Back Legal intern (paid)

About MENA Rights Group

MENA Rights Group is a Geneva-based legal advocacy NGO, focusing on the protection and promotion of fundamental rights and freedoms in the Middle East and North Africa. Adopting a holistic approach, we work at both the individual and structural level. We provide legal counselling to victims of human rights violations through recourse to international law mechanisms. In addition, we assess the human rights situation on the ground and bring key issues to the attention of relevant stakeholders to call for legal and policy reform. We are a small and dynamic group of human rights practioners sharing a passion for the MENA region.

What you will do:

The intern will mostly be working on litigation cases: this involves documenting cases of individuals who have been victims of human rights violations and undertaking appropriate legal action on their behalf. The intern will also be supporting other advocacy actions undertaken by MENA Rights Group.

What we are looking for:

If you want to join our team, you must:

• Be a Swiss/EU citizen or hold a valid work permit for Switzerland;
• Be currently enrolled in advanced studies in law (international law, human rights law) or social sciences with a strong international law component.

We will not be able to consider candidates who do not meet these two criteria established by the State of Geneva.

And:

• Be passionate about human rights;
• Have demonstrated interest and knowledge of the MENA region;
• Speak and write English fluently; working knowledge of French or Arabic being additional assets;
• Have solid analytical and writing skills;
• Be able to work in a fast-paced environment, i.e. be organised and able to work effectively and independently;
• Ideally, be familiar with social media;
• Share our values and vision;
• Enjoy working in a small and multicultural team.

The internship is for a duration of six months (with a trial period of one month), starting October 2021. We provide our interns with a monthly stipend.

This is normally a full-time position. However, working hours can be adjusted to accommodate the intern if she/he has classes. The position is normally based in Geneva. However, depending on your location and the status of the COVID-19 pandemic, the internship will either be home-based or a combination of remote work and placement at MENA Rights Group’s office in Geneva.