Fellowship Background and Overview

    On 22 April 2004, the United Nations and The Nippon Foundation of Japan concluded a trust fund project agreement to provide capacity-building and human resource development to developing coastal States Parties and non-Parties to UNCLOS through a new Fellowship Programme. The Programme is jointly executed by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) of the Office of Legal Affairs and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). DOALOS serves as the focal point in charge of all substantive elements of the Project. DESA, in its capacity as implementing agency for the Project, is responsible for providing certain administrative services to the Project on behalf of DOALOS.

    The main objective of the fellowship is to provide opportunities for advanced education and training in the field of ocean affairs and the law of the sea, and related disciplines including marine science, to Government officials and other mid-level professionals from developing coastal States, so that they may obtain the necessary knowledge to assist their countries to formulate comprehensive ocean policy and to implement the legal regime set out in UNCLOS and related instruments.   

    Upon completion of the fellowship, fellows should have an advanced awareness and understanding of key issues and best international practices in ocean affairs and are expected to return to their home-countries to contribute their experience to assist with the effective implementation of UNCLOS and related instruments and programmes. Fellows should be able to design, implement and/or evaluate specific improvement projects in their home countries related to ocean affairs and the law of the sea, develop a core leadership capacity and have an in-depth understanding of legal frameworks, methodologies and tools to further improve implementation of instruments and programmes and to provide for their effective enforcement in conformity with international law.

    The 9-month Fellowship Programme is composed of two consecutive phases which provide Fellows with advanced and customized research and training opportunities in their chose fields: 

- Phase One: 6-month Advanced Academic Research and Study - undertaken at one of the prestigious participating Host Institutions and under the guidance of subject matter expert(s) who have recognized in-depth expertise in the Fellows' chosen field of study. 

- Phase Two: 3-month Research and Training - normally undertaken at DOALOS at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

PROGRAMME NEWS and DEVELOPMENTS click here for News Archive (pre May 2008 items)

2009-2010 Fellowship application forms are now available for download Deadline for applications is 15 August 2008

11 August 2008: The Fellowship Programme is proud to welcome as a participating host institution the: Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies of the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill Campus, Barbados)

1 August 2008: Mr. Ansy Mathew (India) starts the first placement with the  Department of Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences (EEOS), University of Massachusetts Boston (Boston, U.S.A.)

30 July 2008: Mr. Andi Arsana (Indonesia) 2007-2008 Fellow is elected as the first United Nations - Nippon Foundation of Japan Alumni Representative by the Alumni and current Fellows

15 July 2008: Dr. Francois Bailet, Fellowship Programme Advisor, conducts site visits to the Marine Affairs Programme, Dalhousie University currently hosting Ms. Asha Singh (Guyana), and the the International Ocean Institute Ocean Governance Training Programme which was attended by Ms. Asha Singh (Guyana) and Ms. Nasuchon Nopparat (Thailand)  > photos

7 July 2008: Mr. Murat Turan (Turkeuy) starts the first placement with the Department of Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences (EEOS), University of Massachusetts Boston (Boston, U.S.A.)

23 June 2008: Prof. Stuart Kaye, Nippon Fellowship Supervisor at the Melbourne University Law School (Victoria, Australia) participates in the the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea as a member of the Australian Delegation > photos

13 June 2008: Three 2005-2006 Alumni participate in the eighteenth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the ninth meeting of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea held at United Nations Headquarters in New York: Ms. Turnquest (Bahamas), Ms. Natova (Bulgaria) and Mr. Dong (Vietnam) > photos

5 June 2008: Mr. Reza Dehghani (Iran) starts the first placement with the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, (Heidelberg, Germany)

28 May 2008: Representatives from the Ocean Policy and Research Foundation (OPRF) of Japan > photos

24 May 2008: Ms. Bryslie Cifuentes Velasco (Guatemala) starts the first phase placement with the Melbourne University Law School (Victoria, Australia)

15 May 2008: Mr. Theodore Kwadjosse (Ghana) starts the first phase placement with the Scottish Centre for International Law, Edinburgh University (Edinburgh, U.K.)

2 May 2008: The Fellowship Programme is proud to welcome as a  participating host institution the: Centro de Estudos do Mar of the Universidade Federal do Parana, in cooperation with the International Ocean Institute - South Western Atlantic Ocean

 

For more information, please contact:

The United Nations - The Nippon Foundation of Japan Fellowship Programme
Attn. Dr. Francois Bailet, Programme Advisor
Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea
Office of Legal Affairs
United Nations
Two United Nations Plaza
Room DC2-0414
New York, N.Y. 10017, U.S.A.

Telephone: +1 (212) 963-3962
Facsimile:  +1 (212) 963-5847
E-mail: questions