About the Assembly for Peace Initiative

Background

In its 77th session, the General Assembly requested a “digital” Handbook or “accessible outlines on past practices, data and recommendations” to better understand its functions and powers under the UN Charter with respect to the maintenance of international peace and security (A/RES/77/335). This Handbook, Assembly for peace: a digital handbook on the UN General Assembly’s past practice on peace and security, was developed and produced by the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR) in 2024 for the President of the General Assembly at the 78th session in response to resolution 77/335, and with the financial support of a number of Member States. Read the letter from the President of the General Assembly at the 78th session introducing the Handbook.

Although the Handbook was designed to be interactive, full digitization was not possible at the time given the available resources and time remaining in the 78th session. As originally published in August 2024, it was only available as a PDF.

In its 79th session, the Assembly adopted a follow-on resolution welcoming the Handbook and encouraging its “annual update and its wider dissemination among Member States” (A/RES/79/327, para. 12). To fulfill this request for continual updating and wider dissemination, and in keeping with the original purpose of resolution 77/335 for a ‘digital’ handbook, in 2026 UNU-CPR created a website platform that would host a fully digital version of the Assembly for Peace Handbook, as well as updated case studies and summaries, and other additional resources and materials.

The Office of the President of the General Assembly at the 80th session responded to the Assembly’s encouragement of wider dissemination and of updating of the Handbook in resolution 79/327 by supporting this digital conversion through providing feedback on the updates by UNU-CPR related to the 79th and 80th sessions. Read the letter from the President of the General Assembly at the 80th session.

Goals, objectives and scope

The goal of the Handbook and of this broader website platform is to provide an impartial, user-friendly guide for Member States seeking information on the powers and past practice of the General Assembly with regard to peace and security. The broader objective is to expand institutional knowledge among Member States and the general public of General Assembly functions and past practice, with a view to enhancing the Assembly’s role and synergies with the Security Council.

For the original handbook, Member States requested a more accessible, interactive and concise style compared to standard reference materials, as well as specific content features. These style and content features are reflected across this website, including:

• A concise summary of the UN Charter basis and legal background for GA engagement on peace and security (see the legal background).
• Summaries of key trends and usage of these powers in select thematic areas (see all Areas of Practice).
• Illustration of practice through concrete case studies (see the Library of Case Studies).
• Inclusion of charts and other easily digestible data formats (see the Resource Centre).
• Consideration of the respective roles and complementarity between the General Assembly and the Security Council on peace and security, across all Areas and Cases of Practice.

The website builds on the original Handbook through a fully digital and interactive format, with additional Cases of Practice, analysis of trends in General Assembly practice, charts and other learning resources. It includes both material from the original Assembly for Peace Handbook (2024) and new and updated material produced independently by UNU-CPR.

While SC resolutions are referenced the focus of this handbook is on the GA. The details of the examples and case studies therein are not to be considered exhaustive. The Assembly for Peace Handbook was not designed to directly consider the work of General Assembly committees or budgetary bodies.

Style and format

The website and associated research materials follow UN style, with some adaptations in keeping with the goal of more concise, accessible and user-friendly text. Common terms are abbreviated throughout, notably United Nations (UN), General Assembly (GA) and Security Council (SC). All GA and SC resolutions, and other UN documents with a UN document number, are hyperlinked to the original UN source.

Where historical situations are discussed, the country names appear as they were recognized by the GA at the time of the issue or resolution under discussion, which may differ from the present names of those Member States.

Methodology

Research for the Assembly for Peace Handbook (2024) was conducted primarily between May and August 2024 and drew principally on official UN sources, supplemented by historical and archival research and a review of secondary scholarship. The most significant sources were GA and SC resolutions and available records of their deliberations, as well as the Yearbook of the United Nations, the Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs and the Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council. The material was peer-reviewed by external scholars, UN officials and other experts, with consultation and feedback provided by the Office of the President of the General Assembly at its 78th session. Nonetheless, the analysis and views expressed remain those of the authors.

Subsequent research publications, Cases or Areas of Practice, and updates taken forward by UNU-CPR and published on this site have followed a similar methodology. Material from the original Assembly for Peace Handbook (2024) is distinguished throughout from subsequent material produced independently by UNU-CPR, with provenance and last-updated information provided on all Areas and Cases of Practice pages.

In converting the original Assembly for Peace Handbook (2024) to the website, limited editorial changes were made, primarily to incorporate additional references to GA resolutions adopted since the Handbook’s original publication, to correct typographical or citation errors, to standardize style, and to adapt headings and cross-references to the digital format. Language was also added where needed to enable links to new Cases of Practice, along with references to relevant GA resolutions adopted since the Handbook’s publication. In a limited number of instances, existing material was clarified or supplemented through more extended quotation of GA resolutions or inclusion of additional UN sources. Where this has happened, it is indicated in the provenance information box and in the accompanying footnotes.