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~ Information, Instructions and Forms for Fellows ~ |
Fellows are strongly encouraged to
familiarize themselves with the information presented below and to visit this
page regularly as it is periodically updated. Furthermore, throughout the
Fellowship Programme, Fellows will be required to
complete and return to the Programme Advisor various
documents which are available for download by following the respective links
below. Fellows will also find links to web-pages which are maintained by DESA
and provide information regarding certain administrative aspects of the
Fellowship Programme.
United Nations Fellows are reminded that
they understand and have accepted the following obligations:
(1) To conduct themselves at all
times in a manner compatible with my responsibilities as the holder of a United
Nations Fellowship;
(2) To refrain during the period of the award from engaging in political,
commercial and any other activities other than those governed by the fellowship
programme;
(3) To not use their office, knowledge or confidential information gained from
the Fellowship Programme for private gain, financial
or otherwise, or for the private gain of any third party, including family,
friends and those they favour. Nor to use the
above-mentioned information for personal reasons to prejudice the position of
those they do not favour.
(4) To provide all necessary information in a timely manner to the Fellowship Programme and Host Institutions so as to ensure the normal
administration of the Fellowship Programme;
(5) To carry out their research and studies in the manner, and within the
period, prescribed by the Fellowship Programme;
(6) To comply with the reporting requirements as stipulated by the Fellowship Programme;
(7) To follow travel and payment instructions issued by the United Nations;
(8) To bear the cost of all medical expenses for which the insurance company
will not assume specific responsibility; and
(9) To return to my home country at the end of the fellowship.
This page is organized
into the following hyperlinked sections:
Fellowship
Coordination
Award of Fellowships - Updated with new Medical Clearance
Procedure for 2010-2011
Placement
Process
Visas
Travel and Payment (Stipends – Book Allowance)
Medical Insurance
Housing
Reporting Requirements - Updated for 2009-2010 Fellows
Fellows'
Group Server - Updated
with paper format and style guide (May 2009)
Fellowship Coordination top
The United Nations - The Nippon
Foundation of Japan Fellowship Programme is
administered by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS),
Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations, in partnership with the Training
and Fellowships Section of the United Nations Division for Economic and Social
Affairs (DESA).
The Fellowship application and selection
process is administered by DOALOS, as is the placement and overall coordination
of the Fellows during their tenure with the host institutions. Travel, stipend
payment and insurance services are coordinated jointly by DOALOS and DESA.
Unless otherwise
instructed by DOALOS, Fellows should communicate directly with the Programme Advisor and all other subsequent correspondence,
for example with DESA and host institutions, should be copied to the same.
Following the Selection Committee's
decision on the award of Fellowships, DOALOS will contact successful candidates
to inform them of the decision and confirm their availability to accept the
Award. Each successful candidate must duly complete, sign, and return the
“UN-Nippon Fellow Acceptance Statement”. This form is included with the notice
of award sent to successful candidates and is also available for download here.
It is critical that Fellows provide their
accurate e-mail, telephone and fax numbers, as well as their postal address, as
the subsequent placement process will require frequent direct communications
between the Fellows, the Programme Advisor and Host
Institution officials. Failure to provide this information, or to react to
communications in a timely manner, may lead to the withdrawal of the Fellowship
award.
NEW Medical Clearance procedure:
Successfully candidates must
be “medically cleared” by the United Nations Medical Service before their award
is processed. It is thus very important that all successful candidates ensure
that the UN Medical Form is duly completed by a physician and submitted,
including the required supporting documentation, to DOALOS by the deadline. The
UN Medical Form must be completed by a physician no more than four (4) months
prior to the effective date of the award, and all costs related to the medical
examinations are to be borne by the candidates.
Note that the results of the laboratory tests preformed under the “Laboratory”
section of this form must not only be entered in the form, but the original
laboratory results (reports) must also be submitted with the form, along with
the X-ray film. Incomplete UN Medical Forms, including the omission of original
laboratory results and x-rays, will cause delays in the processing of your
application and may result in disqualification.
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Successful candidates must forward directly to DOALOS their completed UN
Medical Form, along with the original laboratory reports and x-ray film.
