United Nations Editorial Manual Online

Abbreviations and acronyms

General guidelines Exceptions Short titles Dates, time, academic degrees, titles etc. Weights and measures Parts of a book or document Principal offcially recognized abbreviations and acronyms General guidelines Abbreviations and acronyms (words formed from the initial letters of other words, e.g. UNESCO) should be used sparingly. In certain formal contexts, such as General Assembly resolutions, they should not be used at all. When they are used, abbreviations and acronyms should always be explained. The name or title should be written out in full the frst time it occurs in a document, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Alternatively, if a document contains numerous abbreviations and acronyms, a list may be included after the table of contents or at the end of the document if there is no table of contents. In United Nations publications, a list of abbreviations and acronyms, if required, is normally included in the explanatory notes. Abbreviations and acronyms are not used for names or titles that occur only once or twice in a text. When the entity referred to is better known by the abbreviation or acronym, it may however be preferable to include the abbreviation even if the name occurs only once. The most common units of weight and measure, such as cm 2, kg and km, need not be written out. Abbreviations and acronyms are not used in document titles or headings. United Nations should not be abbreviated in English. The form ONU is acceptable in French. In United Nations style, abbreviations and acronyms are written without full stops: UNDP, not U.N.D.P. Abbreviations and acronyms are normally used without the defnite article: the members of UNESCO, the programmes of WHO. Abbreviations and acronyms should not be used in the possessive form: the Commander of UNMIL or the UNMIL Commander, not UNMILs Commander .

Acronyms or abbreviated forms should not be used for the following (although short titles may be used where appropriate):

Principal organs and major offces of the United Nations: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council

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United Nations Offce at Geneva/Vienna/Nairobi

Titles of senior offcials: Secretary-General, Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative of the Secretary-General

Offces, departments, divisions, sections etc. of the Secretariat (the abbreviations listed in the telephone directory are not used in formal documents, but they may be used where space is limited, e.g. in tables)

Most commissions and committees, boards, panels and the like

Conventions, treaties, plans/programmes of action

Non-technical terms and concepts in widespread use, such as "the rule of law", "human rights", "human resources" and "sustainable development"

Funds, programmes and the like that are not established as organizations

Names of Member States

General Service (Principal level, Other level, Local level)

The International Criminal Court (to avoid confusion with organizations such as the International Chamber of Commerce)

The International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and other courts and tribunals

Military or police forces

Military terms, such as: ASZ (air safety zone), GSZ (ground safety zone) EAF (Entity Armed Forces), JSF (Joint Security Forces) COMKFOR (Commander of KFOR or KFOR Commander) DDR (disarmament, demobilization and reintegration) and variations thereon

Obscure titles or names mentioned only once or twice in a document.

Exceptions

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Exceptions to the general rules set out above include the following: Offce of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Offce of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (both to be used in reference to the Offce only, not the High Commissioner) United Nations Offce for Project Services (UNOPS) Offce of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) Short titles A short title may be used to replace a name or title that occurs many times in a document, provided that the full name is used the frst time it occurs and that there is no risk of ambiguity: the Assembly, the Council, the Committee, the United Kingdom, the United States. The names of some Member States may also be shortened in tables (for additional information see Format/Tables). Dates, time, academic degrees, titles etc.

Dates

B.C. (before Christ) B.C.E. (before the Common Era) A.D. (anno Domini) A.H. (anno Hegirae)
Note: A.D. and A.H. precede the year.

Time

a.m. (ante meridiem) p.m. (post meridiem)

Titles

KG (Knight of the Order of the Garter) QC (Queen's Counsel)

Degrees

BA (Bachelor of Arts) BS, BSc (Bachelor of Science) PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) LLD (Doctor of Laws)

Other

c.i.f. (cost, insurance, freight) f.o.b. (free on board)

Weights and measures

Length

Area

mm cm m km

millimetre centimetre metre kilometre

cm m km ha

square centimetre square metre square kilometre hectare

Volume

Weight

cm m

cubic centimetre cubic metre

mg g

milligram gram

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kg oz lb cwt

kilogram ounce pound hundredweight

Capacity

Electricity

ml cl l pt qt gal bbl bpd

millilitre centilitre litre pint quart gallon barrels barrels per day

A kA V kV kVA MVA W kW MW Hz kHz MHz

ampere kiloampere volt kilovolt kilovolt-ampere megavolt-ampere watt kilowatt megawatt hertz kilohertz megahertz

Energy

Velocity

Btu kWh MWh GWh hp cal kcal J K N

British thermal unit kilowatt-hour megawatt-hour gigawatt-hour horsepower calorie kilocalorie joule Kelvin Newton

mph m/s rpm

miles per hour metres per second revolutions per minute

Parts of a book or document The following abbreviations may be used in footnotes and other references (see also Footnotes and other references, chap. I article, articles art., arts.

but Article of the Charter of the United Nations (never abbreviated)

chapter, chapters

chap., chaps.

number, numbers

No., Nos.

page, pages

p., pp. para., paras.

