Student Opportunities

International Law and Human Rights Student Fellowship Program

Pamila Pengra (JD ’09), left, visits the Ibn Tulun Mosque with two other interns during her fellowship with the Housing and Land Rights Network in Cairo.

About

Eligibility

Components

List of Fellowship Placements 2008-09

Arthur Helton Global Human Rights Fellowship

About

The Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, in cooperation with the Institute for International Law and Justice, administers a fellowship program for selected NYU School of Law students that combines academic and practical experience in international law and human rights.  The International Law and Human Rights Student Fellowship Program offers the opportunity to complete a specialized training program in international law, undertake a summer internship at an elite institution, and complete a substantial research paper growing out of that work experience.  Established in 2002, the Fellowship Program is undertaken with support from the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) among others.  A modest stipend is available for first-year JD, second-year JD, LLM and JSD students at NYU School of Law selected for Fellowship.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants for the Fellowship are persons who are at the time of application full-time first-year JD, second-year JD, LLM and JSD students at NYU School of Law, in both New York and Singapore academic programs. The application, interview and selection process is competitive and rigorous and occurs during the Fall Semester. A description of Fellowship Program application requirements and process can be found in the 2008-09 Fellowship application.

Components

Fellowships generally focus on the areas of Transitional Justice, Human Rights and International Law and have three main components:

Training Program: During the Spring Semester, Student Fellows complete seminars on substantive international law issues that are relevant to their placements and designed to prepare them for their internships. Most students with internship placements at the International Law Commission are required to enroll in a 2-credit course about the ILC in the Spring semester. For a description, see Spring 2009 Seminars.

Research Paper: Student Fellows undertake a supervised research project on a transitional justice, international law or human rights issue to be agreed upon in advance with academic supervisors at NYU.

Fieldwork: Student Fellows conduct fieldwork through summer internships at placement sites for which they have applied and been selected, generally for 10 to 12. The nature of the fieldwork experience varies according to placement site, but may include direct client interaction, legal research, work on domestic campaigns, attending relevant meetings, drafting research or policy papers, and general institutional support as assigned by the host institution.

• For more information about the nature of activities at particular placement sites, review internship reports of the PILC Summer Funding Program(NYU NetID and password required).

During the 2008-09 academic year, there were 26 Student Fellows, with fieldwork placements at 19 prominent institutions, inter-governmental, governmental and non-governmental.

• For a list of Student Fellows and Placements 2003 to Present

Arthur Helton Global Human Rights Fellowship

The Arthur Helton Global Human Rights Fellowship has been offered at NYU School of Law since fall 2008. This new fellowship supports one graduating student annually who has demonstrated a commitment to pursuing a career in international human rights law, and who has designed a sound proposal for work at a host organization that they have chosen. Applicants are invited to design projects to put their legal education to work on timely issues in countries where their efforts are most needed and where there are insufficient resources for human rights protection. The fellowship provides a modest salary for one year and covers health insurance and travel costs for graduates to work closely with their chosen host organization. For more information, please click here.

Reena Arora (JD ’08) in Thailand.

Student Highlight: Reena Arora, Recipient of the 2008-2009 Arthur Helton Global Human Rights Fellowship

After graduating with my J.D., I received the 2008-2009 Arthur Helton Global Human Rights Fellowship to work with the Migrant Assistance Program (MAP Foundation) in Chiang Mai, Thailand for a year. Prior to attending NYU School of Law, I worked with the MAP Foundation in Southern Thailand, assisting Burmese migrant workers after the tsunami wreaked havoc and destruction in the area. I am enormously grateful for the opportunity the fellowship has provided by allowing me to return to work for the MAP Foundation. With my newly acquired skills from law school, I now feel I can really contribute to the organization that generated my initial interest in labor migration and migrant worker rights to begin with.

As a fellow at the MAP Foundation, I primarily work with the Act against Abuse project on labor rights, as well as one known as the POSH project, which promotes occupational health and safety. Overall, I help to manage the legal casework, utilize the information from this casework for advocacy efforts, and prepare domestic and international campaigns. I also recently had a chance to interview migrants for Human Rights Watch, gathering accounts of restrictions being placed on their basic liberties by the Thai government. I also have the opportunity to conduct capacity building workshops for MAP Foundation staff and volunteers on international human rights law as well as human rights investigation and documentation.

In addition to these projects, I work with a regional organization, Mekong Migration Network, of which MAP Foundation is a member. This organization seeks to examine the issues of migrants within the Greater Mekong sub region—which consists of Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Yunnan Province of China. Through the Network, I have helped to develop the curriculum for a three-week training course on labor migration management for government officials in partnership with Mekong Institute, an academic training institute at Khon Kaen University. The Mekong Migration Network also produces an annual resource book on migration; this year’s theme is the impact of cross-border economic zones. I’ve assisted them on this book by helping them develop primary research questionnaires and secondary research to help to analyze the results of the questionnaires using the framework of international human rights law.

