The United Nations is accepting applications for the competitive examination for Arabic interpreters until 4 August 2024. The examination will be conducted online. It is open to qualified candidates with a perfect command of Arabic, which is normally expected to be their main language. Candidates must also be fluent in English or French as an active interpretation language. The eligibility criteria and the application process are detailed in the announcement, available in and .
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05/21/2024
The United Nations is accepting applications for the competitive examination for French translators, editors and verbatim reporters until 18 June 2024. The examination is open to qualified candidates with a perfect command of French, which should be their main language, as well as an excellent knowledge of English. Excellent knowledge of at least one other official language of the United Nations is preferred and will be an advantage. Applications from candidates with excellent knowledge of Arabic or Russian are strongly encouraged. Additional requirements are detailed on the UN Careers website ( and ). Applications must be submitted in French.
03/27/2024
We are pleased to announce the issuance of the United Nations Strategic Framework on Multilingualism, in implementation of General Assembly resolutions on multilingualism (most recently ) and a recommendation by the Joint Inspection Unit (). The first of its kind within the Secretariat and across the United Nations system, the Framework was developed under the direction of the Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, in his capacity as the United Nations Coordinator for Multilingualism. The Framework reaffirms the Organization’s commitment to multilingualism and presents the findings of a comprehensive review of multilingualism in the Secretariat. It outlines three broad goals as well as a series of recommended next steps. The Framework can be accessed in the six official languages of the Organization: Arabic | Chinese | English | French | Russian | Spanish.
02/23/2024
We are pleased to announce the limited launch* of iGov (), the new portal to the work of intergovernmental bodies.
As part of the Secretariat’s response to the mandates contained in General Assembly resolution , iGov will serve as the public face of e-deleGATE. The initiative aims to enhance the quality and availability of information on intergovernmental bodies for Member States, Observers, UN entities, civil society and the public.
Mobile friendly and available in the six UN official languages, iGov allows users to search with different criteria to cross reference meetings, documents and agenda items of formal and informal meetings of UN intergovernmental bodies.
*The “limited” launch comprises the General Assembly’s Plenary and Third Committee. The remaining Main Committees of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council will be onboarded to iGov during 2024.
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01/15/2024
The United Nations is accepting applications until 9 February 2024 for the Global Language Register examination for English Interpreters. Successful applicants will be placed on the DGACM Global Language Register and may be offered temporary appointments under the “When Actually Employed” (WAE) modality. The examination is open to qualified candidates with English as their main language and an excellent knowledge of French and Russian. Additional requirements including educational background are detailed on the UN Careers website (available in and ).
01/03/2024
The United Nations is accepting applications until 30 January 2024 for the United Nations competitive examination for Chinese Translators, Editors and Verbatim Reporters. The examination is open to qualified candidates with a perfect command of Chinese, which should their main language, as well as an excellent knowledge of English.
11/24/2023
The UN is accepting applications, until 15 December 2023, for the Global Language Register examination for Spanish Interpreters. Successful applicants will be placed on the DGACM Global Language Register and may be offered temporary appointments under the “When Actually Employed” (WAE) modality.
09/29/2023
The judges of the Sixteenth St. Jerome Translation Contest have now completed their assessment of the entries received. The results will be announced at an awards ceremony to be held on 4 October 2023, at 3 p.m. (CET), at the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV).
07/31/2023
The United Nations is accepting applications until 16 August 2023 for the United Nations competitive examination for Russian Translators and Verbatim Reporters. The exam is open to qualified candidates with a perfect command of Russian, which should be the applicant’s main language, as well as an excellent knowledge of English and at least one of the other official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, French or Spanish). Applications from candidates with excellent knowledge of Arabic or Chinese are strongly encouraged.
03/31/2023
The United Nations is accepting applications until?26 April 2023 for the United Nations Global Language Roster for temporary/contractual French Translators and French Verbatim Reporters. This exam caters to qualified candidates with a perfect command of French, which must be their main language (the language into which they are best able to translate, usually the mother tongue or main language of education), and an excellent knowledge of either Arabic, English, Russian or Spanish.
03/27/2023
The UN is accepting applications until?26 April 2023?for the United Nations competitive examination for Russian Interpreters. The exam is open to qualified candidates with a perfect command of Russian, normally expected to be the applicant’s main language, and an excellent knowledge of English, as well as French or Spanish.
02/21/2023
On the 2023 observance of International Mother Language Day on 21 February, the Dag Hammarskj?ld Library of the United Nations Department of Global Communications released its publication titled “Multilingualism at the United Nations”. This publication provides historical insights into the language arrangements of the United Nations and explores how multilingualism has evolved from a founding principle to a core value of the Organization. This comprehensive publication, which is part of the UN Library Series “Why It Matters” also received the support of the United Nations Coordinator for Multilingualism. “Multilingualism at the United Nations” is available in the six official languages of the United Nations on the Library website: /en/library/whyitmatters.
02/06/2023
The UN is accepting applications until 8 March 2023 for the United Nations competitive examination for Spanish Interpreters. The exam is open to qualified candidates with a perfect command of Spanish, normally expected to be the applicant’s main language, and an excellent knowledge of both English and French. Additional requirements are detailed on the UN Careers website (available in or ).
