Job Opening
Job Opening ID: 227395
Job Network : Political, Peace and Humanitarian
Job Family : Human Rights Affairs
Category and Level : Internship, I-1
Duty Station : GENEVA
Department/Office : Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date Posted : Feb 3, 2024
Deadline : Feb 9, 2024

Work Location
In-Person
Expected duration
6 months
Duties and Responsibilities
The United Nations Office of the 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.

The intern, under the general guidance of a primary supervisor, will be assigned to the Humanitarian Action Unit (HAU), within the Emergency Response Section (ERS), located within the Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division (FOTCD), based in Geneva. The Emergency Response Section coordinates rapid response activities and provides specialized technical and operational support to field presences, geographic sections and OHCHR leadership in the areas of peace missions, early warning and preparedness, fact-finding, investigation, establishment and running of field presences and humanitarian action.

The Humanitarian Action Unit (HAU) provides substantive support and guidance to OHCHR senior management on humanitarian processes – Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Principals, IASC Working Group, Emergency Directors Group and other inter-agency meetings. HAU also represents OHCHR in the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) and ProCap Steering Committee. Through these processes, the Unit is dedicated to participate to the development of global policies.

The intern, based in the Humanitarian Action Unit (HAU) will support OHCHR in fulfilling its mission.

Duties will include but are not limited to:
– Prepare for, assist and attend, as relevant, inter-agency meetings, and carry out any necessary follow-up including drafting briefing notes/talking points,
– drafting meeting minutes/notes to the file and brief unit members indicating recommendations and action points,
– Carry out research as requested and provide inputs to OHCHR and interagency tools/reports/processes,
– Update and maintain the Human Rights and Humanitarian Action start-up kit and portal,
– Liaise with relevant in-house and external partners as necessary,
– Generally assist the unit in preparing for in-house and inter-agency processes,
– May assist the section with the UNOCC reporting, on a part-time basis,
– Perform other tasks as requested by the Unit Head or respective supervisor, as appropriate.
Qualifications/special skills
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.
Excellent communication and drafting skills.
Strong analytical and research skills.
Knowledge of human rights principles and international mechanisms systems
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this internship fluency in English is required (both oral and written), knowledge of French is an asset. Knowledge of another United Nations official language would be an advantage (i.e. Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).