For Students

Special notice of a Spring 2024 opportunity: Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights is seeking Spring Legal Interns to advance the work of the International Advocacy and Litigation team for the Spring 2024. The internship is a 10-week commitment from January 16, 2024 to March 29, 2024. Applications are considered, and positions are offered on a rolling basis, but preference will be given to applications received by 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, November 5, 2023.

Advocates for Human Rights (Minneapolis, MN): This organizations seeks "to implement international human rights standards to promote civil society and reinforce the rule of law." It uses "a dual focus on systemic change and direct services, [to] ground policy work in real-life experiences, bridging the gap between advocacy and action."

Center for Law and Education (Boston, MA): CLE strives to make the right of all students to quality education a reality.

Centre for Disability Law & Policy (Galway, Ireland): CDLP collaborates with research institutions to advance lifecycle approaches to policy development for people with disabilities.

Due Diligence Project (DDP) (Remote) DDP is a research-advocacy project which focuses on the due diligence principle and state accountability to eliminate discrimination and violence against women. In 2013 DDP developed the Diligence Framework on State Accountability to Eliminate Violence against Women (“the Framework”) focusing primarily in five areas, namely, prevention, protection, prosecution, punishment and provision of redress and reparation (5P’s). The Due Diligence Project applies this universal framework and adds to the knowledge base across different thematic areas, including family and culture, sexual and reproductive rights, and presently on information communication technology (ICT) related violence against women, to ensure that the objective of laws and policies on women’s human rights is translated into practice.

Inter-American Court of Human Rights (San José, Costa Rica): The Inter-American Court is a regional human rights tribunals whose objective is to interpret and apply the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Court adjudicates cases, issues provisional measures in select cases that are particularly serious and urgent, and issues advisory opinions. (Recommended only for individuals fluent in Spanish.)

Namati (Washington DC, New York, NY): Namati is building a global movement of grassroots legal advocates who empower people to understand, use, and shape the law. In the past four years, Namati and its partners have worked with over 40,000 clients to take on some of the greatest challenges of our times: protecting community lands, enforcing environmental law, and securing basic rights to healthcare and citizenship. Co-op students will support Namati’s Global Network and Advocacy Team and will have a wide range of opportunities to support Namati’s diverse global portfolio of legal empowerment projects.

National Homelessness Law Center (Washington, DC): NHLC acts as the legal arm of a nationwide movement to prevent and end homelessness by pursuing impact litigation, policy advocacy, and public education. NHLC uses a human rights framework and targets the root causes of homelessness, including the shortage of affordable housing, insufficient income, and inadequate social services. Co-op students will work on NHLC’s human rights projects and other civil rights initiatives, including using human rights in federal legislation, working with local human rights commissions to embrace a human right to housing, litigating human rights issues with local lawyers and activists; and raising U.S. homelessness and poverty issues with UN and Inter-American human rights monitors.

New York City Commission on Human Rights (New York, NY): The Commission "is charged with the enforcement of the Human Rights Law, Title 8 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York, and with educating the public and encouraging positive community relations."

Oxfam America (Boston, MA): Oxfam America is a leading international development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. Co-op students work in the Private Sector Department, which works to define corporate responsibility to protect human rights, promote socially-responsible investing, and advance stakeholder initiatives. The Private Sector Department also supports private-sector engagement on the following Oxfam America campaigns and advocacy priorities: rights in crisis, economic justice, access to medicines, and aid effectiveness.

Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) (Boston, MA): PHRGE produces action-oriented research that promotes human rights in the United States and internationally. PHRGE specializes in economic, social, and cultural rights; current interests include the right to water and immigrants' rights. PHRGE's tools include engaging with United Nations mechanisms (e.g., the treaty review process and the Special Rapporteur reporting system) and partnering with advocates and advocacy organizations.

Proyecto de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales (Mexico City, Mexico): ProDESC's mission is the defense of economic, social and cultural rights of underrepresented workers and communities in Mexico.

Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (Lund, Sweden): RWI promotes universal respect for human rights and humanitarian law through research, academic education, and institutional development.

Rich Coast Project (Caribe Sur, Costa Rica): RCP coordinates projects that investigate and document the history, identity, and human rights of southern Caribbean Costa Rican communities to create a living public archive.