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United Nations Development Programme offers fellowship

POHNPEI, Palikir (FSM Information Service): June 2000 - The United Nations Development Programme has announced it is now accepting applications for the 15th Hamilton Shirley Ameransinghe Fellowship on the Law of the Sea.

To qualify, a candidate must have a degree in law, marine sciences, political science, ocean management, or technical training in ocean management, administration of ports or in a related discipline, according to a UNDP bulletin.

Fees and levies will be waived by the universities and institutions listed as participating in the fellowship. The United Nations will assume responsibility only for all travel connected with the fellowship and the relevant accommodation allowances.

During the terms of the award, fellows will be paid specific allowances intended to cover only normal living expenses in accordance with policies and procedures governing the administration of UN fellowships, according to the bulletin.

The fellowship duration will be for a minimum of three months.

Applications will be sent to the governor's offices in the four FSM states. Candidates are to fill them out in triplicate. They can be mailed directly to the Office for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea in New York. Or than can be send to FSM Foreign Affairs, Palikir, Pohnpei, FM 96941, in care of Foreign Service Officer Jane Chigiyal.

Applications must be received at the Office for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, United Nations Development Programme in New York City, New York, no later than October 16, 2000.

The fellowship will be administered by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs and will be funded from the income received from contributions to the fellowship fund established for this purpose.

An advisory panel of eight eminent people in international relations, the law of the sea and its implementation will be nominated annually by the Undersecretary General for Legal Affairs, the Legal Counsel, for the purpose of evaluating the candidates and making recommendations for the award, according to the bulletin.

Applications may be submitted by governments, governmental agencies, institutions, or directly by individuals.

The application shall include information concerning the candidate's personal history and a resúmé of education and vocation.

Candidates will be required to provide information as to their financial means and the facilities available to them for the advancement of their careers or vocations.

The late Ambassador Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe of Sri Lanka had been chairman of the ad-hoc committee to Study the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed and Ocean Floor from 1967 to 1970. He later served as President of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea from its inception in 1973 until he died in 1980. The General Assembly established the fellowship in honor of his contribution to the work of the conference, according to the bulletin.