In General Resolution A/42/37C (1987), the UN General Assembly established the UN Secretary General’s Mechanism (UNSGM) to carry out investigations in response to allegations of possible chemical, biological and toxin weapons that may constitute a violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol or other international law. That resolution also requested the UN Secretary General appoint a group of qualified experts to assist in the development of technical guidelines and procedures for the management of biological weapons.

The group of experts was assembled and met at Geneva during August 1988. In this document, the experts establish guidelines for sampling, interviewing witnesses, conducting laboratory analyses of evidence, and drafting the resulting investigation report. The appendices of the document cover: the type of information to be provided by a Member State in the reporting of a possible chemical, biological, or toxin (CBT) weapon attack to UN Secretary General; the type of information to be provided when the Member States propose experts to assist the UN Secretary General; a list of areas of expertise; a list of equipment and supplies needed for an investigation; and the type of information that Member States need to provide when proposing laboratories that may analyze samples. Like many UN documents, this document is available in English, Arabic, French, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish. Although as of October 2021, the Chinese file link is broken.