The form can be downloaded here: The UN Medical Form (click to download in
Adobe PDF format)
Note that no
award will be processed until the Letter of Acceptance has been returned
and Medical Clearance and relevant visa requirements have been fulfilled.
Once the Fellow’s Acceptance Statement
has been received, and he/she is medically cleared by the United Nations
Medical Service, the placement process will begin.
Fellows should understand that the
placement process must take into account a wide range of factors including host
institution availability, research/study themes, and visa requirements. As
such, every effort will be made in order to ensure that Fellows are placed with
the most appropriate host institutions (and supervisors), as per their stated
preferences, and in accordance with their proposed study/research theme.
However, the Fellowship Programme reserves the right to make a final decision on
all placements.
Once an appropriate host institution and
possible placement dates have been identified for the first placement (Phase
One: 6 months), the Fellow will be asked to confirm his/her availability to
begin the proposed placement. Upon receiving this confirmation, the Programme Advisor will place the Fellow in direct contact
with the host institution supervisor so that discussions regarding the academic
programme of study, as well as host institution
administrative requirements, may begin.
The second placement (Phase Two: 3
months) will normally be with DOALOS (
In certain cases, Fellows may be placed
with an alternate host institution for the second placement. Although
exceptional, such cases may arise, for example, if an alternate host
institution could provide a more appropriate research/study environment with
respect to the Fellow’s research/study theme.
It is very important that once Fellows
receive confirmation of their placement, they immediately begin applying for
visa(s) for the host country(ies).
While the United Nations and the host institution(s) may provide Fellows with
certain supporting documents in this regard, the timely obtention
of all necessary visa(s) – including transit visa(s) – is the sole
responsibility of the Fellows. Although the Fellows are also responsible for
the costs of obtaining visa(s), it should be noted that the first month’s
stipend rate (“Max Trav” rate) is higher than the
subsequent months (“Max Res” rate) so as to offset such costs.
Fellows will not be authorized to travel
until they have secured the necessary visa(s) for the first placement, and, in
certain cases, they may be required to secure visa(s) for both placements
before commencing the first.
Fellows should understand that certain
visa application processes are very lengthy and thus they should plan
accordingly while considering the timing of their placements and the overall
duration of the Fellowship tenure.
Once Fellows have secured the required
visa(s), they should immediately inform the Programme
Advisor so that their Travel and Payment instructions can be processed.
Fellows are
asked not to take family members with them during the Fellowship
placements. The United Nations and the host institutions will not provide any
supporting documentation for visa application(s) of family members. Also note
that the monthly stipend rates are sufficient only to cover the normal living
expenses of one person, and that no allowances of any kind will be paid for
accompanying family members. Furthermore, the Fellows’ medical insurance, which
is arranged by the United Nations, will not cover any family members
accompanying Fellows during their tenure. Fellows should also consider that, in
the course of their award, they may be required to travel under circumstances
that would make it difficult or impossible for their family members to accompany
them.
Travel
and Payment (Stipends – Book Allowance) top
Fellows will be provided with a return
air-ticket in economy class for travels from their home country to the first
host institution, from the first host institution to the second, and from the
second host institution back to their home country.
Travel arrangements will be made by the
United Nations, in certain cases through local United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offices, and in accordance with the
applicable United Nations policies, which can be found on the following URL:
http://esa.un.org/techcoop/fellowshipTravel.asp
Fellows will receive a stipend during
their 9-month fellowship in accordance with the established United Nations
rates for each host Country. These rates are updated regularly and available on
the following URL:
http://esa.un.org/techcoop/fellowshipRates.asp
For the first month of the Fellowship,
Fellows will receive their stipend at the “Max Trav”
rate, and all subsequent months will be at the non-academic “Max Res” rate,
unless their Host Institution provides accommodation, in which case the Fellows
will receive a stipend at the academic “Max Res” rate.
Stipend paid to Fellows while outside the
home country is a monthly allowance intended to cover the cost of lodging,
board and other essentials such as laundry and local transport. Stipend is
normally payable in the local currency of the host country. Stipend is not a
salary or honorarium. It is not intended to cover the Fellows' continuing
expenses at home for themselves, nor their families.
Stipend is due from the date the Fellows
depart from their home countries, and ends on the date of completion of the
Fellowship, including a maximum travel time of up to two days by the most
direct air route.