At the MAP Foundation I am considered a full-time staff member and have already been offered an opportunity to join the staff after completion of my fellowship, which would allow me to continue my work. I am deeply grateful for the opportunities this fellowship has given me and strongly encourage other law students with a passion for human rights to pursue the fellowship.

List of Fellowship Placements 2008-09

Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Criminal or Appellate Division, Section I for War Crimes, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Court was established in 2002 by the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Criminal Division, Section I for War Crimes has five first-instance court panels composed of three judges each, two international and one national. The Appellate Division, Section I consists of one second-instance court panel composed of three judges, two international and one national. Unlike the ICTY, the Court of the BiH does not have a time-limited mandate. In the context of the ICTY Completion Strategy, a number of cases have been transferred from The Hague to the BiH Court. The Court of BiH bases it work on the laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as the BiH Criminal Code and the BiH Criminal Procedure Code, including laws on genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and violations of the laws and practices of warfare, and individual criminal responsibility related to those crimes. Note: This placement is for 12 weeks. For more information, see http://www.sudbih.gov.ba/?jezik=e.

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Office of the Co-Prosecutors, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

In 2001 the Cambodian National Assembly created the “Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for the Prosecution of Crimes Committed during the Period of Democratic Kampuchea” to try serious crimes committed during the Khmer Rouge regime 1975-1979. Cambodia invited international participation due to the weakness of the Cambodian legal system and the international nature of the crimes, and to help in meeting international standards of justice. An agreement with the UN was reached in 2003; in July 2006 the national and international judicial officials of the ECCC were sworn in and in June 2007, they unanimously adopted the Internal Rules of the court. The first charges were filed in July 2007. The Office of the Co-Prosecutors (1 Cambodian and 1 international) collects evidence and makes an initial determination as to whom to charge and with what crimes, which is passed on to investigating judges; it then presents evidence in the trials that follow. Note: This placement is for 12 weeks. For more information, see a href="http://www.eccc.gov.kh/english">http://www.eccc.gov.kh/english.

Instituto de Democracia y Derechos Humanos de la Pontifica Universidad Católica del Perú (IDEH-PUCP, Institute on Democracy and Human Rights of the Catholic University of Peru), Lima, Peru

The aim of IDEH-PUCP is to contribute to the strengthening of democracy and the respect for human rights in Peru through scholarship, basic and applied research, providing spaces for dialogue and interaction between civil society and the government, and the promotion of the values that uphold human rights and the rule of law.  Part of its work grew out of the work of the Peru Truth and Reconciliation Commission that investigated human rights abuses between 1980 and 2000 and issued a final report in August 2003.  The report found that insurgent violence and counterinsurgency tactics caused an estimated 69,000 deaths and disappearances, mostly in indigenous communities. IDEH-PUCP seeks to follow-up on Commission recommendations including a comprehensive reparations plan and criminal prosecutions, the latter having faced obstacles such as procedural impediments.  For more information, see www.pucp.edu.pe/idehpucp

Abra Bron (JD ’09), Gerhard Thallinger (LLM ’07), Alexander Feldman (JD ’09), Céline Folsché (LLM ’07) pose outside the UN headquarters in Geneva during their fellowships at the International Law Commission.

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Washington, D.C.

The IACHR is one of two official bodies in the inter-American system for the promotion and protection of human rights.  (The other is the Inter-American Court of Human Rights located in San José, Costa Rica.) The IACHR is an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS); its mandate is found in the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights.  The IACHR has seven members who act independently, without representing any particular country.  Its principal function is to promote the observance and the defense of human rights. In carrying out its mandate, the Commission: receives, analyzes and investigates individual petitions which allege human rights violations; observes the general human rights situation in the member States and publishes reports as it considers appropriate; carries out on-site visits to countries to engage in more in-depth analysis of the general situation and/or to investigate a specific situation; requests States to adopt specific "precautionary measures" to avoid serious and irreparable harm to human rights in urgent cases; requests that the Court order "provisional measures" in urgent cases; submits cases to the Inter-American Court and appears before the Court in the litigation of cases.  For more information, see http://www.cidh.oas.org.

