Deadline: July 15, 2021

Applications are open for the United Nations OHCHR Fellowship Program for People of African Descent 2021. The Fellowship program for people of African descent is a three-week intensive learning opportunity for people of African descent, from the diaspora, who are engaged in promoting the rights of people of African descent.

The aim is to strengthen participants’ skills to contribute to the protection and promotion of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of people of African descent in their respective countries. The participants are equipped with the tools necessary to enhance the development of legislation, policies and programs; to strengthen collaboration of civil society with governments; and to undertake local awareness-raising activities. It takes place once a year at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.

Benefits

The Fellowship program provides the participants with the opportunity to:

• Learn about and deepen their understanding of the international human rights law and the UN human rights system, the international framework to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and intersecting issues with a focus on people of African descent;
• Strengthen skills in developing project proposals, delivering presentations and submitting information to human rights mechanisms;
• Gain first-hand exposure to human rights mechanisms;
• Meet with a wide-range of actors.

Eligibility

• The candidate must be an individual of African descent living in the Diaspora.
• The candidate must have a minimum of 4 years of work experience related to the rights of People of African Descent.
• The program is bilingual in English and French. The candidate needs to have sufficient command of one of the two languages to be able to participate fully in the program.
• The candidate has to submit a letter from an organization working on issues related to People of African Descent or minority rights certifying their status.
• The candidates must be available to attend the full duration of the program. The selected fellows will be expected to participate in different activities and to strictly follow the program.

Application

Applicants are requested to submit the following documents in one single e-mail to africandescentfellowship@ohchr.org:

• A Curriculum Vitae
• A completed, signed and scanned Application Form in one single document.
• A Personal Statement (maximum 500 words) in which the candidate will explain his/her motivation for applying, and how he/she will use the knowledge gained from the fellowship to promote the interests and rights of people of African descent.
• An Official Letter from the nominating organization or community certifying the status
• A copy of the applicant’s passport.

Note that submissions with more than five attachments will not be accepted.

Important: Mention in the subject header of your e-mail: “Application for the 2021 Fellowship Programme for People of African Descent.”

Name the attached document as follows:

LAST NAME First name – Type of document
Example: SMITH Jacqueline – Application form.doc
SMITH Jacqueline – A Personal Statement.doc
SMITH Jacqueline – Letter certifying Status.pdf
SMITH Jacqueline – Passport.pdf

For more information, visit UN OHCHR.