforcement bodies (including a project dedicated to developing Intranet facilities for public prosecutors), strengthening law enforcement capacities in dealing with drug trafficking cases and reinforcing interdiction at bottlenecks at the most vulnerable points of the borders of that country with Afghanistan and Tajikistan. A major project has been inaugurated on strengthening controls at the only border checkpoint between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, situated at the bridge across the Pyanj river at Termez-Hayraton, which includes the provision of video-control, computer, X-ray, search and other equipment. In response to growing drug abuse and HIV/AIDS problems, national assessments of drug abuse patterns and trends for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, concluded in 2002, were used as a basis to develop plans for national action to address identified problem areas. In the framework of the Global Assessment Programme on Drug Abuse, support is given for the setting up of city-based drug information and monitoring systems and for the creation of a Central Asian regional drug epidemiology network. Existing demand reduction policies and programmes were reviewed at country level. Gaps in terms of policies, human and financial resources and programme implementation were reviewed and priority areas for future action identified. That resulted in a new drug demand reduction subprogramme for Central Asia, approved in the summer of 2003, which is based on two strategic priorities: (a) the provision of policy and legal advice to Governments of countries in the region and (b) the implementation of comprehensive drug demand reduction projects in the areas of capacity-building, institutional development, the promotion of partnership and networking, the transfer of technical expertise and the provision of physical facilities and equipment. The ongoing HIV/AIDS prevention project improved and further developed a range of HIV- prevention and drug-treatment services for injecting drug users in selected sites in five countries. They include outreach and low-threshold services for education on HIV/AIDS prevention, access to condoms and clean injecting equipment, inpatient and outpatient detoxification, counselling, treatment and rehabilitation. The mapping of existing medical and social services for drug abusers, training needs assessments among personnel and detailed action programmes for the diversification of services in each selected target area have all been completed. Subregional and national training workshops were organized in late 2003 and early 2004.
The implementation of the joint project of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran on increasing the drug law enforcement capacity of the Iranian police continued in 2003. Project delivery is placing emphasis on regional support and building regional communication through the use of regional expertise to provide assistance in such areas as the training of drug-detecting dogs, expert study tours and front- line training of operational officers. In Pakistan, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has initiated a process of promoting drug abuse control at the district level. Under a pilot project, the Office established district drug abuse prevention committees in eight target districts. In addition, the Office continued to provide assistance to drug law enforcement agencies in Pakistan and to promote subregional cooperation in drug law enforcement, notably between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan. As of 2003, the Government of Afghanistan has been included in the meetings of the Intergovernmental Technical Committee, sponsored by the Office, which is a well-established forum for the exchange of drug law enforcement information in the subregion. In Turkey, the second phase of a project to support TADOC focused on the introduction at the Academy and Learning Resource Centres in various cities in Turkey, developed by the Office, and spreading that effective training technique to other countries in the region through the Academy. In addition, national and regional training activities continued at TADOC and included the provision of training for law enforcement officers from Afghanistan. The efforts of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in the Near and Middle East continued to focus on the development of subregional and national technical cooperation programmes among groups of countries and territories affected by similar trends in illicit drug trafficking and drug abuse, including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian autonomous areas. Taking into consideration the positive results and outcomes of the original Subregional Drug Control Cooperation Programme for the Middle East and the strong political commitment of the national counterparts to the programme activities and the framework for delivering the technical assistance, an extension of the Programme has been prepared. Within that framework, the ongoing treatment and rehabilitation activities in Egypt and Jordan have continued to focus on upgrading and strengthening the drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation capacities through specialized training courses and the establishment of an in- service training centre. In addition, the implementation of the activities under the project on drug abuse prevention among street children in Egypt and the subregional project to upgrade licit drug control in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon have been initiated. Based on drug abuse rapid situation assessment studies conducted in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon to determine the drug abuse problems in those countries, a comprehensive subregional project on the prevention of drug abuse and drug-related HIV/AIDS has been prepared. Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinian autonomous areas are to be included in the project, which will contribute to reducing the prevalence of drug addiction and related HIV/AIDS among youth in the participating countries.

