SIXTEEN FELLOWSHIPS AWARDED FOR 2009 UNITED NATIONS

 

INTERNATIONAL LAW FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME

 

The selection for the United Nations International Law Fellowship Programme took place in New York on Monday, 6 April, under the chairmanship of Patricia O'Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel of the United Nations.  Sixteen fellowships (nine males, seven females) have been awarded to candidates from the following countries:   Bahamas, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Fiji, Jordan, Lesotho, Liberia, Samoa, Suriname, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago and Uganda.

Self-funded participants are usually also granted access to the Programme.  This year, six self-funded places (one male, five females) have been offered to candidates from Namibia, Oman, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey.

The United Nations International Law Fellowship Programme was launched in 1965 under the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the teaching, study, dissemination and wider appreciation of international law.  The United Nations Office of Legal Affairs 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 6 July to 14 August.

The aim of the Fellowship Programme is to enable qualified professionals from least developed and developing countries as well as from countries with economies in 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 to 40 years of age.

A total of 269 persons from 125 countries and organizations submitted applications for the 2009 Programme.  Nominations were received from 142 male and 127 female candidates from the following regions:  86 from Africa, 62 from Asia and the Pacific, 27 from Central Asia and Eastern Europe, 45 from Latin America and the Caribbean, and 21 from the Middle East.  Twenty-eight applications were received for participation on a self-funded basis.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record