Abbreviations

Editorial Manual

General guidelines
Exceptions
Short titles
Dates, time, academic degrees, titles, etc.
Weights and measures
Parts of a book or document
Principal officially recognized abbreviations

General guidelines

Abbreviations, including acronyms (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 should always be explained. The name or title should be written out in full the first time it occurs in the main body of a document, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter, the abbreviation may be used in footnotes, figures, tables and boxes. If an abbreviation first appears in a footnote, figure, table or box, it should be written out in full again the first time it is used in the main body of the document.

Alternatively, if a document contains numerous abbreviations, a list may be included after the table of contents or at the end of the document if there is no table of contents. A list of abbreviations applies to the main document and to any annexes or attachments to it.

In United Nations publications, a list of abbreviations, if required, is normally included in the explanatory notes.

Abbreviations 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 (e.g. Habitat III, UN-Habitat and UN-Women), 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 cm², kg and km, need not be written out.

Abbreviations 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 are written without full stops: UNDP, not U.N.D.P.

Abbreviations must not be used with the definite article: the members of UNESCO, the programmes of WHO, except when they are used adjectivally: the IMF report, the NGO coalition.

Abbreviations should not be used in the possessive form: the Commander of UNMIL or the UNMIL Commander, not UNMIL's Commander.

Forms of address such as “H.E.” or “His Excellency” and “H.R.H” or “Her Royal Highness” should not be used in United Nations documents. The title “Dr.” may be used for doctors of medicine acting in a medical capacity.


	Abbreviations should not be used for the following (although short titles may be used where appropriate):

	Principal organs and major offices of the United Nations: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council United Nations Office at Geneva/Vienna/Nairobi
	Titles of senior officials: Secretary-General, Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative of the Secretary-General
	Offices, 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 African Union, the European Union
	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.

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) KC (King'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)

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 kg oz lb cwt	milligram gram kilogram ounce pound hundredweight

Capacity		Electricity
ml cl pt qt gal bbl bpd	millilitre centilitre pint quart gallon barrels barrels per day	A kA V kV kVA MVA W kW MW GW Hz kHz MHz	ampere kiloampere volt kilovolt kilovolt-ampere megavolt-ampere watt kilowatt megawatt gigawatt hertz kilohertz megahertz

Energy		Velocity
Btu kWh MWh GWh TWh hp cal kcal J MJ EJ K N	British thermal unit kilowatt-hour megawatt-hour gigawatt-hour terawatt-hour horsepower calorie kilocalorie joule megajoules exajoules Kelvin Newton	mph m/s rpm	miles per hour metres per second revolutions per minute

Data
B KB MB GB TB PB	byte kilobyte megabyte gigabyte terabyte petabyte
	Note: an upper-case B stands for byte, while a lower-case b stands for bit (1/8 of a byte).

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

ADB	Asian Development Bank
AfDB	African Development Bank
AFISMA	African-led International Support Mission in Mali [replaced by MINUSMA]
a.i.	ad interim; not usually written out
AIDS	acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; not usually written out
AMIB	African Mission in Burundi
AMIS	African Union Mission in the Sudan
AMISOM	African Union Mission in Somalia [replaced by ATMIS]
APEC	Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
ASEAN	Association of Southeast Asian Nations
ATMIS	African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [replaced by AUSSOM]
AUSSOM	African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia

BCG	bacillus Calmette-Guérin [tuberculosis vaccine]; never written out
BINUB	United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi [replaced by BNUB]
BINUCA	United Nations Integrated 国产AVbuilding Office in the Central African Republic
BINUH	United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti
BNUB	United Nations Office in Burundi
BONUCA	United Nations 国产AVbuilding Support Office in the Central African Republic [replaced by BINUCA]

CARICOM	Caribbean Community
CCISUA	Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions and Associations of the United Nations System
CEB	United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination
CELAC	Community of Latin American and Caribbean States
CELADE	Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre [Centro Latinoamericano y Caribe?o de Demografía]
CEMAC	Central African Economic and Monetary Community [Communauté économique et monétaire de l’Afrique centrale]
CEN-SAD	Community of Sahelo-Saharan States
CEPGL	Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries [Communauté économique des pays des Grands Lacs]
CFA	Communauté financière africaine; not usually written out: CFA franc (CFAF)
CFC(s)	chlorofluorocarbon(s)
CILSS	Permanent Inter-State Committee on Drought Control in the Sahel [Comité permanent inter-?tats de lutte contre la sécheresse dans le Sahel]
CIS	Commonwealth of Independent States
CNDD-FDD	Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie [Burundi]
COMESA	Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
COVID-19	coronavirus disease
CPI	consumer price index
CSTO	Collective Security Treaty Organization

