United Republic of Tanzania’s Killey Mwitasi Awarded Twenty-third

Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Fellowship on Law of the Sea

Winner’s Proposed Research/Study Aimed

At Helping His Country, Improving Convention’s Implementation

NEW YORK, 7 June (Office of Legal Affairs) — Killey Mwitasi of the United Republic of Tanzania has been awarded the twenty-third Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Fellowship on the Law of the Sea.

Mr. Mwitasi will carry out his proposed research/study on the issues of “illegal fishing, marine pollution and piracy” in order to help his country solve the related challenges and result in better implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Fellowship is intended primarily to advance the proficiency and capability of Government officials, research fellows or academics from developing countries who are involved in the law of the sea or ocean affairs.  It has gained wide acclaim for its academic contribution to the overall understanding and implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The award was made by Patricia O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, on the basis of recommendation by a High-level Advisory Panel.  This year’s Panel comprised the following:  Jorge Argüello, Permanent Representative of Argentina; Isabelle Picco, Permanent Representative of Monaco; Kaire M. Mbuende, Permanent Representative of Namibia (Chairman); Sanja Štiglic, Permanent Representative of Slovenia; Juan Antonio Yáñez Barnuevo, Permanent Representative of Spain; and Palitha T.B. Kohona, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka.

Prized for the academic opportunity and practical experience it provides to participants, the Fellowship involves a course of study at a participating university or institution and a period of practical training at the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea in the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs.  Although most fellows continue their training at the Division, some have chosen in recent years to pursue their training with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) or the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

The Fellowship was established in 1981 in memory of Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe, first President of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.  That Conference, which began its work in 1973, adopted the Convention in April 1982, opening it for signature in December that year.  The Convention now has 160 States parties and is generally regarded as “the charter of the oceans”, regulating international legal norms for all matters relating to the governance, uses and protection of the oceans.

Part of the capacity-building programme of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, the Fellowship is also part of the Office of Legal Affairs’ overall programme of teaching, study, dissemination and wider appreciation of international law.  Despite its clear benefits and widespread recognition and appreciation, only one Fellowship could be awarded in a year due to lack funds.

The General Assembly has again this year, in its resolution 64/71, called on Member States and interested organizations, foundations and individuals to continue to make voluntary contributions towards the financing of the Fellowship to ensure that it is awarded every year.  In the past year, the Governments of Chile, Cyprus, Iceland, Ireland, Monaco and Oman have made financial contributions to the Fellowship fund.  Also in the past, individual States have made special contributions to finance the award of special Fellowships at designated universities or institutions.

Previous fellows have come from nearly all regions of the world:   Argentina; Barbados; Bulgaria; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Chile; Colombia; Indonesia; Iran; Kenya; Nepal; Nigeria; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Sao Tome and Principe; Samoa; Seychelles; Sri Lanka; Thailand; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; United Republic of Tanzania; Viet Nam; and Yugoslavia ( Serbia and Montenegro).  They have devoted their study and training period to various topics such as:  maritime delimitation; methods for the determination of the outer limits of the continental shelf; maritime transport of hazardous materials; marine scientific research; the marine environment; crimes at sea; settlement of disputes; and the legal regime of genetic resources in areas of the deep seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.

Sixteen world-renowned universities and institutes participate in the Fellowship programme.  All of them waive their usual tuition fees in order to allow the fellows to carry out their research/study at the institution or university of their choice.  The institutions are:  Center for Oceans Law and Policy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, United States; Dalhousie Law School, Halifax, Canada; Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, United Kingdom; Faculty of Law, University of Southampton, United Kingdom; Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland; Institute of International Studies, University of Chile; International Boundaries Research Unit, University of Durham, United Kingdom; Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts, United States; Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea, University of Utrecht; Research Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy, Greece; School of Law, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States; School of Law, University of Miami, Florida, United States; School of Law, University of Washington, Seattle, United States; and William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, United States.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record