The Office of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is the Secretariat department responsible for strengthening international human rights mechanisms; enhancing equality and countering discrimination; combating impunity and strengthening accountability and the rule of law; integrating human rights in development and in the economic sphere; widening the democratic space; and early warning and protection of human rights in situations of conflict, violence and insecurity.
This announcement broadcasts international internship assignments with the Human Rights Treaties Branch (HRTB). As established by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/268, the Human Rights Treaties Branch supports the activities of the human rights treaty-bodies: committees of independent experts that monitor the implementation of the core international human rights treaties by States parties. The Branch comprises the Anti-Torture, Capacity Building, Coordination, and Funds Section (ACBCFS) which supports the Coordination Unit, the Committee against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the Sub-committee on the Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT) under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), and the OHCHR Humanitarian Funds (the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture and the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Contemporary Forms of Slavery); the Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Section (CPESCRS) which supports the Human Rights Committee (CCPR), the Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR); the Groups in Focus Section (GIFS) which supports the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW), the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD); and the Petitions and Urgent Actions Section (PUSS) which services all of the treaty-body based individual complaint procedures, inquiries and inter-state proceedings, as well as Urgent Actions under the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
For more information on human rights treaty bodies visit: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/Pages/TreatyBodies.aspx
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, under the overall direction of the Chief of Branch and general guidance the Head of Section, the intern reports to the Human Rights Officer and/or respective Committee Secretary in the assigned work unit. This assignment shall be offered for an initial period of three (3) months, renewable for a combined period of six (6) months, upon further approval by the supervisor, with an initial commencement date ranging/starting from August 2022 to August 2023.
At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities. reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application.
This internship is an UNPAID and full-time engagement that provides a framework through which students from diverse academic backgrounds gain exposure to the work of the United Nations by way of their service within Secretariat entities. Applicants should have a demonstrated keen interest in the work of the United Nations with a personal commitment to the ideals of the Charter, and have the demonstrated ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs - which includes willingness to understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views.
IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, APPLICANTS MAY BE REQUESTED TO UNDERTAKE THE INTERNSHIP REMOTELY IN VIEW OF CONSTRAINTS REGARDING VISA ISSUANCE, INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND ACCESS TO UN PREMISES. APPLICANTS MUST BE WILLING AND PREPARED TO UNDERTAKE THE INTERNSHIP REMOTELY FOR A PART OR THE ENTIRETY OF THE INTERNSHIP.
THE UNITED NATIONS IS COMMITTED TO BUILDING A DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE WORKFORCE AND WELCOMES APPLICANTS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS AND COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO MIGRANTS AND/OR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. APPLICANTS SHOULD INDICATE THEIR PRESENT MATRICULATION STATUS AND PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY IN THE APPLICATION COVER LETTER.
The intern shall support OHCHR in fulfilling its mission: to work for the protection of all human rights for all people; to help empower people to realize their rights; and to assist those responsible for upholding such rights in ensuring that they are implemented.
Daily responsibilities of Human Rights Treaties intern will depend of the area of assignment (Section, Committee) and the individual's background. Duties may include but are not limited to helping service meetings of the human rights treaty-bodies and their respective working groups and, in particular, the intern may:
Prepare country and legal analysis and draft legal background papers for human rights treaty-bodies, related both to State reporting procedures and treaty-body based complaints procedures; Conduct research into and draft reports on the jurisprudence of the treaty-bodies concerned; Assist with the handling of individual communications received under the different treaty-body complaints procedures; Provide support in relation to inter-state communications submitted to the Treaty-bodies; Assist in the preparation of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) country visits; Take notes during the sessions/pre-sessions, and support with administrative duties such as the preparation of documentation and reference files in advance of and during the session; Provide input to outreach and information tasks, including the Branch newsletter; Support the work of the Universal Human Rights Index (UHRI) and the treaty-body documentation databases; Conduct research and develop training exercises for use in capacity building activities on reporting by States to the Treaty-bodies; Prepare the Weekly Human Rights Treaties Branch Update; Assist with preparation of reports and background papers for the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council (HRC) and the annual meeting of Treaty-body Chairs; Support the organization of training activities and developing relevant training material; and Perform other duties as requested by the supervisor, as appropriate.
PROFESSIONALISM: Shows pride in work and in achievements; Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; Remains calm in stressful situations.
COMMUNICATION: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
TEAMWORK: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others' ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
CLIENT ORIENTATION: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be "clients " and seeks to see things from clients' point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients' needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients' environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.
To qualify for the United Nations Secretariat internship programme, applicants must, at the time of submission, be a graduate or enrolled in a graduate school programme (i.e. Master’s degree or equivalent degree, or higher) or, be a graduate or enrolled in the final academic year of a first-level university degree programme (i.e. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent degree) preferably in the area of law, political science, international relations, social sciences or a related field, OR have graduated with a university degree as defined above AND, if selected, must commence the internship on the date specified in the Acceptance letter.
APPLICANTS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAMME.
Les candidats ne sont pas obligés de faire valoir une expérience professionnelle pour participer au programme de stage de l’ONU. Votre formation, vos études, vos travaux préparatoires ou vos compétences doivent bénéficier aux Nations Unies pendant votre stage.
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this internship fluency in English or French is required, knowledge of the other is an asset. Knowledge of another United Nations official language would be an advantage (i.e. Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).
Incomplete applications/personal history profiles (PHPs) will not be reviewed. Human Rights Treaty Branch hiring managers will directly contact short-listed applicants for an interview. For this reason, in the application cover letter it is important that you:
-Specify your general interest in OHCHR, including in the human rights issues, including their political, ethnic, racial, gender equality and socio-economic dimensions and, particularly in the work of the Human Rights Treaty Branch;
-Indicate the scheduled graduation for university study currently underway or more or actual graduation date for recently obtained degree;
-Indicate information technology (IT) skills and programs in which you are proficient;
-Specify your period of availability and earliest commencement date; and
-Provide three references in support of submission.