DDT	dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane; never written out
DNA	deoxyribonucleic acid; never written out

EBRD	European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ECA	Economic Commission for Africa
ECCAS	Economic Community of Central African States
ECE	Economic Commission for Europe
ECLAC	Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
ECOMOG	Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group
ECOWAS	Economic Community of West African States
EEZ	exclusive economic zone
EFTA	European Free Trade Association
ESCAP	Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
ESCWA	Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
EUFOR	European Union military mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Europol	European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation
Eurostat	European Union statistical office; never written out

FANCI	Forces armées nationales de C?te d'Ivoire
FAO	Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FDI	foreign direct investment
FICSA	Federation of International Civil Servants’ Associations
FNL	Forces nationales de libération [Burundi]
Frente POLISARIO	Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y de Río de Oro [Western Sahara]
ftp	file transfer protocol; not usually written out

GDP	gross domestic product
GEF	Global Environment Facility
GIF	graphic interchange format, not usually written out
GIS	geographic information system
GNP	gross national product
GNSS	global navigation satellite system
GSP	Generalized System of Preferences

JEM	Justice and Equality Movement [Sudan]
JIU	Joint Inspection Unit
JVA	Juba Valley Alliance [Somalia]

LAS	League of Arab States
LRA	Lord’s Resistance Army [Uganda]
LURD	Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy

NATO	North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NEPAD	New Partnership for Africa's Development
NGO	non-governmental organization

OAS	Organization of American States
OAU	Organization of African Unity [now African Union]
ODA	official development assistance
ODS	Official Document System
OECD	Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OECS	Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
OHCHR	Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
OIC	Organization of Islamic Cooperation [formerly Organization of the Islamic Conference]
OIF	International Organization of la Francophonie
OIOS	Office of Internal Oversight Services
ONUB	United Nations Operation in Burundi
OPCW	Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
OPEC	Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
OSCE	Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Habitat I and Habitat II	United Nations Conference on Human Settlements
Habitat III	United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development
HCFC(s)	hydrochlorofluorocarbon(s)
HIV	human immunodeficiency virus; not usually written out
http	hypertext transfer protocol; not usually written out

IAEA	International Atomic Energy Agency
IBRD	International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ICAO	International Civil Aviation Organization
ICFTU	International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
ICRC	International Committee of the Red Cross
ICSC	International Civil Service Commission
ICSU	International Council for Science [formerly International Council of Scientific Unions]
ICT	information and communications technology
IDA	International Development Association
IDB	Inter-American Development Bank
IsDB	Islamic Development Bank
IFAD	International Fund for Agricultural Development
IFC	International Finance Corporation
IGAD	Intergovernmental Authority on Development
ILO	International Labour Organization
IMF	International Monetary Fund
IMIS	Integrated Management Information System
IMO	International Maritime Organization
Infoterra	Global Environmental Information Exchange Network [UNEP]; not usually written out
INSTRAW	International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women [transferred to UN-Women]
INTERPOL	International Criminal Police Organization
IOM	International Organization for Migration
IP	Internet Protocol; not usually written out
IPSAS	International Public Sector Accounting Standards
IPU	Inter-Parliamentary Union
IRMCT	International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals
ISAF	International Security Assistance Force [Afghanistan]
ITC	International Trade Centre
ITU	International Telecommunication Union

MENUB	United Nations Electoral Observer Mission in Burundi
MERCOSUR	Southern Common Market [Mercado Común del Sur]
MINUJUSTH	United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti [replaced by BINUH]
MINURCAT	United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad
MINURSO	United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara
MINUSCA	United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic
MINUSMA	United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali
MINUSTAH	United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti [replaced by MINUJUSTH]
MISAB	Inter-African Mission to Monitor the Implementation of the Bangui Agreements [Central African Republic]
MODEL	Movement for Democracy in Liberia
MONUC	United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [replaced by MONUSCO]
MONUSCO	United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

PAHO	Pan American Health Organization
Palipehutu	Parti pour la libération du peuple hutu [Burundi]
PDF	portable document format
PKK	Kurdistan Workers' Party [always include the abbreviation]
PLO	Palestine Liberation Organization
Polisario	see Frente POLISARIO
ppp	purchasing power parity

