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United Nations - Office of Legal Affairs
Activities of the Legal Counsel of the United Nations

United Nations Legal Counsel Mr. Miguel de Serpa Soares visited Santiago, Chile, to open the 2017 United Nations Regional Course in International Law for Latin America and the Caribbean

26 April 2017


1. On 26 April 2017, the Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Mr. Serpa Soares, visited Santiago, Chile, to open the 2017 United Nations Regional Course in International Law for Latin America and the Caribbean and deliver a keynote address. The Regional Courses in International Law have been one of the cornerstones of the Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law, which was established by the General Assembly in 1965, to provide a better knowledge of international law “as a means for strengthening international peace and security and promoting friendly relations and co-operation among States”. These courses provide a unique opportunity for lawyers from a particular region to study international law with an emphasis on legal issues that are of particular interest to the region.

Family photo at the 2017 United Nations Regional Course in International Law for Latin America and the Caribbean
Family photo at the 2017 United Nations Regional Course in International Law for Latin America and the Caribbean

During the first five decades of the Programme of Assistance, the Regional Courses suffered from insufficient funding and the inefficiency inherent in conducting the courses in different countries. With the support of Member States, the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) recently succeeded in obtaining regular budget funding to ensure that the regional courses could be held every year. OLA has also identified permanent venues for these courses to achieve greater efficiency in conducting these courses in the same venue each year. Given the regional aspect of these training courses, we have reached out to our colleagues in the United Nations Regional Economic Commissions to seek their cooperation and support, which would be essential for conducting the Regional Course for Africa, for Asia-Pacific and the Latin American and the Caribbean in Ethiopia, Thailand and Chile, respectively.

The Legal Counsel, Mr. Miguel de Serpa Soares, delivered the keynote speech at the opening of the 2017 United Nations Regional Course in International Law for Latin America and the Caribbean
The Legal Counsel, Mr. Miguel de Serpa Soares had an open discussion with the students of the Academy on the work of the OLA

Mr. Serpa Soares also visited the Diplomatic Academy of Chile, where he had an open discussion with the students of the Academy on the work of the OLA.