To complement the Subregional Drug Control Cooperation Programme for the Middle East, national technical cooperation projects have been prepared in Egypt and Lebanon. The project in Lebanon will support the development and implementation of a national action plan on drug demand reduction, while the project in Egypt will focus on demand reduction activities in schools, universities, sports clubs and the national media. A cooperation programme intended to replicate the activities under the Middle East programme in the Persian Gulf area has been prepared for the United Arab Emirates. The project provides for targeted assistance to the drug control authorities in the United Arab Emirates, with the aim of improving their capacity through provision of advisory and coordination services, training and policy development. Drug control assistance to the United Arab Emirates will have a wider impact in the Persian Gulf area, because of the location of the country at main trafficking routes. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime held a regional workshop for Afghanistan, the Gulf States, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan in Islamabad in February 2004 to address issues relating to the exchange of operational information among the law enforcement authorities in the region. The workshop identified the immediate impediments to timely exchange and initiated a process to remove them. VI. Latin America and the Caribbean
Six field offices of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime support the delivery of the programmes of the Office in Latin America and the Caribbean. Over the reporting period, through its Caribbean field office, the Office has continued to work closely with and actively support the Caribbean Community heads of government and the Caribbean Task Force on Crime and Security established by them. In 2003, work continued on regional initiatives to strengthen the police, customs and judicial institutions, as well as cross-border cooperation. The Agreement concerning Cooperation in Suppressing Illicit Maritime and Air Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances in the Caribbean Area was opened for signature in April 2003, placing emphasis on improved drug interdiction and mutual cooperation. Caribbean regional efforts to comply with international provisions against money-laundering and the financing of terrorism have improved and all Central American countries are now members of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has assisted Caribbean jurisdictions in their efforts to counter money-laundering through the provision of mentors in Antigua and Barbuda and the Eastern Caribbean. In Central America, together with the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission of the Organization of American States, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime continued to support the Permanent Central American Commission for the Eradication of the Illicit Production, Traffic, Consumption and Use of Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is participating in projects under implementation in countries of the region. Under the subregional forensic laboratory programmes for Mexico and Central America, 200 drug and precursor field test kits were delivered to law enforcement agencies and two training courses were conducted to strengthen national forensic laboratories. Furthermore, the National Database System has been promoted and personnel trained to strengthen precursor and drug control. In Colombia, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime supported law enforcement training for the Colombian police, armed forces, public prosecutors and field and laboratory technicians. Training has included judges and final-year university students. That law enforcement training has been extended to Ecuador and support has been offered for the strengthening of the investigation-prosecution-conviction chain. The Office has also organized a follow-up meeting on environmental impact related to precursor control and the destruction of seized substances. In Colombia, the seizure of precursors (both controlled and non-controlled) has increased dramatically. According to the national police, the recycling of precursor chemicals is becoming common. The above-mentioned meeting sought to provide recommendations to law enforcement entities on alternative and safe means of destroying seized substances. In Ecuador, legal advisory assistance provided by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime identified the need for a practical and effective case management tool within the prosecution service. Such a management tool was subsequently developed by the regional legal adviser of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for Latin America and the Caribbean. In April 2003, it was presented to the office of the Chief Prosecutor in Quito. The case management tool allows the prosecution and investigation team to plan, execute and evaluate investigations systematically and coherently. It helps in the drafting of indictments, opening and closing arguments, direct and cross-examination and testimony. It also provides a means for quality control and anti-corruption mechanisms. Once it has been formally adopted, a manual will be prepared and practical training workshops undertaken in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca. In Bolivia, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is delivering a project on precursor control. A total of 20 training events, including 8 courses on human rights (with the participation of the Office of the Ombudsman), two workshops on procedures on the control of chemical substances and 32 computer training courses have been completed. Special attention was given to the training of all employees from the Vice-ministry for Social Defence, Prevention and Rehabilitation, including anti-narcotics prosecutors. To strengthen project capacity, 25 computers were received from the Narcotics Affairs Section of the Embassy of the United States of America in Bolivia. An international seminar on chemical precursors control was also held, with the cooperation of the Embassy of France, and attended by 60 public servants. In Peru, a mentor provided by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is advising the Government on organized crime-related issues with a view to strengthening the capacity of investigators, prosecutors and judges to deal more effectively with organized crime, including illicit drug trafficking. Intensive training programmes on the identification of criminal networks and proceeds of organized crime and drug trafficking have been carried out for anti-organized crime intelligence analysts, judges, justice workers and police researchers. Officials were provided with advanced software that facilitates the analysis and identification of organized
criminal networks, the persons involved in them, as well as the identification of illicit proceeds. The mentor is also providing advice on extradition requests and requests from other countries concerning evidence-gathering in money-laundering cases. In Brazil, under a National Police Academy programme, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is assisting in the provision of training to modernize and improve classrooms and technical equipment. During 2003, 1,050 new federal police officers received training in the modernized premises, each completing 700 hours of training. A unit for the delivery of the electronic learning (known as e-learning) programme developed by the Office was created at the National Police Academy. Work continued on the introduction of a computerized information system for controlling precursor chemicals, to be used by the federal police, and implementation was completed. The system includes all administrative procedures for companies dealing with controlled substances, as well as a complete registration of such companies, and is accessible via the Internet. In addition, a bidding process is under way as part of a joint initiative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Brazilian Federal Police Department and the Itaip Binacional electric power company to buy motor boats and intelligence communication equipment to assist the police in patrolling parts of the Paran river at Itaip lake, on the border between Brazil and Paraguay, for the purpose of countering illegal immigration, the smuggling of guns and munitions and the trafficking of narcotics and chemical precursors. The Amazon Surveillance System is providing information to Colombia to increase the ability of the law enforcement agencies to identify and combat illegal activities and monitor local air traffic. The information is obtained through the use of a wide range of sensors that gather data on the Amazon region. Legal assistance provided by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime enabled the Government of Brazil to inaugurate a new Department for Asset Recovery in July 2003.

