The Oxford Handbook, edited by David Malone, Simon Chesterman and Santiago Villalpando, will present a comprehensive analysis of the work of the United Nations in multilateral treaty making. It will include a historic and systemic overview of how the activity of the United Nations has evolved in the area of treaty-making, thematic studies of the various treaty regimes established under the auspices of the United Nations, and cross-cutting analysis of the technical developments in treaty-making promoted in the framework of the United Nations. The Meeting was a preparatory workshop for contributors to the volume, which include Judges of the International Court of Justice, Members of the International Law Commission, practitioners from various fields of international law and professors from universities across the world. The meeting was jointly organized by the United Nations University and the University of Singapore.

In his keynote, the Legal Counsel emphasized the relevance of the Handbook, recalling the lines of the preamble of the Charter which affirm the determination of the Peoples of the United Nations to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained. He noted that the establishment of a solid multilateral treaty framework, and the respect for the obligations that derive from it, were cornerstones of the edifice built at the San Francisco Conference and remained of crucial importance for the Organization throughout its history. The Legal Counsel noted that every single unit of the Office of Legal Affairs was involved, in one way or another in treaty matters, either by promoting a better knowledge of treaties, providing advice and assistance in treaty law, ensuring greater access of Member States to the multilateral treaty framework or supporting treaty negotiating processes. The Legal Counsel also saluted the United Nations University's work, under Rector David Malone, which intensified its contribution to the United Nations system as a whole. He wished success to the co-editors and the authors of the Handbook in their endeavour."