United Nations Correspondence Manual - UNU

General
guidelines
8
(k) Enclosures and attachments
32. If there are enclosures with a letter or note verbale, or attachments to a memorandum,
indicate this by writing “Enclosure(s)” or “Attachment(s)” at the bottom of the
last page; write the number of enclosures or attachments, if there is more than one.
33. If the text of an enclosure does not originate within the Secretariat, it should
normally be prepared on plain heavy white paper and marked “Copy” in the upper
left-hand corner.
34. When appropriate, enclosures should be made available in the relevant working
languages. When an enclosure is a translation, the phrase “Translated from …”, with
the language of the original communication, should be typed in the upper left-hand corner.
35. When an enclosure is a questionnaire, memorandum or report, other than a
document, emanating from the United Nations, it should be prepared on a continuation
sheet with the United Nations letterhead.
(l) Personal and/or confidential correspondence
36. If a letter or memorandum is personal and/or confidential, the word “Personal”
or “Confidential” or the words “Personal and confidential” should appear below the
reference number.
4. Style
(a) Official and personal titles
37. Take great care in the use of official and personal titles in the address, salutation
and text of communications. Consult the Protocol and Liaison Service on questions
relating to heads of State or Government or foreign ministers; on other questions
concerning persons or officials in a particular country, consult the appropriate
permanent mission. The List of Staff of the United Nations Secretariat is a useful
source of information for internal correspondence. For senior officials in other organizations
of the United Nations system, consult the Directory of Senior Officials
prepared by the Office for Inter-Agency Affairs. In general, do not use personal titles
in the text of correspondence.
(b) Names of states
38. The authoritative spelling and order of listing of the names of all States Members
of the United Nations (as well as those of a number of non-member States and
areas) is given in the most recent issue of the terminology bulletin entitled Country
Names, issued under the document symbol ST/CS/SER.F/–. The current edition is
ST/CS/SER.F/347/Rev.1.
(c) Reference to previous communications
39. Where there has been previous correspondence on a subject, the text of a
communication should contain a precise reference to the last communication, with
the date, reference or file number, and a brief indication of its subject, if necessary.
Examples:
“ With reference to your letter of 5 April 1984 concerning …”
“ Further to my letter (Reference number) of (date) regarding …”