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly [on the report of the Fifth Committee (A/61/597)] 61/236. Pattern of conferences
The General Assembly,
Recalling its relevant resolutions, including resolutions 40/243 of 18 December 1985, 41/213 of 19 December 1986, 43/222 A to E of 21 December 1988, 51/211 A to E of 18 December 1996, 52/214 of 22 December 1997, 53/208 A to E of 18 December 1998, 54/248 of 23 December 1999, 55/222 of 23 December 2000, 56/242 of 24 December 2001, 56/254 D of 27 March 2002, 56/262 of 15 February 2002, 56/287 of 27 June 2002, 57/283 A of 20 December 2002, 57/283 B of 15 April 2003, 58/250 of 23 December 2003, 59/265 of 23 December 2004, 60/236 A of 23 December 2005 and 60/236 B of 8 May 2006, Reaffirming its resolution 42/207 C of 11 December 1987, in which it requested the Secretary-General to ensure the equal treatment of the official languages of the United Nations, Having considered the report of the Committee on Conferences for 200628 and the relevant reports of the Secretary-General,29 Having also considered the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,30 Reaffirming the provisions relevant to conference services of its resolutions on multilingualism, I Calendar of conferences and meetings 1. Welcomes the report of the Committee on Conferences for 2006;1
2. Approves the draft revised calendar of conferences and meetings of the United Nations for 2007, as submitted by the Committee on Conferences,31 taking into account the observations of the Committee and subject to the provisions of the present resolution;
28 Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-first Session, Supplement No. 32 (A/61/32). 29 A/61/129 and Add.1 and A/61/300. 30 A/61/499. 31 Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-first Session, Supplement No. 32 (A/61/32), annex II.