Whenever possible, the first month’s
stipend will be paid to the Fellow in advance. This payment will be organized in
conjunction with travel arrangements, both of which may be facilitated by a
local UNDP office. Specific information regarding the travel and payment
instructions will be provided to the Fellow, as early as possible, but not
before all medical, placement and visa procedures have been completed.
During the first phase of the Fellowship
placement, namely the 6-month tenure with the first host institution, Fellows
will be entitled to a Book Allowance of US$100 per month. This allowance will
be transferred to the Fellow either as a lump-sum payment with the second
month’s stipend payment, or on a monthly basis with each stipend payment.
Once the Fellows have started their
tenure with the first host institution, they should open a local bank account,
and complete and return a "Funds Transfer Form" to the Programme Advisor without delay. This form is available for
download here.
Subsequent payments will be made through
direct bank transfers to the bank account as stipulated in the Funds Transfer
Request Form filed by the Fellow. If Fellows are unable to open a bank account
due to local banking policies, they are requested to contact the Programme Advisor as soon as possible.
As
international financial transactions are strictly regulated, Fellows are
strongly advised to open a local bank account and communicate their banking
information to the Programme Advisor immediately upon
arrival so as to avoid delays in the transfer of subsequent stipend payments.
Fellows are automatically enrolled in a
medical insurance scheme for the duration of their Fellowship award. This
coverage is provided by J. VAN
Fellows should familiarize themselves
with their coverage levels and claim procedures, before traveling to
their first placement, by consulting the following URLs:
http://esa.un.org/techcoop/fellowshipMedical.asp
and
http://www.vanbreda-international.com
Fellows are responsible for securing
their accommodations for both placement locations. In certain cases, it may be
possible for Fellows to make the appropriate arrangements through their host
institutions. Nonetheless, all such arrangements are the sole responsibility of
the Fellows. The United Nations, as well as the Host Institutions, will not act
on behalf of the Fellows, serve as guarantors, or accept any liabilities or
responsibilities in this regard.
United Nations Headquarters Internship Programme Housing Information download here.
Fellows are
strongly encouraged to research local housing markets as soon as possible, and
secure their accommodations as early as possible.
Fellows are required to complete several
reports during the Fellowship Programme. These reporting
requirements are mandatory, and if Fellows do not meet these requirements,
they will not be granted a confirmation of completion for the Fellowship Programme and the United Nations will take all appropriate
actions including informing the Fellows’ nominating authority and Government.
Please note that the Fellowship Programme reserves the right to make modifications to these
reporting requirements during the course of the Programme,
and the fulfillment of such modifications by Fellows will also be mandatory.
The current requirements are outlined in
the "Fellowship Reporting Requirements" document which is available
for download
here. It is also the Fellows' responsibility to discuss these requirements
with the host institution supervisor when elaborating the programme
of work.
Incoming Fellows must join the UN-Nippon
Fellows Group which is a group-server established with the following
vision:
"This group is dedicated to the United Nations and the Nippon Foundation
Fellows on the Law of the Sea. The group email will be the platform for the
Fellows to exchange their views and discuss issues related to the Law of the
sea and to associated subjects. The group will be open to Fellows who have
completed their programmes as well as the incoming
Fellows. In this way, the new Fellows might take advantage of the experiences
of the previous Fellows. The group email will be used also to keep in touch,
given that the Fellows come from the four corners of the world. It will be a
good place to share experiences and giving little briefs on the type of
projects or work being undertaken once the Fellows have returned back to their
own country."
Fellows may join the group-server by
registering with the moderator (an alumnus of the first Fellowship Programme session). This procedure is simple and can be
started by following the "Join this Group" link on the group
homepage.
New Fellows are encouraged to make use of
the group-server to discuss with the alumni substantive and administrative
topics, including information regarding experiences with visa requirements and
housing. However, it should be noted that the group-server is an initiative
of the Fellows, and not an official website of the Fellowship Programme. As such, the information posted on the
group-server and its associated e-mail list should be accurate and useful, but
does constitute an official source of information for the Fellowship Programme, and does not necessarily reflect the views of
the United Nations, The Nippon Foundation of Japan, or that of the Programme Host Institutions.