EIGHTEEN FELLOWSHIPS AWARDED FOR 2008 UNITED NATIONS

 

INTERNATIONAL LAW FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME

 

The selection for the United Nations International Law Fellowship Programme took place in New York on Wednesday, 18 March, under the chairmanship of Nicolas Michel, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel of the United Nations.  Eighteen fellowships (10 males, 8 females) have been awarded to candidates from the following countries:   Botswana, Brazil, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Gambia, Ghana, Iran, Malawi, Montenegro, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Saint Lucia, Samoa, South Africa, Suriname and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Self-funded participants are usually also granted access to the Programme.  This year, self-funded places have been offered to candidates from Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Palau, Sri Lanka and Turkey as well as from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations Development Programme.

The United Nations International Law Fellowship Programme 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) organizes the Programme on an annual basis in The Hague ( Netherlands), in cooperation with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).  This year, the United Nations International Law Fellowship Programme will take place from 7 July to 15 August.

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 as well as young professors and lecturers 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.  In order to be eligible, candidates must be between 24 and 40 years of age.

Four hundred and eighteen persons from 109 countries submitted their applications for the 2008 Programme.  Nominations were received from 235 male and 183 female candidates from the following regions:  148 from Africa, 85 from Asia and the Pacific, 69 from Central Asia and Eastern Europe, 47 from Latin America and the Caribbean and 36 from the Middle East.  Thirty-three candidatures were received for participation on a self-funded basis.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record