The United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law was first proposed by the Codification Division of the Office of Legal Affairs and approved by the General Assembly as an activity under the Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law in 1997 (resolution 52/152).  The Audiovisual Library was initially created to serve as a lending library of audio and video cassette tapes for educational and government institutions in developing countries.  The Audiovisual Library, as originally conceived, encountered insurmountable practical difficulties. In response to the dramatic increase in requests for international law training beginning in the late twentieth century, the Codification Division proposed and the General Assembly approved the creation of a newly revitalized United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law via the Internet which avoids the practical difficulties of its predecessor and brings the resources of the library to individuals and institutions around the world (resolution 62/62).

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