Download the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which is available for the hearing impaired, in the official United Nations working languages at:
For English click here on https://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=eng, for French click here on https://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=frn
FAMILY RELATIONS: Applicants who are children or siblings of a staff member shall not be eligible to apply for an internship at the United Nations. For the purpose of participation in the internship programme, "child" means: (a) the child of a staff member; (b) the child of the spouse of a staff member (stepchild); or (c) the son- or daughter-in-law of a staff member. "Sibling" includes a half-sibling or step-sibling.
CONDITIONS AND TERMS: Download the Secretariat UN Internship programme administrative policy in either of the Organization's official working languages (i.e. English and French) at: http://undocs.org/ST/AI/2020/1
APPLICATION PROCESS: You may view the full list of United Nations Secretariat employment opportunities at: https://careers.un.org. Qualified individuals who have created an Inspira account may apply directly at: https://inspira.un.org/
WORKING HOURS: Interns must adhere to the established weekly working hours of the duty station where the assignment is located. Working hours shall not exceed 5 days per week (40 hours), including one hour lunch break.
Aux termes du paragraphe 3 de l’Article 101 de la Charte des Nations Unies, la considération dominante dans le recrutement du personnel doit être la nécessité d’assurer à l’Organisation les services de personnes possédant les plus hautes qualités de travail, de compétence et d’intégrité. Ne seront pas retenues les candidatures des personnes qui ont commis des violations du droit international des droits de l’homme, des violations du droit international humanitaire, des actes d’exploitation, d’atteintes ou de harcèlement sexuels, ou au sujet desquelles il existe des raisons plausibles de croire qu’elles ont été impliquées dans la commission de tels actes. L’expression « exploitation sexuelle » désigne le fait d’abuser ou de tenter d’abuser d’un état de vulnérabilité, d’un rapport de force inégal ou de rapports de confiance à des fins sexuelles, y compris mais non exclusivement en vue d’en tirer un avantage pécuniaire, social ou politique. On entend par « atteinte sexuelle » toute atteinte physique de nature sexuelle commise par la force, sous la contrainte ou à la faveur d’un rapport inégal, ou la menace d’une telle atteinte. Le harcèlement sexuel s'entend de tout comportement déplacé à connotation sexuelle raisonnablement propre ou de nature à choquer ou humilier, lorsqu'il entrave la bonne marche du service, est présenté comme une condition d'emploi ou crée au lieu de travail un climat d'intimidation, d'hostilité ou de vexation, et lorsque ce comportement est assez grave pour justifier le licenciement de son auteur. La candidature de personnes qui ont commis des infractions autres que des infractions mineures au code de la route ne sera pas retenue.
Sera dûment prise en considération l'importance d'un recrutement effectué sur une base géographique aussi large que possible. Aucune restriction ne sera imposée par l'Organisation à l'accès des hommes et des femmes, dans des conditions égales, à toutes les fonctions, dans ses organes principaux et subsidiaires. Le Secrétariat de l'Organisation des Nations Unies est un espace non-fumeurs.
La considération dominante dans l’engagement, la mutation ou la promotion du personnel est la nécessité de s’assurer les services de personnes possédant les plus hautes qualités de travail, de compétence et d’intégrité. En acceptant une offre d’engagement, les membres du personnel sont soumis(es) à l’autorité du Secrétaire général, qui peut leur assigner l’une quelconque des tâches ou l’un quelconque des postes de l’Organisation des Nations Unies, conformément à l’alinéa c) de l’article 1.2 du Statut du personnel. Dans ce contexte, tous les membres du personnel recrutés sur le plan international sont tenus de changer de fonctions périodiquement à l’intérieur d’un même lieu d’affectation ou dans un autre lieu d’affectation, dans les conditions fixées par le Secrétaire général.
Les candidats sont invités à respecter scrupuleusement toutes les instructions disponibles sur la plateforme de recrutement en ligne Inspira. Pour des informations plus détaillées, ils ou elles peuvent consulter le manuel d'instructions pour le candidat, en cliquant sur le lien hypertexte « Manuels » sur le côté supérieur droit de la page d'accueil de leur compte Inspira.
Les candidatures feront l'objet d'une évaluation et d'un examen préalables sur la base des informations soumises conformément aux critères d'évaluation de l'avis de vacance de poste et aux dispositions législatives internes applicables de l'Organisation des Nations Unies, notamment la Charte des Nations Unies, les résolutions de l'Assemblée générale, le Statut et le Règlement du personnel, les textes administratives et les directives. Les candidats doivent fournir des informations exhaustives et précises conformément aux instructions fournies sur la plateforme Inspira. Une fois la candidature envoyée, aucune modification, suppression ou révision, ni aucun ajout ou changement ne pourra être fait. Il sera procédé à une vérification des références des candidats faisant l'objet d'une attention particulière pour s'assurer de l'exactitude des renseignements qu’ils ont fournis dans leur candidature.
Les avis de vacance de postes publiés sur le Portail des carrières sont retirés à 11:59 p.m. (heure de New York), le jour de la date limite de dépôt des candidatures.
L’ONU NE PERÇOIT DE FRAIS À AUCUN STADE DU RECRUTEMENT (DÉPÔT OU TRAITEMENT DE LA CANDIDATURE, ENTRETIEN, FORMATION, ETC.), ET ELLE NE DEMANDE AUCUNE INFORMATION BANCAIRE.