3. Authorizes the Committee on Conferences to make any adjustments to the calendar of conferences and meetings for 2007 that may become necessary as a result of actions and decisions taken by the General Assembly at its sixty-first session; 4. Notes with satisfaction that the Secretariat has taken into account the arrangements referred to in General Assembly resolutions 53/208 A, 54/248, 55/222, 56/242, 57/283 B, 58/250, 59/265 and 60/236 A concerning Orthodox Good Friday and the official holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, and requests all intergovernmental bodies to observe those decisions when planning their meetings; 5. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that any modification to the calendar of conferences and meetings is implemented strictly in accordance with the mandate of the Committee on Conferences and other relevant resolutions of the General Assembly; II A. Utilization of conference-servicing resources
1. Reaffirms the practice that, in the use of conference rooms, priority must be given to the meetings of Member States; 2. Notes with satisfaction that the overall utilization factor at the four main duty stations increased to 85 per cent in 2005 from 83 per cent in 2004; 3. Welcomes the steps taken by those bodies that have adjusted their programmes of work in order to achieve the optimum utilization of conference- servicing resources, and requests the Committee on Conferences to continue consultations with the secretariats and bureaux of bodies that underutilize their conference-servicing resources; 4. Recognizes the importance of meetings of regional and other major groupings of Member States for the smooth functioning of the sessions of intergovernmental bodies, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that, as far as possible, all requests for conference services for the meetings of regional and other major groupings of Member States are met; 5. Notes with concern the difficulties experienced by Member States owing to the lack of conference services for some meetings of regional and other major groupings of Member States; 6. Also notes with concern that, although the percentage of meetings held by regional and other major groupings of Member States that were provided with interpretation services in the four main duty stations in 2005 increased to 87 per cent, as compared with 85 per cent in 2004, the figure is still below the
98 per cent provided with services from May 2001 to April 2002, 92 per cent from May 2002 to April 2003 and 90 per cent from May 2003 to April 2004; 7. Recalls that meetings held by regional and other major groupings of Member States have so far been provided with interpretation services on an ad hoc basis, in accordance with established practice, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to explore innovative ways to address this problem and to report to the General Assembly through the Committee on Conferences; 8. Once again urges intergovernmental bodies to spare no effort at the planning stage to take into account the meetings of regional and other major groupings of Member States, to make provision for such meetings in their programmes of work and to notify conference services, well in advance, of any cancellations so that unutilized conference-servicing resources may, to the extent possible, be reassigned to meetings of regional and other major groupings of Member States; 9. Notes with satisfaction that, in accordance with several General Assembly resolutions, including resolution 60/236 B, section II.A, paragraph 10, in conformity with the headquarters rule, all meetings of Nairobi-based United Nations bodies took place in Nairobi in 2005, but reiterates the need for vigilance in this respect, and requests the Secretary-General to report thereon to the Assembly at its sixty-second session through the Committee on Conferences; 10. Welcomes the fact that international and local corporations and academic institutions are being allowed to host events at the conference centre of the Economic Commission for Africa after screening, on a case-by-case basis, by the United Nations Security and Safety Service to ensure compliance with the headquarters minimum operating security standards, which is likely to contribute to increasing the utilization of the centre; 11. Also welcomes the efforts undertaken to increase utilization of the conference facilities at the Economic Commission for Africa and to align the methodology used to compile utilization statistics with that of Conference Services at the four main duty stations, including building on the cooperative agreement the Commission established with the Division of Conference Services at the United Nations Office at Nairobi; 12. Requests the Secretary-General to continue efforts to ensure that the Economic Commission for Africa strengthens linkages with other centres and bodies; 13. Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to explore means to increase the utilization of the conference centre of the Economic Commission for Africa, bearing in mind the headquarters minimum operating security standards, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session through the Committee on Conferences;
B. Impact of the capital master plan (strategy IV (phased approach)) on meetings held at Headquarters during its implementation 1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the impact of the capital master plan on meetings to be held at Headquarters during its implementation;32 2. Requests bodies having their meetings listed in the calendar of conferences and meetings, when planning their meetings, especially major or high- level conferences, summits and special meetings, organs created under the Charter of the United Nations, their subsidiary bodies and other intergovernmental organizations and treaty bodies that normally meet at Headquarters to take into consideration the limitations and inflexibility of the entire conference facilities at Headquarters throughout the renovation period; 3. Notes in particular that there will be noise during the construction, which will be carried out in the evenings and at weekends; 4. Requests all meeting requesters and organizers to liaise closely with the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management of the Secretariat on all matters related to the scheduling of meetings to allow maximum predictability in coordinating activities at Headquarters during the construction period; 5. Requests the Committee on Conferences to keep the matter under constant review, and requests the Secretary-General to report regularly to the Committee on matters pertaining to the calendar of conferences and meetings of the United Nations during the construction period; 6. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that implementation of the capital master plan will not compromise the quality of conference services provided to Member States and the equal treatment of the language services, which should be provided with equally favourable working conditions and resources, with a view to receiving maximum quality of services; III Integrated global management 1. Notes with appreciation the progress achieved across duty stations in integrating information technology into meetings management and documentation- processing systems and the global approach to sharing standards, good practices and technological achievements among conference services at all duty stations;
32 A/61/300.

