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Tuesday, 21 June 2011 16:27

Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship on the Law of the Sea

Lunch time Side Event
Conference Room 6 (NLB) (13:30 0-14:45) (21 June 2011)
(United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea)

Statement by H.E. Mr. Palitha T.B. Kohona
Ambassador & Permanent Representative of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the United Nations


EXCELENCIES,
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
 
I am very pleased to welcome you to this meeting today on the Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship on the Law of the Sea.
 
Allow me to provide some brief details of my distinguished compatriot, Ambassador Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe.
 
The late Ambassador Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe of Sri Lanka was the first President of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (1973-1980). Ambassador Amerasinghe had been Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee to Study the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed and Ocean Floor  (1967- 1970) and, subsequently, of the Standing Committee for the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed and Ocean Floor beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction  (1970-1973).


  
In memory of, and in recognition of his contribution to the development of the law of the sea, the Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship on the Law of the Sea (HSA) was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly.
 
The Fellowship is administered by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, of the United Nations Secretariat. 
 
In order to receive contributions, the Fellowship was established as an activity carried out within the framework of the Trust Fund of United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study and Wider Dissemination of International Law (TLA Trust Fund).

Governments as well as universities, philanthropic foundations and other interested national and international institutions and organizations may contribute to the Fellowship.
 
EXCELENCIES,
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
  
Since its establishment, fellowships have been awarded to individuals from Argentina, Barbados, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, United Republic of Tanzania, Viet Nam and the former Yugoslavia.
 
In accordance with the Fellowship Guidelines and Rules, the Fellowship is targeted primarily to Government officials as well as research fellows or lecturers who are involved in ocean law or maritime affairs, or related disciplines, either in Governments or educational institutions and bodies.  

The purpose of the Fellowship is to assist candidates to acquire additional knowledge of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, in order to promote its wider appreciation and application. The Fellowship aims to further the selected fellows in their vocations and thus to benefit their countries.

The selected fellows are provided with the facilities to undertake research and further study at one of the participating institutions for a minimum of three months and for a second period of one to three months of internship with the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, United Nations Secretariat Office of Legal Affairs.

When awarding the fellowship, special consideration is given to persons who may not have the means or facilities for further studies, training or experience in their own or other countries.

Applications are solicited globally through the offices of more than 150 UNDP Resident Representatives, UN Information Centres as well as Permanent Missions of Member States to the United Nations.  The application forms and related information are also available on the DOALOS website. Candidates may submit applications directly to the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea.
 
A high-level Advisory Panel composed of the Permanent Representatives to the United Nations of Argentina, Monaco, Morocco, Namibia, Slovenia, Spain and Sri Lanka, as well as the Director of the Center for Oceans Law and Policy, University of Virginia, makes a recommendation on the choice of a Fellow to the Legal Counsel of the United Nations, who makes the final decision on the Fellowship in any given year.    

Lastly, just a few words on the Fellowship Trust Fund.

We would greatly appreciate any contribution and in amount that you may wish to make, no matter how small since the Trust Fund balance is rather low. Details on how to make contributions are set out in the Divisions’ website. 

Thank you.