(NEWS) Prominent Speakers Provide Valuable Insight on International Maritime Diplomacy

January

2021

Prominent Speakers Provide Valuable Insight on International Maritime Diplomacy

On 14-15 January, WMU students in the Maritime Law & Policy and Maritime Education & Training specializations had the opportunity to interact with prominent speakers on the topic of effective engagement by delegates at diplomatic meetings. Amidst restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this first course in the Specialization Term was delivered online featuring Mr. Frederick Kenney, Director of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Legal Affairs and External Relations Division, with Ms. Fernanda Millicay, Minister at the Argentine Embassy in the UK and Alternate Permanent Representative of Argentina to the IMO joining Mr. Kenney in co-delivering the second day of the lecture.

Complementing the core instruction by resident faculty, Mr. Kenney and Ms. Millicay provided in-depth instruction on the legal and policy foundations of process for the development of IMO treaties and regulations, as well as practical considerations on that process, including insight on preparing and stating a delegation’s position, working with IMO’s six official languages, and coping with meetings held by correspondence and videoconference as a result of the pandemic. The instruction provided invaluable insights from these experts in international maritime diplomacy.

At IMO, Mr. Kenney is responsible for advising the Secretary-General on all legal issues associated with the functioning of the Organization, with special emphasis on matters of treaty law and the law of the sea. He oversees the Organization’s role as depositary for the 53 multilateral conventions adopted under the aegis of IMO. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Kenney has also served as the Chair of the Secretary-General’s Seafarers Crisis Action Team. Mr. Kenney hails from the US where he served in high-ranking positions in the United States Coast Guard.

Ms. Millicay has had a distinguished career in Argentina’s foreign service. Between 2008 and 2015, she was the Legal Adviser of the Permanent Mission of Argentina to the United Nations. In this capacity, she took direct responsibility for Law of the Sea, ICC, piracy, protection of civilians in armed conflict and working methods of the UN Security Council. In Argentina, she was Director of the country’s National Antarctic Program. Ms. Millicay prides herself on being the outcome of capacity building. In 2003, she was awarded the prestigious 18th Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship on the Law of the Sea. Commenting on her session with the WMU class, Ms. Millicay stated that she loved the interaction with new generations of negotiators and that she “really had fun being in the class, even remotely!”

The Malmö MSc in Maritime Affairs is a 14-month programme with seven specializations: Maritime Education & Training; Maritime Energy Management; Maritime Law & Policy; Maritime Safety & Environmental Administration; Ocean Sustainability, Governance and Management; Port Management, and Shipping Management & Logistics. Foundation studies are taught in the first term and cover the introductory knowledge that is fundamental to all activities in the maritime field. Three successive terms focus on specialization studies and a dissertation. WMU has more than 150 Visiting Professors and Guest Lecturers from around the world who contribute their expertise to enrich the education of WMU students.

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