International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), New York, Bogotá, Colombia and Cape Town, South Africa

The ICTJ assists countries pursuing accountability for past mass atrocity or human rights abuse.  The Center works in societies emerging from repressive rule or armed conflict, as well as in established democracies where historical injustices or systemic abuse remain unresolved.  The ICTJ assists in the development of integrated, comprehensive, and localized approaches to transitional justice comprising five key elements: prosecuting perpetrators, documenting and acknowledging violations through non-judicial means such as truth commissions, reforming abusive institutions, providing reparations to victims, and facilitating reconciliation processes.  The Center is committed to building local capacity and generally strengthening the emerging field of transitional justice, and works closely with organizations and experts around the world to do so.  For more information, see http://www.ictj.org.

International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Geneva, Switzerland

The ICJ is dedicated to the primacy, coherence and implementation of international law and principles that advance human rights by the provision of legal expertise at both the international and national levels to ensure that developments in international law adhere to human rights principles and that international standards are implemented at the national level. The ICJ was founded in Berlin in 1952 and its membership is composed of sixty eminent jurists who are representatives of the different legal systems of the world. Based in Geneva, the International Secretariat is responsible for the realization of the aims and objectives of the Commission. In carrying out its work, the International Secretariat benefits from a network of autonomous national sections and affiliated organizations located in all continents. For more information, see http://www.icj.org/sommaire.php3?lang=en.

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Arusha, Tanzania

The ICTR was established by the U.N. in 1994.  It was established for the prosecution of persons responsible for Rwandan genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of Rwanda between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1994.  Interning at the ICTR offers a unique opportunity for students to take part in criminal prosecutions, involving the application of international humanitarian and criminal law, in cases relating to the Rwandan genocide.  The Rwandan genocide, in which at least 800,000 people were killed in 100 days.  Since 1994, the ICTR has rendered 22 judgments, with another 25 cases on trial as of September 2005. Fellows will take part in the ICTR’s established program and will be placed in either judge’s chambers or in the Prosecutor’s Office.  Note: The court requires that the summer placement be for at least 12 weeks. For more information, see http://www.ictr.org

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), The Hague, The Netherlands

The ICTY was established by the U.N. Security Council in 1993 in the face of serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991.  The Tribunal's authority is to prosecute and try four clusters of offences: grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions; violations of the laws or customs of war; genocide; and crimes against humanity. The court consists of three "branches": the judges' Chambers, the Office of the Prosecutor, and the Registry.  Students can apply to any of the three branches and must rank their preferences.  Note: The court requires that the summer placement be for at least 12 weeks.  For more information, see http://www.un.org/icty/index.html

International Women’s Rights Action Watch (IWRAW)– Asia Pacific, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

IWRAW Asia Pacific contributes to the progressive interpretation, universalization, implementation and realization of women's human rights through the lens of CEDAW and other international human rights treaties. It facilitates a process through which the CEDAW Convention can be used as a tool for applying international human rights standards at the national level and in a wide range of contexts (e.g. political participation, armed conflict, rights in marriage, violence against women, trafficking reproductive rights, employment, etc.). The experiences gained have contributed to the development of knowledge and skills, and created a better understanding of the various dimensions of equality, non-discrimination, State obligation, human rights principles (e.g., universality and indivisibility), and a rights-based approach to development. For more information, see http://www.iwraw-ap.org/.

Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), Amman, Jordan

The Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) is a student-run organization with chapters at Yale Law School, New York University Law School and Boalt School of Law at Berkeley working to improve the plight of Iraqi refugees. The Iraq war has displaced up to 5 million people and left more than 2 million Iraqi refugees stranded in Syria, Jordan and other neighboring countries. Denied basic freedoms such as the right to work and unable to return to their homes because of ongoing violence, refugees struggle to subsist on dwindling savings. While some hope for a better life in the West, very few have been resettled there. The result is a grave humanitarian crisis. IRAP, through legal assistance, policy advocacy and direct assistance, seeks to facilitate the resettlement of refugees, improve U.S. policy toward the refugee crisis, and ease the transition of newly resettled refugees to new lives. For more information, see http://www.iraqirefugee.us/Site/Welcome_to_IRAP.html.

Legal Resources Center (LRC), Johannesburg, South Africa (LRC)

LRC is an independent, client-based, non-profit public interest law center which uses law as an instrument of justice.  It works for the development of a fully democratic society based on the principle of substantive equality, by providing legal services for the vulnerable and marginalized, including the poor, homeless, and landless people and communities of South Africa who suffer discrimination by reason of race, class, gender, disability or by reason of social, economic, and historical circumstances. The LRC recognizes that with South Africa’s Constitution still in its infancy, the human rights precedents being set now will make an important contribution to the future of human rights in South Africa and will have beneficial effects in the longer term throughout the Southern African region. For more information, see http://www.lrc.org.za

