Verbatim Reporting Service at the United Nations  

Verbatim or “word for word” transcripts are official records of the proceedings of the Security Council, the Military Staff Committee (English only), plenary meetings of the General Assembly, and of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security Committee), the Disarmament Commission, and certain meetings of a small number of other bodies.

Records are issued simultaneously in the six United Nations official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

Verbatim reporters translate and edit the speeches delivered by delegates, using the written and recorded statements for reference. Combining the skills of transcription, translation and editing, verbatim reporters ensure the substantive accuracy of all statements, while maintaining a uniformly high standard of style.

Normally verbatim reporters are present in the rooms during meetings, occupying a table of a prominent location near the podium or in the centre of the room. This allows the reporters to get a feel of the internal logic of the discussion, the nuances of which sometimes may be understood better when one can observe the body language of the participants. Being within the centre of world events in the making is an additional reason why this job is so exciting.

Records of Security Council meetings are issued overnight and records of meetings of other bodies within a few days.

To view verbatim reports please click here.

To view verbatim reports in any other UN official language use the Official Document System (ODS).