01/17/2023
The UN is accepting applications until 14 February 2023 for the United Nations competitive examination for English Interpreters. The exam is open to qualified candidates with a perfect command of English, which should be their main language, and an excellent knowledge of French, as well as Russian or Spanish. Additional requirements are detailed on the (available in or ).
11/17/2022
The UN is accepting applications until Sunday, 11 December 2022, for the United Nations competitive examination for French Interpreters.
The exam is open to qualified candidates with a perfect command of French, which is normally expected to be their main language, and an excellent knowledge of English, as well as Russian or Spanish.?
09/14/2022
The UN is accepting applications until?Sunday, 30 October 2022, for the United Nations competitive examination for English Translator/Précis-writers, Editors, Verbatim Reporters and English Linguists. The exam is open to qualified candidates with a perfect command of English, which should be their main language, and an excellent knowledge of two other official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish). Applications from candidates with excellent knowledge of Arabic or Russian are strongly encouraged.
06/30/2022
The UN is accepting applications until Friday, 29 July 2022 for the United Nations competitive examination for Arabic Translators, Editors and Verbatim Reporters. The exam is open to qualified candidates with a perfect command of Arabic, which should be their main language, and an excellent knowledge of English, and of at least one of the other official languages of the United Nations (Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish). Applications from candidates with excellent knowledge of Spanish are strongly encouraged.
02/28/2022
The United Nations is accepting applications until Monday, 14 March 2022 for the United Nations Global Language Roster for Russian Interpreters. This exam caters to qualified candidates with a perfect command of Russian, which should be their main language, and an excellent knowledge of English as well as either French or Spanish. Requirements are detailed on the UN Careers website (available in or ).
02/25/2022
The United Nations is accepting applications until Friday, 18 March 2022 for the United Nations Global Language Roster for English Précis-Writers/Translators. This exam caters to qualified candidates with a perfect command of English, which should be their main language, and an excellent knowledge of two other official languages of the United Nations. Requirements are detailed on the UN Careers website (available in or ).
02/10/2022
The United Nations is accepting applications until Saturday, 19 March 2022 for the United Nations competitive examination for Arabic Interpreters. This exam caters to qualified candidates with a perfect command of Arabic, which should be their main language, and an excellent knowledge of English or French. Requirements are detailed on the UN Careers website (available in or ).
02/10/2022
The United Nations is accepting applications until Saturday, 19 March 2022 for the United Nations competitive examination for Chinese Interpreters. This exam caters to qualified candidates with a perfect command of Chinese, which should be their main language, and an excellent knowledge of English. Requirements are detailed on the UN Careers website (available in or ).
01/27/2022
The United Nations is accepting applications for the upcoming for temporary/contractual English editors. Applicants who succeed in the examination will join the Global Language Roster shared by language services at United Nations Headquarters in New York, the United Nations Offices at Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna, and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in Beirut for temporary work and contractual assignments.
12/22/2021
The UN is accepting applications until Friday, 14 January 2022 for the United Nations competitive examination for English Interpreters. The exam is open to qualified candidates with a perfect command of English, which should be their main language, and an excellent knowledge of French and Russian. Additional requirements are detailed on the UN Careers website (available in or ).
11/08/2021
We are currently receiving applications for the United Nations Global Language Roster examination for short-term English interpreters, until Wednesday, 10 November 2021. The exam is open to English interpreters with a perfect command of English, and an excellent command of French, as well as either Russian or Spanish. In the absence of a formal university qualification in conference interpretation, a minimum of 50 proven days of work in conference interpretation into English will also be required.
07/22/2021
The UN is accepting applications until Sunday, 15 August 2021 for the United Nations competitive examination for German Translators. The exam is open to qualified candidates with a perfect command of German, which should be their main language, and an excellent knowledge of English. They must also have an excellent knowledge of French or Spanish.
07/09/2021
The UN is accepting applications until?Saturday, 31 July 2021?for the United Nations competitive examination for French Translators, Editors and Verbatim Reporters. The exam is open to qualified candidates with a perfect command of French, which should be their main language, and an excellent knowledge of English.
03/23/2021
This year, due to a combination of factors, the United Nations will not be able to organize the Saint Jerome Translation Contest. Depending on the circumstances, including availability of capacity to host and manage the Contest and feedback from various constituencies, the resumption of the Contest will be considered in 2022.
03/16/2021
We are currently receiving applications for the United Nations freelance accreditation exam for French interpreters until Sunday, 21 March 2021. The exam is open to French interpreters with English/Spanish as passive languages.
Candidates are encouraged to consult the following eligibility criteria listed in?this??and to apply before the deadline.
08/20/2020
The first online freelance accreditation test for temporary English interpreters was held on 20 August 2020. Led by the United Nations Office at Geneva, freelance testing by the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management has now gone truly global, harnessing interpretation evaluation expertise from all four duty stations and enabling participation by applicants worldwide. Successful candidates will be placed on the reserve list of English interpreters for employment on temporary appointments with the United Nations.
03/20/2020
The 2020 was open for applications from 20 March to 18 April 2020.
02/20/2020
The 2020 was open for applications from 20 February to 25 March 2020.