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To mark this unprecedented initiative for UN, an official launching ceremony was organized with the participation of the outgoing President (Trinidad and Tobago) and the President-elect (Cameroon) of the General Assembly, in addition to a representative of the UN Secretary-General and several delegations from member States. 

This handbook refers, in several sections, to the important role played by the General Assembly in advancing the decolonization process of Western Sahara, and devoted several parts to it dealing with various aspects relating to this question, including a section dedicated to the "advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice" requested by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1974,  and the latter's request in 1966 "to organize a referendum on the self-determination of Western Sahara".

Also, this handbook, which will serve as a reference not only for Member States but also for academics, researchers and specialists in law and international relations, is an illustration of the entrenchment of the UN doctrine of decolonization. 

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