OHCHR Internships

Internships for graduate students are available at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). These internships are intended to:

increase the intern’s understanding of current human rights issues at the international level and give them an insight into the work of the United Nations and OHCHR in particular; and
provide OHCHR and the United Nations Human Rights mechanisms with the assistance and contribution of outstanding young students or graduates.

The relationship between the Organization and the intern is one of mutual benefit. Interns are assigned to an organizational unit of OHCHR according to the needs of the Office and their own areas of interest. They are involved, inter alia, in: researching human rights issues, drafting analytical papers and reports, providing substantive and technical servicing of meetings, backstopping fact-finding and technical cooperation activities as well as field operations and supporting other OHCHR activities, depending on the exigencies of the Office. As part of the internship programme, OHCHR endeavours to brief interns through a series of information sessions on human rights issues conducted by staff of the Office.

Qualifications required

Please keep in mind that even if you meet the qualifications described below, there is no guarantee of an internship. You will be contacted directly by the Hiring Manager if you are selected.
Applicants to the United Nations internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:

Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);
Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent);
Have graduated with a university degree (as defined in 3.1 (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must commence the internship within a one-year period of graduation, as provided for in section 11.4 of the present instruction.

Internship dates and duration:

The maximum number of interns accepted by OHCHR at any given time is 50. There are two selections a year: the first deadline is End of May to apply for the period starting from July.

The second deadline is End of October for the period starting from January.

Unless specifically contemplated under an agreement between OHCHR and an academic institution, internships are for a minimum period of three months and may be renewed once for a further three-month period.

The maximum duration of internships at OHCHR is six months. When applying for an internship, candidates should indicate the quarter(s) for which they wish to be considered.

Closing dates for applications are 30 April for the May/June selection and 31 October for the November/December selection.

For further details and application see: OHCHR Internships