Deadline: 30 March 2025
The United Nations in partnership with Nippon Foundation are seeking applications for the Strategic Needs Fellowship Programme to enable the most vulnerable States, particularly least developed countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, to better address strategically important and time-sensitive issues facing them in ocean affairs and the law of the sea.
Goal
- The Strategic Fellowship Programme was established by the United Nations (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs) and the Nippon Foundation to assist developing States, particularly least developed countries (LDCs), small island developing States (SIDS), and landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) to:
- address identified strategic needs in the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and related instruments, in particular Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 and other relevant SDGs; and
- strategically develop and implement national legal and governance frameworks for ocean affairs and the law of the sea in support of sustainable oceans and seas for present and future generations.
Purpose
- Through the targeted building of human capacity, the Strategic Fellowship addresses needs-based capacity gaps at the national level in order to overcome critical capacity barriers. The purpose is to enable the most vulnerable States to better address strategically important and time-sensitive ocean affairs and the law of the sea issues with which they are faced.
- This specific purpose will be achieved through the delivery of capacity assistance in the implementation of UNCLOS and related instruments, in particular Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 and other relevant SDGs, in the format of a Fellowship Programme.
Focus Areas
- The Maritime Domain:
- Oceanic context: humans and the sea
- Ocean spaces, activities and resources
- International Law and UNCLOS:
- Introduction to the United Nations and international law
- History of the law of the sea, including UNCLOS and related instruments
- Maritime Zones, Jurisdiction and Maritime Boundary Delimitation:
- Introduction to UNCLOS and maritime zones
- In-depth seminar on maritime zones and jurisdiction
- Introduction to maritime boundary delimitation
- The Continental Shelf:
- The continental shelf regime under UNCLOS
- The CLCS and delineation of the continental shelf
- GIS aspects
- Conservation and Sustainable Uses of Marine Resources and Other Sustainable Uses of the Ocean:
- Non-living resources
- Fisheries and IUU fishing
- International shipping
- The human dimension
- Submarine cables
- Marine scientific research
- The Marine Environment:
- The protection and preservation of the marine environment, including marine pollution and marine biodiversity
- Climate change and oceans
- Maritime Security:
- Introduction to maritime security
- Seminar on current issues in maritime security
- Dispute Settlement Mechanisms:
- Dispute settlement under UNCLOS
- The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Court of Justice and Arbitral Tribunals: institutions and jurisprudence
- United Nations Intergovernmental Processes:
- The UN Open-ended informal consultative process on oceans and law of the sea
- The Meeting of States Parties to UNCLOS
- Informal Consultation of States Parties to the UN Fish Stocks Agreement
- Oceans and Sustainable Development:
- History of sustainable development in relation to oceans and the law of the sea
- The role of oceans and ocean governance in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals
- Ocean Governance and Implementation Tools:
- Introduction to ocean governance
- Role of civil society in governance
- The science-policy interface
- Professional skills:
- Research skills
- Presentation and communication skills: introduction
- Negotiation skills: introduction
Role and Responsibilities
- The submission of reports and other assignments is one of the responsibilities accepted by Fellows.
- Fellows will be required to complete feedback surveys during and at the of the Programme.
- As Alumni of the Programme, they will also be required to complete online surveys from time to time after the end of their Fellowship.
Eligible Activities
- A highly customized individual curriculum is developed by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, in consultation with the nominating State, for the successful candidates.
- Through the delivery of presentations by recognized experts, including United Nations staff, as well as through observing United Nations multilateral processes, the Fellows learn about the main developments in ocean affairs and the law of the sea relating, for example, to the implementation of SDG 14 and other relevant SDGs.
- Professional skills development activities will also be organized for the Fellows, including theory lectures and practical exercises. For example, the Fellows will receive training by UN staff, as well as by external professionals on:
- Report writing skills, which they will practice by preparing substantive reports relating to the intergovernmental meetings which they observe;
- Presentation skills, which they will practice through presentations to the other Fellows;
- Research skills, including in relation to UN documents;
- Team-building skills; and
- Strategic communication skills.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must:
- Be between the ages of 25 and 45.
- Have successfully completed a first level university degree.
- Must be Government officials from developing countries dealing directly with issues related to ocean affairs and the law of the sea.
- Identify two strategic needs in ocean affairs and the law of the sea for their countries that need to be addressed.
- Must be free of all non-Fellowship obligations during this entire period unless otherwise authorized by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs.
For more information, visit United Nations.