2. Welcomes the establishment of a regular budget technology post at the United Nations Office at Nairobi and other efforts there to share best practices, which are essential for the successful achievement of integrated global management; 3. Reaffirms that the major goals of the reform of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management are to provide high-quality documents in a timely manner in all official languages, as well as high-quality conference services to Member States at all duty stations, and to achieve those aims as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly; 4. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure the compatibility of technologies used in all duty stations and to ensure that they are user-friendly in all official languages; 5. Also requests the Secretary-General to complete the task of uploading all important older United Nations documents onto the United Nations website in all six official languages on a priority basis, so that these archives are also available to Member States through that medium; 6. Recalls section II.B, paragraph 4, of its resolution 60/236 B, in which it requested the Secretary-General to ensure that measures taken by the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management to seek the evaluation by Member States of the quality of the conference services provided to them as a key performance indicator of the Department provide equal opportunities to Member States to present their evaluation in the six official languages of the United Nations and are in full compliance with relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, and requests the Secretary-General to report to the Assembly, through the Committee on Conferences, on progress made in this regard; 7. Also recalls section II.B, paragraph 6, of its resolution 60/236 B, and requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session, through the Committee on Conferences, on both the results of the work of the task forces and the outcome of the ongoing consultations among duty stations on a follow-up to the recommendations of the task forces; 8. Requests the Secretary-General to keep the General Assembly apprised of progress made in integrated global management; IV Documentation and publication-related matters 1. Emphasizes the paramount importance of the equality of the six official languages of the United Nations;
2. Reaffirms that the Fifth Committee is the appropriate Main Committee of the General Assembly entrusted with responsibilities for administrative and budgetary matters; 3. Stresses that matters related to conference management, including documentation, fall within the purview of the Fifth Committee; 4. Notes with concern the continued high level of late submissions of documentation by author departments, which, in turn, have a negative impact on the functioning of intergovernmental bodies, and requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly, at its sixty-second session, through the Committee on Conferences, on impediments, if any, to achieving full compliance with the ten- week and six-week rules for the issuance of pre-session documents, including, where appropriate, proposed measures to address such impediments; 5. Welcomes the new accountability mechanism set up in the Secretariat for the submission, processing and issuance of documentation, and requests the Secretary-General to report thereon to the Committee on Conferences for its further consideration and analysis, in order to provide concrete recommendations to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session; 6. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to ensure that the rules concerning the simultaneous distribution of documents in all official languages are followed with respect to both the distribution of printed copies and the posting of parliamentary documentation on the Official Document System and the United Nations website, in keeping with section III, paragraph 5, of its resolution 55/222; 7. Reaffirms its decision in section III, paragraph 9, of its resolution 59/265, that the issuance of documents on planning, budgetary and administrative matters requiring urgent consideration by the General Assembly shall be accorded priority; 8. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to direct all departments of the Secretariat to include the following elements in their reports: (a) Summary of the report; Consolidated conclusions, recommendations and other proposed Relevant background information;
(b) actions; (c)
9. Encourages intergovernmental and expert bodies to include the above-mentioned elements, where appropriate, in their reports to the General Assembly; 10. Reiterates its request that all documents submitted to legislative organs by the Secretariat, intergovernmental and expert bodies for consideration and action have conclusions and recommendations in bold print;
11. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to take steps to improve the quality and accuracy of meeting records in all six official languages through full reliance in the preparation and translation of those records on sound recordings and written texts of statements as they were delivered in the original languages; 12. Notes the efforts of the Secretariat to clear the backlog in the issuance of summary records, while noting with concern that some delays in issuance still occur; 13. Also notes the options enumerated in paragraphs 76 to 80 of the report of the Secretary-General;33 V Translation and interpretation-related matters 1. Requests the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to ensure the highest quality of interpretation and translation services in all official languages; 2. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to make sure that terminology used in translation and interpretation services reflects the latest linguistic norms and terminology of the official languages in order to ensure the highest quality; 3. Also reiterates its request to the Secretary-General, when recruiting temporary assistance in the language services, to ensure that all language services are given equal treatment and are provided with equally favourable working conditions and resources, with a view to achieving maximum quality of their services, with full respect for the specificities of each of the six official languages and taking into account their respective workloads; 4. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to improve the accuracy of translation of documents into the official languages, giving particular significance to the quality of translation; 5. Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to seek evaluation by Member States of the quality of the conference services provided to them, including through the language-specific informational meetings held twice a year, and to ensure that such measures provide equal opportunities to Member States to present their evaluation in the six official languages of the United Nations and are in full compliance with relevant resolutions of the General Assembly; 6. Notes the efforts made so far to improve the rates of self-revision, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to address the question of the
33 A/61/129.

