Official transcripts
UN meeting records explained
Short answer
- Verbatim record
- Full first-person account, symbol includes PV 1
- Summary record
- Third-person condensed version, symbol includes SR 1
- Languages of verbatim records
- Six official languages 2
- Corrections to verbatim records
- Original language only, signed by a delegation member 3
- Meetings press releases
- English and French, two to three hours after a meeting 5
Verbatim and summary records
The UN library describes a verbatim record as a full, first-person account of the meeting and a summary record as a third-person condensed version 1. Its examples are S/PV.6826 of 30 August 2012 and A/C.4/66/SR.10 of 8 February 2012 1.
Meeting records are not issued for all UN meetings. Principal organs and selected subsidiary bodies may have verbatim or summary records, but not both 1.
How a verbatim record is made
The Verbatim Reporting Service produces edited, complete written records for the General Assembly, the Security Council and other intergovernmental bodies 2. The records state who spoke, what was said and what was decided 2.
Reporters combine transcription, translation and editing and use standard formulas for procedure and voting 2. They fix grammatical errors, check quotations, add references and verify facts against the body's documents 2. They now work from digital sound recordings 2.
Languages and interpretation
Each language version holds the statements made in that language plus translations of speeches given in the others 2. The English record of the Security Council's 7633rd meeting on 26 February 2016 says it contains the text of speeches delivered in English and the translation of the other speeches 3. A quote from a speech made in another language is a translation 3.
How delegations correct the record
The 2016 Security Council note gives no deadline for corrections 3. The table reflects the notes printed on those two documents. Current notes on newer records were not checked for this page 3,4.
| Record | How to correct | Where corrections appear |
|---|---|---|
| Security Council verbatim record (2016 note) | Original language only, on a copy of the record, signed by a member of the delegation, to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service 3 | Corrected records reissued electronically on documents.un.org. Final text printed in the Official Records 3 |
| Fifth Committee summary record (1998 note) | Signed by a delegation member, sent within one week, to the Chief of the Official Records Editing Section 4 | After the session, in a separate corrigendum for each Committee 4 |
Press releases and briefings are not meeting records
Press officers of the Meetings Coverage Section in the Department of Global Communications write press releases that capture UN meetings as they happen 5. They aim for jargon-free synopses and are published in English and French within two to three hours after a meeting adjourns 5.
The Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General posts a full transcript and highlights of its noon briefing 7. The Meetings Coverage site lists each one as a Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General 6.
Finding records
Common questions
What does PV mean in a UN document symbol?
It marks a verbatim record, a full first-person account of a meeting 1.
What does SR mean in a UN document symbol?
It marks a summary record, a third-person condensed version of a meeting 1.
Is a UN press release the official record of a meeting?
No. Press releases are synopses written by press officers 5. The meeting records are the PV and SR documents 1.
Who can correct a UN verbatim record?
A member of the delegation concerned, in the original language, sent to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service 3.
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Sources
- UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library: Meeting Records, About UN Documents
- UN Department for General Assembly and Conference Management: Verbatim Reporting Service
- United Nations Security Council: S/PV.7633, 7633rd meeting (26 February 2016)
- United Nations General Assembly: A/C.5/53/SR.12, Fifth Committee, 12th meeting (23 October 1998)
- UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases: We've got the United Nations covered
- UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases: Noon Briefings
- United Nations: Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General
Related
- Verbatim records and summary records
The difference between verbatim, substantially verbatim and summary records, and which kind of official record supports a direct quote.
- How to check a quote against the official record
A method for checking an official's words against Hansard, the Congressional Record, UN meeting records and briefing transcripts.
- Government briefing transcripts compared
Where the US State Department, the White House, the UN Spokesperson, Australia's Prime Minister and India's foreign ministry publish briefing transcripts.
- How parliaments correct the official record
Who may correct the official report in the UK, Scotland, Australia, Canada, the US House, Europe and India, what may change and by when.