Full-time Fellowship Africa programme

About ISHR

The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) is an independent, non-profit organisation

with offices in Geneva and New York. This fellowship offers a unique opportunity to view the

international and regional human rights systems at work. It provides hands-on experience

working for an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) as well as the opportunity

to contribute to our work supporting human rights defenders, strengthening human rights

systems, legal frameworks, building and leading human rights coalitions, and responding to

significant and systemic human rights concerns. For more information, consult our website

www.ishr.ch.

About the position

ISHR seeks to host a postgraduate Fellow to support our work within the Africa

Programme.Working in a small team, the Fellow will have the opportunity to learn at close

hand what it means to work for an international human rights advocacy organization. The

Fellow will also have the opportunity to collaborate with ISHR staff in all locations.

In a year’s work with ISHR, the Fellow will gain experience monitoring a number of

deliberations and negotiations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

(ACHPR) and lobbying and advocating in those fora in line with ISHR’s mandate and

priorities. The Fellow will gain hands-on experience on the application of international and

regional human rights law in a multilateral human rights system, including advocacy on

normative and policy advances for the protection of human rights defenders in Africa.

The Fellow will also contribute to our work on capacity development and legislative protection

of defenders at the national level. There may also be opportunities to work at the

international level with the United Nations human rights mechanisms.

Scope of work

Through a combination of research and analysis, advocacy, and capacity building, the Fellow

will work closely with the Africa Programme Manager, contributing to our work supporting

human rights defenders in Africa, strengthening human rights systems, building and leading

human rights coalitions, and responding to significant and systemic situations of concern.

Key tasks include:

● Supporting research on the situation of defenders in Africa as well as the legal

frameworks that protect and infringe on their rights and advocacy for policy changes;

● Supporting the Africa Programme in preparing submissions to national, regional and

international human rights mechanisms and courts;

● Assisting with research and drafting of submissions to regional and international

human rights mechanisms, including the ACHPR’s State Periodic Review, the UN

Universal Periodic Review and the UN treaty bodies;

● Representing ISHR at meetings and in coalition work with other NGOs and UN

contacts;

● Assisting with ISHR’s work with regional human rights defenders’ networks and

human rights bodies at the regional level;

● Monitoring and taking minutes at ACHPR and UN meetings;

● Contributing to ISHR’s publications, including through drafting and editing online web

articles, briefing papers, and other reports as needed.

Training and Opportunities

ISHR has a long-standing history of hosting Fellows. Our Fellows are fully included as part of

the team, including in staff meetings, which provide a comprehensive understanding of the

work of an international human rights NGO. Fellows also have opportunities to interact and

network with human rights defenders, diplomats or other UN and NGO professionals.

Where appropriate or necessary for their work, ISHR staff will provide practical sessions and

guidance, for example, on monitoring UN mechanisms, drafting reports and advocacy

documents, utilizing communications technologies, etc. An onboarding training process

will be set to ensure compliance, clarify roles and create connections. The Fellow will

get a chance to know ISHR, including the staff, the programmes and organization’s work

culture.

Fellows will be supervised by one programme manager and supported in achieving the

learning objectives through regular check-ins with the Intern Coordinator.

Fellowship modalities

The Fellowship is expected to be a full-time (37.5 hours per week) position and will take

place remotely / in Abidjan (if eligible) for a duration of a year.

Remuneration: 1000-2000€ / month (depending on location, qualifications and experience).

Requirements

The successful Fellow must:

▪ Be a recent Master or LL.M graduate in human rights law, international public law or

equivalent. Recent graduates from other relevant graduate-level programs will be

considered as well;

▪ Have working knowledge of international and regional human rights law;

▪ Demonstrate familiarity with the African Union and the ACHPR mechanisms, as well as

issues faced by human rights defenders in Africa; familiarity with the UN system is also

an advantage.

▪ Have strong drafting and research skills;

▪ Be able to report thoroughly and accurately on meetings;

▪ Be flexible and self-motivated;

▪ Be able to work as a member of an international and multicultural team and willing to

participate in a variety of tasks, as required;

▪ Ability to effectively work remotely and independently;

▪ Have excellent written and oral communication skills in French and English, both

languages being mandatory for this position;

▪ Knowledge of official ACHPR languages, especially Arabic and Portuguese is an

advantage.

How to apply

Please submit your application by filling out this form and attaching a cover letter, a CV

(maximum 2 pages with no profile photo), 1 relevant writing sample (no more than 5 pages

including bibliographies). In their cover letter, candidates should demonstrate their

commitment to human rights and social change.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please kindly note that due to the high

volume of applications, only short-listed candidates will be contacted. All applications will be

handled in accordance with ISHR’s Privacy Policy.

Application deadline: 22 May2024 (midnight, Geneva time).

Privacy policy: All applications will be handled in accordance with ISHR’s Privacy Policy.

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