Funded by United Arab Emirates, Department of Public Information Publishes Arabic

Edition of ‘Basic Facts About United Nations’ for First Time in 35 Years

 

The flagship United Nations publication Basic Facts about the United Nations has been published in Arabic for the first time in nearly 35 years.  With this new edition, the United Nations Department of Public Information seeks to provide hundreds of millions of Arabic speakers around the world with the opportunity to learn more about the Organization and its global activities.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan, this evening marked the launch of the new Arabic language edition of Basic Facts about the United Nations, 2014 during a reception honouring Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the occasion of the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly.  The reception, held at the Morgan Library in New York City, was hosted by the Government of the United Arab Emirates, which also funded the new Arabic edition.

The project to produce Basic Facts in Arabic, undertaken at the initiative of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, was managed by the United Nations Department of Public Information, working in collaboration with the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management and the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations.  It was made possible by a generous financial contribution from the United Arab Emirates.

Maher Nasser, Acting Head of the Department of Public Information, welcomed the new publication.  “The value of having this key information resource in Arabic cannot be overstated,” Mr. Nasser said.  “The better that people understand the UN system and its work, the more engaged they are in its efforts.  That engagement strengthens the Organization and leads to better results for the peoples it serves.”

Mr. Nasser added:  “By bringing Basic Facts about the United Nations to a new generation in the Arabic-speaking world, we are inviting that community to participate in our work, so that the UN can better address their most important needs.”

Mr. Nasser thanked the United Arab Emirates for making the new edition possible.  “I would like to express the UN’s sincere gratitude to the Government of the United Arab Emirates, whose generous contribution has allowed us to greatly expand our global audience for this essential UN publication.”

The main print run of the Arabic edition of Basic Facts about the United Nations, 2014 will be completed next month.  Some 2,000 copies of the handbook will be distributed to United Nations Information Centres and other outlets throughout the world, including schools.  An electronic version will also be published online, with the aim of reaching a much bigger audience.

Published in English since 1947, Basic Facts about the United Nations serves as a guide to the Organization, including its system of related agencies.  It presents a comprehensive overview of the United Nations’ work in support of international peace and security, economic and social development, human rights, humanitarian action and international law.  Basic Facts also provides information on UN membership and structure, as well as current peacekeeping operations.  Basic Facts last appeared in Arabic in 1980.

For more information, please contact John Sebesta, United Nations Department of Public Information, at tel:  +1 212 963 0405.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record