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paragraph, paragraphs sect., sects. section, sections vol., vols. volume, volumes

Principal offcially recognized abbreviations and acronyms

The list that follows, which is not exhaustive, contains the principal offcially recognized abbreviations and acronyms used in United Nations documents in English, including the currently active or recently terminated peacekeeping missions. The abbreviations for other terminated missions may be found in UNTERM (Intranet or Internet). Caveat: UNTERM entries contain numerous abbreviations which are not used in formal documents. The fact that an abbreviation appears in UNTERM does not constitute offcial editorial sanction for its use. Note: It may sometimes be expedient to use abbreviations or acronyms not included in this list. Such abbreviations and acronyms should be used sparingly, however, and not for names or titles that occur infrequently in a text.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U-UNI UNM-UT V W X Y Z

ADB AfDB a.i. AIDS AMIB AMIS AMISOM APEC ASEAN

Asian Development Bank African Development Bank ad interim; not usually written out acquired immunodefciency syndrome; not usually written out African Mission in Burundi African Union Mission in the Sudan African Union Mission in Somalia Asia-Pacifc Economic Cooperation Association of Southeast Asian Nations

BCG BINUB BINUCA BNUB BONUCA

bacillus Calmette-Gurin (tuberculosis vaccine); never written out United Nations Integrated Offce in Burundi (replaced by BNUB) United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Offce in the Central African Republic United Nations Offce in Burundi United Nations Peacebuilding Support Offce in the Central African Republic (replaced by BINUCA)

CARICOM CCISUA CEB

Caribbean Community Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions and Associations of the United Nations System United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination

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CELADE

Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre [Centro Latinoamericano y Caribeo de Demografa] Central African Economic and Monetary Community [Communaut conomique et montaire de lAfrique centrale] Community of Sahelo-Saharan States Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries [Communaut conomique des pays des Grands Lacs] Communaut fnancire africaine; not usually written out: CFA franc (CFAF) chlorofuorocarbon(s) Permanent Inter-State Committee on Drought Control in the Sahel [Comit permanent inter-tats de lutte contre la scheresse dans le Sahel] Commonwealth of Independent States Conseil national pour la dfense de la dmocratie-Forces pour la dfense de la dmocratie [Burundi] Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa consumer price index deoxyribonucleic acid; never written out European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Economic Commission for Africa Economic Community of Central African States Economic Commission for Europe Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group Economic Community of West African States

CEMAC CEN-SAD CEPGL CFA CFC(s) CILSS

CIS CNDD-FDD COMESA CPI DNA EBRD ECA ECCAS ECE ECLAC ECOMOG ECOWAS

EEZ EFTA ESCAP ESCWA EUFOR Europol Eurostat FANCI FAO FDI FICSA FNL Frente Polisario

exclusive economic zone European Free Trade Association Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacifc Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia European Union military mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina European Police Offce European Union statistical offce; never written out Forces armes nationales de Cte d'Ivoire Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations foreign direct investment Federation of International Civil Servants Associations Forces nationales de libration [Burundi] Frente Popular para la Liberacin de Saguia el-Hamra y de Ro de Oro [Western Sahara] gross domestic product

GDP

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GEF GIS GNP GPS GSP HIPC

Global Environment Facility Geographic Information System gross national product Global Positioning System Generalized System of Preferences

heavily indebted poor countries HIV IADB Inter-American Development Bank IAEA IBRD ICAO ICFTU ICRC ICSC ICSU IDA IDB IFAD IFC IGAD ILO IMF IMIS IMO Infoterra Global Environmental Information Exchange Network [UNEP]; not usually written out INSTRAW INTERPOL IOM IP IPU ISAF International Security Assistance Force [Afghanistan] ITC ITU JEM Justice and Equality Movement [Sudan] International Trade Centre International Telecommunication Union International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women [transferred to UN-Women] International Criminal Police Organization International Organization for Migration Internet Protocol; not usually written out Inter-Parliamentary Union International Atomic Energy Agency International Bank for Reconstruction and Development International Civil Aviation Organization International Confederation of Free Trade Unions International Committee of the Red Cross International Civil Service Commission International Council for Science [formerly International Council of Scientifc Unions] International Development Association Islamic Development Bank International Fund for Agricultural Development International Finance Corporation Intergovernmental Authority on Development International Labour Organization International Monetary Fund Integrated Management Information System International Maritime Organization human immunodefciency virus; not usually written out

