UNEP-Georgetown Global Environment and Sustainability Law Fellows Program: Enhancing the capacity of environmental lawyers
In 2017, UNEP and the Georgetown University Law Center partnered to develop a joint Global Environment and Sustainability Law Fellows Program, to train public sector lawyers from developing countries working on matters related to environmental law, natural resources law, or associated fields of law, to ultimately promote the environmental rule of law.
Successful Fellows will receive an Environmental and Energy Law LL.M. Degree from the Law Center. The Environmental and Energy Law LL.M. Degree is part of Georgetown Law’s expansion of its environmental, energy, natural resources, land use, and water law curriculum and programming. Upon graduation, Fellows will gain international environmental legal and policy experience with the United Nations by working at one of UNEP’s offices for up to three months. The Fellows must commit to return to their home country to continue working in public sector environmental law and policy for no less than three years or as may otherwise be determined by the releasing government.
“Since the inception of the fellowship programme, we are witnessing Public sector lawyers from developing countries increasingly demonstrate capacity to develop, implement and enforce environmental laws,” Arnold Kreilhuber, Acting Director, Law Division, United Nations Environment Programme.
The Program helps defray the costs for candidates who would not otherwise be able to afford an LL.M. degree focusing on environmental law. The Fellowship will cover the full cost of tuition, travel, and a modest living stipend for the three-month period in Kenya. We strongly recommend candidates to pursue an external source of funding for living expenses while in Washington, DC.
According to Barbara Hendrie, Director, UNEP - North America Office, “We are continuously inspired by the deserving Fellows from around the world who are working within the legal sphere to address ecological and resource issues that not only impact their countries, but the entire global community.”
Program Requirements:
To be eligible for this fellowship a candidate must: 1) reside in a developing country; 2) be employed by a national or local governmental entity; 3) possess the requisite degree to practice law in his or her home country; and 4) be engaged in practicing environmental law, energy law, natural resources law, or a related legal field. The deadline for consideration will be early February 2021.
Program Fellows:
Since its inception, UNEP and Georgetown Law have supported and trained five Fellows from different countries, including, Ghana (Capt. Jamaldeen Seidu); Uruguay (Prof. Gonzalo Iglesias); Malawi (Mr. Michael Chifundo Chinyama); Uganda (Ms. Jeannie Namuga); and Antigua and Barbuda (Ms. Andrea Jacobs). Capt. Seidu and Prof. Iglesias will travel to Kenya to work at the UNEP Headquarters when global travel safely resumes. Read more..
Contact Information:
- For any questions or assistance, please contact Allan Meso from UNEP, at Allan.Meso[at]un.org or Prof. Sara A. Colangelo from Georgetown University Law Center, at sac54[at]law.georgetown.edu.
- To know more about the call for applications, including the application processes, please visit here.
- For more information on supporting this Fellowship, please contact Gene Finn, Director of Development, at Gene.Finn@law.georgetown.edu.
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