Civic Space Intern

Geneva

up 6 months 2026

The Office of the United Nations 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 the international internship with the Civic Space Unit within the Rule of Law, Accountability and Civic Space (RACS) Branch and under the Thematic and Special Procedures Division (TSP) of OHCHR. Hiring office functional mandate: Enhancing participation and protecting civic space is one of the key pillars and shifts of the OHCHR's Management Plan. The Civic Space Unit's focuses on 5 priority areas: 1. Support regional and in-country initiatives to protect Human Rights Defenders (HRDs): We will map out protection practices, initiate pilot country projects, promote and support regional and national “protection hubs”, share good practices and lessons learned, support legal and policymaking processes at the country level. 2. Support strategic field engagement on civic space: We will convene key actors to develop joined up strategies and surge capacity to respond in a timely manner to urgent situations, threats or opportunities, where human rights actors were ill prepared to mitigate, otherwise, often predictable threats to civic space. 3. Monitoring of civic space and the situation of HRDs: We will develop a practical monitoring framework to track civic space trends and the situation of HRDs, including in relation to the SDG16 indicators, and to increase our capacity to collect, analyse, report and communicate data on an ongoing basis. 4. Mainstreaming civic space and protection in UN system: We will elevate civic space, participation and protection work within UN system in a coherent and coordinated way, by mapping UN policies and practices, sharing experiences, addressing reprisals, and supporting UN leadership and country teams. 5. Building public support for civic space and HRDs: We will bring greater visibility and understanding regarding the essential role of HRDs among the broader public, including by working with wide range of HRDs and creating sustainable and easy-to-use pathways for business actors to support HRDs. OHCHR has a unique role to play to take on this global challenge through a new multi-dimensional initiative to: • strengthen good protection practices, including protection networks; • raise the visibility and increase support for the work of defenders and influence the narrative; • monitor civic space trends and situation of HRDs; • and mainstream civic space in the wider UN policies, practices and operational activities. OHCHR will also pursue its efforts to lead the UN system-wide efforts to mitigate reprisals against those who cooperated, cooperates or seeks to cooperate with the UN system on human rights.

To qualify for the United Nations Secretariat internship programme, applicants must, at the time of submission, be a recent graduate or enrolled in a graduate school programme (i.e. Master's degree or equivalent degree, or higher) or, be a recent graduate or enrolled in the 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, 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.

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this internship fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another United Nations official language would be an advantage (i.e. Arabic, French, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Not available.

Interns are not financially remunerated by the United Nations. Costs and arrangements for travel, visas, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of interns or their sponsoring institutions. Interns who are not citizens or permanent residents of the country where the internship is undertaken, may be required to obtain the appropriate visa and work/employment authorization. Successful candidates should discuss their specific visa requirements before accepting the internship offer.

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.