appropriate level of self-revision that is consistent with quality in all official languages and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session; 7. Also notes the proposal on workload standards to develop a comprehensive methodology for performance measurement and management from a full-system perspective,34 and requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly periodically, starting at its sixty-second session, on the specific indicators proposed under the headings of timeliness, quality, financial performance and organizational learning and growth; 8. Expresses continued concern at the high vacancy rate in the interpretation and translation services at the United Nations Office at Nairobi, especially the chronic difficulty in staffing the Arabic Interpretation Unit, and requests the Secretary-General to address this as a matter of priority through, inter alia, assistance from Member States in advertising and facilitating the conduct of competitive examinations to fill these language vacancies; 9. Notes with concern the high reliance on freelance interpretation at the United Nations Office at Vienna, and requests the Secretary-General to report on any inconsistency in quality of interpretation services related thereto, including at other duty stations, and on measures to address that issue, if needed, to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session through the Committee on Conferences; 10. Requests the Secretary-General to provide at all duty stations the adequate staff and grade level with a view to ensuring appropriate quality control for external translations; 11. Notes the Secretary-Generals plans to address the issue of succession planning by enhancing internal and external training programmes, developing staff exchange programmes between organizations and participating in outreach activities to institutions that train language staff for international organizations; 12. Requests the Secretary-General to hold competitive examinations for the recruitment of language staff sufficiently in advance so as to fill current and future vacancies in language services in a timely manner, bearing in mind the persistent situation at the United Nations Office at Nairobi, and to inform the General Assembly at its sixty-second session of efforts in this regard. 84th plenary meeting 22 December 2006

34 Ibid., para. 69.


Writing For The United Nations: A Training Manual For UN Volunteers in Pakistan

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Writing

for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

II. Reader and purpose

given between quotation marks.

III. Pre-writing techniques

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

IV. Standard report formats

Writing for the United Nations

V. Sentence and paragraph development

Example Emphasis Addition Clarification Judgement Explanation Time/space

Despite a situation Nevertheless

Writing for the United Nations

VI. Clarity in Writing

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Nominalization discovery resistance reaction

Adjective careless different proficient

Nominalization carelessness differences proficiency

Adjective applicable fearful of reflective of dubious

Verb deserve hope represent suggest

Adjective deserving of hopeful of representative of suggestive of

Writing for the United Nations

[Destroying targets is not the only thing that lasers do.]

5. As a teenager, my grandmother was always open to talking to me.

Writing for the United Nations

Indirect: Direct: Direct:

Indirect speech there then, at the time existing, current 37

today tomorrow yesterday ago Questions and exclamations

Writing for the United Nations

VII. Writing a summary

Writing for the United Nations

VIII. Writing conclusions and recommendations

Writing for the United Nations

IX. A few final tips

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

D. Funding E. Legislative organs

Conclusions and recommendations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Substitution an honour all essential continue 86

Writing for the United Nations

about finally if until

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations

Writing for the United Nations