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JVA KFOR LAS

Juba Valley Alliance [Somalia] Kosovo Force

League of Arab States LRA LURD MERCOSUR Common Market of the South/Mercado Comn del Sur MINUCI MINURCAT MINURSO MINUSTAH MISAB Inter-African Mission to Monitor the Implementation of the Bangui Agreements [Central African Republic] MODEL MONUC MONUSCO MPLA NATO NEPAD NGO OAS Organization of American States OAU ODA ODS OECD OECS OHCHR OIC OIF International Organization of la Francophonie OIOS ONUB OPEC OSCE Offce of Internal Oversight Services United Nations Operation in Burundi Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Organization of African Unity (now African Union) offcial development assistance Offcial Document System Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Offce of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Organization of Islamic Cooperation (formerly Organization of the Islamic Conference) Movement for Democracy in Liberia United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Movimento Popular da Libertao de Angola North Atlantic Treaty Organization New Partnership for Africa's Development non-governmental organization United Nations Mission in Cte dIvoire United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti Lords Resistance Army [Uganda] Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy

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PAHO Palipehutu PLO Polisario ppp RNA RRA

Pan American Health Organization Parti pour la libration du peuple hutu [Burundi] Palestine Liberation Organization see Frente Polisario purchasing power parity ribonucleic acid; never written out Rahanwein Resistance Army [Somalia]

RUF RUFP SAARC

Revolutionary United Front [Sierra Leone] Revolutionary United Front Party [Sierra Leone]

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SADC SAR SARS SDR(s) SELA SFOR SLM/A SPLM/A TRIPS UEMOA West African Economic and Monetary Union [Union conomique et montaire ouestafricain] UHF UNAIDS UNAMA UNAMI UNAMID UNAMIS UNAMSIL UNCITRAL UNCTAD UNDOF UNDP UNEP UNESCO ultra-high frequency; not usually written out Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur United Nations Advance Mission in the Sudan United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone United Nations Commission on International Trade Law United Nations Conference on Trade and Development United Nations Disengagement Observer Force [Golan Heights] United Nations Development Programme United Nations Environment Programme United Nations Educational, Scientifc and Cultural Organization United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus Southern African Development Community Special Administrative Region of China (Hong Kong SAR; Macao SAR) severe acute respiratory syndrome special drawing right(s) [IMF]; SDR 12 million Latin American Economic System [Sistema Econmico Latinoamericano] Stabilization Force [Bosnia and Herzegovina]; replaced by EUFOR from December 2004 Sudan Liberation Movement/Army [Darfur] Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army trade-related intellectual property rights

UNFICYP

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UNFIP UNFPA UN-Habitat UNHCR

United Nations Fund for International Partnerships United Nations Population Fund United Nations Human Settlements Programme Offce of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees United Nations Childrens Fund United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research United Nations Industrial Development Organization United Nations Development Fund for Women [transferred to UN-Women] United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission

UNICEF UNIDIR UNIDO UNIFEM UNIFIL UNIKOM

UNIOGBIS UNIOSIL UNIPSIL UNISFA UNITA UNITAR UNMEE UNMET

United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Offce in Guinea-Bissau United Nations Integrated Offce in Sierra Leone United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Offce in Sierra Leone United Nations Interim Secuirty Force for Abyei Unio Nacional para a Independncia Total de Angola United Nations Institute for Training and Research United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea United Nations Mission in East Timor

UNMIBH UNMIK UNMIL UNMIN UNMIS UNMISET UNMISS UNMIT UNMOGIP

United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo United Nations Mission in Liberia United Nations Mission in Nepal United Nations Mission in the Sudan United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor United Nations Mission in South Sudan United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan

UNMOVIC UNOCI UNOGBIS UNOL UNOMIG UNOPS UNOTIL UNPOS

United Nations Monitoring, Verifcation and Inspection Commission [Iraq] United Nations Operation in Cte d'Ivoire United Nations Peacebuilding Support Offce in Guinea-Bissau (replaced by UNIOGBIS) United Nations Peacebuilding Support Offce in Liberia United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia United Nations Offce for Project Services United Nations Offce in Timor-Leste United Nations Political Offce for Somalia United Nations Research Institute for Social Development United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

UNRISD UNRWA

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UNSOA UNTAET UNTOP UNTSO

United Nations Support Offce for the African Union Mission in Somalia United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor United Nations Tajikistan Offce of Peacebuilding United Nations Truce Supervision Organization [Middle East]

UNU UNV UN-Women UNWTO UPU UT, UTC VAT VHF WAEMU

United Nations University United Nations Volunteers programme United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women World Tourism Organization Universal Postal Union Universal Time, Universal Time Coordinated; not usually written out value added tax very high frequency; not usually written out

see UEMOA WFP WHO WIDER WIPO WMO WTO World Food Programme World Health Organization World Institute for Development Economics Research World Intellectual Property Organization World Meteorological Organization World Trade Organization

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United Nations Editorial Manual 2004-2010 (New York). 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. Mention of the names of frms and commercial products does not imply the endorsement of the United Nations. For technical or editorial enquiries, please contact the Webmaster at gleason@un.org or call 212-963-0532.

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