In the UN Digital Library you will find speeches made by representatives of UN Member States and UN officials in meetings of the General Assembly, Security Council and Economic and Social Council.
Speeches are not available as separate documents but are included in a type of document known as a meeting record.
Overview using a Simple Search:
Detailed Explanation using the Advanced Search of the Speeches collection:
To locate specific speeches, we recommend:
- Use the Advanced Search of speeches in the Digital Library.
- Search by Speaker or Country/Organization.
- In the All fields search option, enter a keyword in English. If results are not satisfactory, try alternative keywords. For instance, for speeches on smuggling, use traffic* to find related terms like illicit trafficking or trafficking in persons.
If you want to find statements from Mexico on the topic of women and woman, you would set up your search like this:
Once you see the results:
- Click on the name of the speaker
- Click on Meeting Record to view the full meeting record that will include the speech. See screenshot below
Please note that during a meeting, multiple representatives of UN Member States and/or UN officials typically speak. The meeting record includes the full text of all these statements. You will need to search for the specific statement from the speaker you're interested in.
Coverage includes the Security Council starting in 1964, the General Assembly starting in 1983, the Economic and Social Council starting in 1946, and the Trusteeship Council starting in 1982. All the speeches delivered at the General Debate are included. For older statements, use the Index to Proceedings.
Links & Files
- Diplomatic Pulse : press releases from UN Member States Opens in new window
- Transcripts of UN webcast events Opens in new window
- Index to Proceedings: annual/sessional bibliographic guide to the proceedings and documentation of the major organs of the UN Opens in new window
- Research Guide : How to Find UN Documents : Meeting Records & Speeches Opens in new window
- YouTube: How to find Speeches in the UN Digital Library Opens in new window
- Ask DAG (Spanish): ¿Dónde puedo localizar discursos pronunciados durante las reuniones de la Asamblea General, el Consejo de Seguridad y el Consejo Económico y Social? Opens in new window
