TWENTY-TWO FELLOWSHIPS AWARDED FOR 2007 UN FELLOWSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 19 March (UN Information Service) -- The Selection Committee of the United Nations Fellowship Programme in International Law has awarded 22 fellowships for its 2007 session which will take place in The Hague, the Netherlands, from 2 July to 10 August.

The Selection Committee met in New York on Thursday, 15 March, under the chairmanship of Nicolas Michel, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel of the United Nations, and awarded 22 fellowships (13 male, 9 female) to candidates from the following countries:  Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Guinea, Haiti, Jordan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mauritania, Rwanda, Senegal and Thailand.

Self-funded participants are usually also granted access to the Programme.  This year, a self-funded place has been offered to a staff member from the League of Arab States.

The United Nations 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 (OLA) 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 young 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 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 to 40 years of age.

Two hundred and eighty-three persons from 58 countries filed their applications for the 2007 Programme.  Nominations were received from 202 male and 81 female candidates.  Applications were submitted from the following regions:  215 from Africa, 9 from Asia and the Pacific, 12 from Central Asia and Eastern Europe, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 13 from the Middle East and 8 from other States and international organizations.

The working language of the 2007 Programme is French.  The 2008 Programme will be conducted in English.

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For information media • not an official record