The Human Rights Fellowship Programme for People of African Descent provides the participants with an intensive learning opportunity to deepen their understanding of the United Nations human rights system, instruments and mechanisms, focusing on issues of particular relevance to people of African descent. The Fellowship Programme will allow the participants to better contribute to the protection and promotion of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of people of African descent in their respective countries.
Eligibility Criteria
Selection Criteria: The selection of the fellows will reflect gender and regional balance. The human rights situation of People of African Descent in the respective countries will also be considered.
Eligibility: To be eligible for the Human Rights Fellowship:
- 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 candidate needs to have sufficient command of the English language to be able to participate fully in the programme.
- 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 programme. The selected fellows will be expected to participate in different activities and to strictly follow the programme.
Offered Benefits
The Fellowship programme for people of African descent is an intensive human rights training for people of African descent, from the diaspora, who are engaged in promoting the rights of people of African descent.
It takes place once a year at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.
The Fellowship programme 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.
The Fellowship Programme was initiated by the Anti-Racial Discrimination Section in 2011 and was further supported by General Assembly resolution on the Programme of activities for the implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent ( A/RES/69/16). The High Commissioner is the coordinator of the Decade.
Application Process
Applications can be submitted in English, Français and Español.
Applicants are requested to submit the following documents listed above in one single e-mail to
Important: Please mention in the subject header of your e-mail: “Application for the 2023 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
Required Documents:
- A Curriculum Vitae
- A completed, signed and scanned Application Form ( English | Français | Español) 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 certifying the status
- A copy of the applicant’s passport.
- Please note that submissions with more than five attachments will not be accepted.
