Fellowship Programme

The aim of the Fellowship programme, organized by the National Institutions and Regional Mechanisms Section of OHCHR, is to give staff members of NHRIs from all over the world a better understanding and appreciation of the international human rights system. Through this experience the Fellow will gain knowledge and working level experience with the United Nations human rights system (including the treaty body system, the Human Rights Council, the Universal Periodic Review and Special Procedures), OHCHR’s work with and for NHRIs, and technical and substantive issues relating to NHRIs. It will also allow the Fellow to develop an extensive contact network with OHCHR staff, staff of other UN departments and agencies, as well as NGOs represented in Geneva.

It is expected that the Fellow will return to his/her NHRI and thereby strengthen the organization’s capacity in international human rights.

OHCHR and the National Institutions and Regional Mechanisms Section stand to gain from this fellowship programme, both in terms of substantive expertise, experience of working within a NHRI, as well as through the development of a solid and extensive network of contacts with staff in NHRIs.

Terms of reference

The Fellow will be working in NIRMS under the guidance and supervision of the Chief of Section, for a period of 6 months. The Fellow will contribute to the Section’s work through:

• assisting in planning and coordinating activities related to partnerships and capacity building activities with national human rights institutions;
• conducting substantive research and analysis of developments concerning NHRIs in countries assigned to him/her;
• contributing to the mainstreaming of the work regarding national human rights institutions including support for United Nations Country Teams;
• writing a variety of reports, communications, briefings, statements, etc., including to policy-making bodies;
• reviewing, recording and consolidating information on best practices and lessons learned from technical co-operation projects or field operations in the field of national institutions;
• assisting to develop and evaluate national, regional and/or global technical co-operation projects for national institutions, as required;
• maintaining contact with national institutions and assisting them as appropriate;
• assisting to organize and implement seminars, workshops and/or training activities on national institutions at the national, regional or global level, as required;
• other related duties as required. 

The Fellow will also receive periodic briefings on the human rights system and relevant thematic issues. These briefings will be conducted through cross-Branch consultations and cooperation.

Qualifications

The candidate should have:

• Degree in law.
• Minimum 3 years of working experience in a NHRI which is accredited with “A” status by the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC). Extensive experience working on NHRI related issues, nationally, regionally and, ideally, internationally.
• He/she should be fluent in English and/or French, while knowledge of other UN languages is considered an asset. 

Candidates should also have a supporting letter from their NHRIs and be committed to imparting the knowledge and experience obtained during their fellowship to colleagues within the NHRI upon their return.

Responsibilities 

• Respective NHRI will be responsible to cover the round trip air ticket, health insurance and the entitled salary of the selected fellow during the entire fellowship programme.
• OHCHR will financially support the selected fellow in the form of a monthly stipend during the fellowship programme.

Selection process for 2012

Interested candidates should submit their applications, i. e. CV and the letter of recommendation from their respective NHRI, directly to: Noris Liza Doyen, Programme assistant, NIRMS (e-mail address: NLiza-Doyen@ohchr.org), no later than 30 November 2011. The National Institutions and Regional Mechanisms Section (FOTCD) will inform the ICC Bureau members before making the final selection of the candidates.

For more information please contact:Ms. Noris Liza Doyen, Email address: NLiza-Doyen@ohchr.org, phone no. +41 22 928 97 39; Fax: +41 22 928 9018.