UN/UNITAR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

 

AWARDS 17 FELLOWSHIPS FOR 2005 PROGRAMME

 

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 11 April (UN Information Service) -- The Selection Committee of the UN/UNITAR Fellowship Programme in International Law has awarded 17 fellowships (seven male, 10 female) for its 2005 Programme to candidates from Cape Verde, Colombia, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Georgia, Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mali, Mauritius, Mongolia, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Togo and Viet Nam.

The Selection Committee met in New York on Friday, 1 April 2005, under the chairmanship of Nicolas Michel, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel of the United Nations.

The UN/UNITAR Fellowship Programme in International Law was launched in 1965 under the United Nations Programme of Assistance for the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law.  The United Nations Office of Legal Affairs and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) jointly organize the Programme on an annual basis.

The aim of the Fellowship Programme is to enable qualified professionals from developing countries and countries in socio-economic transition, in particular mid-level government officials and university professors of international law, to acquire additional knowledge about international law and the legal work of the United Nations and its associated bodies.

To qualify for the fellowships, candidates should normally be law graduates with practical experience in the field of international law, acquired by working for a public or private organization or a university.  Eligible participants should be between 24 and 40 years of age.

Two hundred and ninety-one persons from 56 countries presented their applications for the 2005 Programme.  Nominations were received from 218 male candidates and 73 female candidates.  Applications were submitted from the following regions:  245 from Africa, 13 from Asia and the Pacific, 18 from Central and Eastern Europe, 10 from Latin America and the Caribbean, four from the Middle East, and one from Western Europe.

Self-funded observers are also being granted access to the Programme.  To qualify for participation, they must have the same qualifications as the other participants.  This year, self-funded places have been offered to the following countries:  Bulgaria, Lebanon, Mauritius, Romania and Turkey.

The Fellowship Programme will take place in The Hague/Netherlands, from 4 July to 12 August 2005.  The working language of the 2005 Programme is French.  The 2006 Programme will be conducted in English.

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