Jeannie Rose Field (JD ’09) holding dolls made by refugees during her fellowship with the Bangkok office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

People's Watch, Tamil Nadu, India

People's Watch-Tamil Nadu is a non-governmental human rights organization which has been actively engaged in the protection and promotion of human rights in the state of Tamil Nadu and other parts of the country since 1995. Its mission is to empower marginalized sections of society to realize their rights through collective action. Its objectives are to hold the state accountable for violations of human rights and to promote a valuable human rights culture that pervades all elements of society.  People’s Watch has several programmatic divisions, including human rights monitoring, Dalit human rights, women’s rights, rehabilitation of torture victims, and human rights education.  For more information, see http://www.pwtn.org

Refugee Law Project (RLP), Kampala, Uganda

RLP seeks to ensure fundamental human rights for all refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Uganda. Its goal is for Uganda to treat all such people with the same standards of individual respect and social justice that it applies to the rest of its citizens. Uganda stands at the geographic centre of a region characterized by war and instability, and the conflicts in neighboring Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi have resulted in more than 200,000 officially registered refugees living in the country. Insurgencies in northern Uganda have resulted in large populations of IDPs whose homes and livelihoods continue to be threatened by the absence of stable peace. Uganda's Refugees Act (2006) created a relatively enabling and pro-rights legal environment, but some weaknesses remain (e.g. the lack of a proper appeals process) and, after nearly half a century of the previous Control of Aliens and Refugees Act, attitudes and practices are deeply entrenched in government bodies and agencies dealing directly with refugees. RLP engages in a diverse set of activities that are not often seen within one organization -- part advocacy group, part research institution, part legal aid clinic, part trainer and educator. Note: This placement is for 12 weeks. For more information, see http://www.refugeelawproject.org.

Timap for Justice, Sierra Leone

Timap for Justice is a pioneering effort to provide basic justice services in Sierra Leone. Because of a shortage of lawyers in the country, Timap’s frontline is made up of community-based paralegals rather than lawyers. It presently employs 25 paralegals who work in 13 paralegal offices in the Northern and Southern provinces as well as in the capital Freetown. Timap has developed a creative, flexible model to advance justice, one which combines education, mediation, negotiation, organizing, and advocacy. Interns will evaluate the paralegals' application of necessary skills, conduct training sessions on common law concepts such as contracts, torts and criminal law, and contribute a considerable portion of their time to devising and executing strategies to address community-level issues. Interns are usually stationed in rural Sierra Leone and rarely deal with litigation, statutes, courts, or legal research and writing. While interns work closely with paralegals, direct supervision of the intern’s work is limited; thus, individual initiative and self-direction are important assets. For more information, see www.timapforjustice.org

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Geneva, Switzerland and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

UNHCR was established in 1950 by the U.N. General Assembly.  It is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide.  Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees.  It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.  Today, UNHCR is one of the world's principal humanitarian agencies, its staff of more than 6,500 personnel helping 19.2 million people in 116 countries.  Placements are anticipated at three UNHCR offices: the Geneva headquarters and one field office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Note: UNHCR requires that summer placements be for at least 12 weeks.  For more information, see http://www.unhcr.org.

United Nations International Law Commission (ILC), Geneva, Switzerland

The International Law Commission is the legal codification arm of the United Nations. It meets every summer in Geneva to consider proposals for treaties, declarations of principles and other codifications or elaborations in norms previously only the subject of customary international law. Examples of the issues debated by the Commission in the past include the establishment of a permanent international criminal court and the formulation of the law on state responsibility. Current topics include reservations to treaties, responsibility of international organizations, shared natural resources, effects of armed conflicts on treaties, obligation to extradite or prosecute (aut dedere aut judicare), expulsion of aliens, immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction and protection of persons in the event of disasters.

Members of the Commission are prominent experts in public international law and are elected in their individual capacities. Each student is assigned to work with a particular Commission member, not as a UN intern. This internship is cerebral and scholarly, not action packed - students undertake work assigned by Commission members, attend ILC meetings, conduct research, and write major papers with a view toward eventual publication. The Commission session normally begins in late April, so students travel to Geneva as soon as possible after exams in mid May, and return in mid August. It is expected that in 2009 the Commission will meet from May 4 to June 5 and from July 6 to August 7. For the membership and work of the Commission, see its most recent annual report at http://www.un.org/law/ilc.

For more information about the Fellowship Program, please contact:

Patricia Armstrong
Fellowship Coordinator
Center for Human Rights and Global Justice
New York University School of Law
110 West Third Street, Room 204
New York NY 10012
Tel: (+1-212) 998-6280
Fax: (+1-212) 995-4646
Email: tish.armstrong@ nyu.edu