RNA	ribonucleic acid; never written out
RRA	Rahanwein Resistance Army [Somalia]
RUF	Revolutionary United Front [Sierra Leone]
RUFP	Revolutionary United Front Party [Sierra Leone]

SAARC	South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
SADC	Southern African Development Community
SAR	Special Administrative Region of China (Hong Kong SAR; Macao SAR)
SARS	severe acute respiratory syndrome
SDR(s)	special drawing right(s) [IMF]; SDR 12 million
SELA	Latin American and Caribbean Economic System [Sistema Económico Latinoamericano y del Caribe]
SFOR	Stabilization Force [Bosnia and Herzegovina]; replaced by EUFOR from December 2004
SIM	subscriber identity module; not usually written out: SIM card
SLM/A	Sudan Liberation Movement/Army [Darfur]
SPLM/A	Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army

TNT	trinitrotoluene; not usually written out
TRIPS	trade-related intellectual property rights

UHF	ultra-high frequency; not usually written out
UNAIDS	Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
UNAMA	United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
UNAMI	United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq
UNAMID	African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur
UNCITRAL	United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
UNCTAD	United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNDOF	United Nations Disengagement Observer Force [Golan]
UNDP	United Nations Development Programme
UNEP	United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO	United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNFICYP	United Nations 国产AVkeeping Force in Cyprus
UNFIP	United Nations Fund for International Partnerships
UNFPA	United Nations Population Fund
UN-Habitat	United Nations Human Settlements Programme
UNHCR	Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF	United Nations Children’s Fund
UNICRI	United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute
UNIDIR	United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
UNIDO	United Nations Industrial Development Organization
UNIFEM	United Nations Development Fund for Women [transferred to UN-Women]
UNIFIL	United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
UNIKOM	United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission
UNIOGBIS	United Nations Integrated 国产AVbuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau
UNIPSIL	United Nations Integrated 国产AVbuilding Office in Sierra Leone
UNISFA	United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei
UNITA	Uni?o Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola
UNITAD	United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da‘esh/Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
UNITAMS	United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan
UNITAR	United Nations Institute for Training and Research
UNMEE	United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
UNMEER	United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response
UNMHA	United Nations Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement
UNMIBH	United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina
UNMIK	United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
UNMIL	United Nations Mission in Liberia
UNMIN	United Nations Mission in Nepal
UNMIS	United Nations Mission in the Sudan
UNMISS	United Nations Mission in South Sudan
UNMIT	United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste
UNMOGIP	United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan
UNMOVIC	United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission [Iraq]
UNOCA	United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa
UNOCI	United Nations Operation in C?te d'Ivoire
UNODC	United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
UNOGBIS	United Nations 国产AVbuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau [replaced by UNIOGBIS]
UNOL	United Nations 国产AVbuilding Support Office in Liberia
UNOMIG	United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia
UNOPS	United Nations Office for Project Services
UNOWA	United Nations Office for West Africa [replaced by UNOWAS]
UNOWAS	United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel
UNPOS	United Nations Political Office for Somalia [replaced by UNSOM]
UNRISD	United Nations Research Institute for Social Development
UNRWA	United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
UNSMIL	United Nations Support Mission in Libya
UNSMIS	United Nations Supervision Mission in the Syrian Arab Republic
UNSOA	United Nations Support Office for the African Union Mission in Somalia [replaced by UNSOS]
UNSOM	United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia
UNSOS	United Nations Support Office in Somalia
UNTMIS	United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia
UNTOP	United Nations Tajikistan Office of 国产AVbuilding
UNTSO	United Nations Truce Supervision Organization [Middle East]
UN Tourism	World Tourism Organization
UNU	United Nations University
UNU-WIDER	World Institute for Development Economics Research
UNV	United Nations Volunteers programme
UN-Women	United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
UPU	Universal Postal Union
UT, UTC	Universal Time, Universal Time Coordinated; not usually written out

VAT	value added tax
VHF	very high frequency; not usually written out

WAEMU	West African Economic and Monetary Union
WCO	World Customs Organization
WFP	World Food Programme
WHO	World Health Organization
WIPO	World Intellectual Property Organization
WMO	World Meteorological Organization
WTO	World Trade Organization

国产AV

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Editorial Manual

Abbreviations

General guidelines

Exceptions

Short titles

Dates, time, academic degrees, titles, etc.

Weights and measures

Parts of a book or document

Principal officially recognized abbreviations