Fellowship programme for persons belonging to national or ethnic religious and linguistic minorities*

English speaking Minority Fellowship Programme for three months spring 2008 in Geneva >>More info...

I. Objective:

Through this Programme, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) aims to give persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities - particularly young minority women and men - an opportunity to gain knowledge on the UN system and mechanisms dealing with international human rights in general and minority rights in particular. The Fellowship Programme is intended to assist organizations and communities in protecting and promoting the rights of minorities they represent/belong to. Opportunities for incorporating a particular focus of the training on assisting minority Fellows in their advocacy work and cooperation with the media, as well as strengthening their capacities for negotiation to manage diversity peacefully, would also be areas to develop further in the future.

II. Background information:

The Minority Fellowship Programme was initiated by the OHCHR in 2005. The programme is of approximately one month or several months duration and is held at the OHCHR in Geneva, Switzerland.

A total of 25 persons benefited from this programme since its inception in 2005: 5 in Spring 2005, 6 in Spring 2006 and, exceptionally, 10 during August 2006 to coincide with the meeting of the 12th session of the former UN Working Group on Minorities, and 4 in Spring 2007.

The participants have come from different ethnic, religious and linguistic communities from all regions of the world: Copt from Egypt, Palestinian Arab from Israel, Roma from Kosovo, Dalit from India, Wayeyi from Botswana, Roma from Bulgaria, Muslim women in Canada, Anywa of Ethiopia, Khasi of North East India, Kachin of Myanmar, Dalit in Nepal, Roma from Hungary, Kurdish in Iran (Islamic Republic of), Turkmen in Iraq, Terik in Kenya, Uzbek in Kyrgyzstan, Ogoni in Nigeria, Karamoja in Uganda, Afro-descendant in Uruguay, Chechen from the Russian Federation and Ngae from the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. Additionally, fellows addressed the situation of Iranians of Azerbaijani identity and of minorities in Somalia and Nigeria as well as the minority situation affecting the Oromo in Ethiopia.

So far the Minority Fellowship Programme has been held in English only. A pilot Arabic-speaking Fellowship programme is being planned for one month duration between 16 to 20 November and 15 and 20 December 2007.

III. Content of the programme:

General introductions to the work of treaty bodies (particularly the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - CERD) and to charter-based bodies (including the Human Rights Council - HRC) will be provided. The Minority fellows will also have the opportunity to attend/observe sessions of human rights bodies. Training on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Minorities, the work of the UN Working Group on Minorities, and the work of the Independent Expert on minority issues, will give the participants a valuable understanding of the standards and mechanisms of the UN dedicated to minority issues. Minority fellows will also get a general understanding on the country-focused work of OHCHR and on practical ways of strengthening national human rights protection systems. They will be given the opportunity to establish contacts and to network/lobby with the non-governmental community and other inter-governmental organizations.

Several major assignments will need to be completed by the end of the programme, namely the preparation of training projects or follow-up activities to the Fellowship Programme, and the filling in of information contained in the Minority Profile and Matrix. The idea of the Profile and Matrix arose from the need identified by the Minority Fellows to understand better the contents and scope of the United Nations Minorities Declaration, the commentary on the Declaration and other international standards and jurisprudence relating to minorities. It is designed as a tool and aims to: improve understanding of the Declaration on Minorities; indicate current legislation, policies and practices; identify avenues for data collection, its analysis and application; enable suggestions for improving situations; develop a checklist on human rights challenges affecting minorities; identify trends and situations which could fuel conflict or violence; develop a common language for sharing information and good practices; and contribute to the work of international human rights mechanisms. In practice the Profile and Matrix may also serve as a useful source for minorities to present information to their own Governments, national human rights institutions and regional organizations. The Minority Profile and Matrix on the human rights situation of minorities is available as UN document E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.5/2006/3.

More generally, it is expected by the end of the Programme, that Minorities Fellows should be capable of giving trainings within their communities and organizations on the information and knowledge gained during the Fellowship Programme.

IV. 2007 pilot Arabic speaking Minority Fellowship Programme:

The deadline for application to the 2007 pilot Arabic speaking fellowship programme is 15 October 2007. It is expected that four to five Fellows, will be chosen, taking account of gender balance, to participate in the 2007 Programme to be held between November and December 2007.

Each Fellow will be entitled to the following :

1) A return air ticket (economy class) from the country of residence to Geneva;

2) A monthly grant to cover modest accommodation as well as other living expenses in Geneva for the duration of the Programme; and

3) Health insurance for the duration of the Programme

V. Selection process and criteria:

The following guidelines and general criteria pertain to the selection of candidates for the Minorities Fellowship Programme:

 The individual candidate:

1. The candidate must belong to a minority group (persons who do not belong to a minority group will not be taken into consideration, even if they have close links with minority communities and/or organizations)

2. Age should not be a limitation to participation in the Minorities Fellowship Programme, although preference initially will be given to candidates between 25 - 35 years.

3. Formal education should not be a limitation to participation in the Minorities Fellowship Programme, if relevant experience can be demonstrated.

4. Candidates should have ability and willingness to train other persons belonging to minorities upon return to their respective communities/organizations.

5. The candidate should have the written support of their community or organization.

6. The candidates must have a good understanding of the Arabic language, as there will be summary interpretation of the trainings and debriefings in Arabic and applicants should be aware that trainings and briefings may be conducted originally in the English language.

 The sponsoring organization/association/community :

7. The overall goal of the Minorities Fellowship Programme is to offer persons belonging to minorities the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in the field of international human rights in order to assist their organizations and communities in protecting and promoting human and minority rights. Therefore, it is important that the candidate proposed and nominated by a minority organization or community be someone who will return to his or her NGO to work in this field.

8. It is desirable that the sponsoring organization or association undertakes work on minority issues and is composed of persons belonging to minorities.

  Other guidelines and criteria:

9. The selection of the Minorities Fellows should reflect a gender balance.

10. Five to ten alternates should be selected in the event that any of the first five preferences will not be available for the period of the programme.

In view of the large number of applications, we regret to inform that only successful candidates will be contacted.

Fellowship applications will only be taken into consideration if they are fully completed. They must be signed and either faxed or scanned by email or sent by regular post at the following address:

Minorities Fellowship Programme
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
UNOG-OHCHR
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Telephone number: (+ 41 22) 928 9204
Telefax number: (+41 22) 928 9010

E-mailed applications will not be taken into consideration, unless they are signed and scanned.

APPLICATION FORM

VI. English speaking Minority Fellowship Programme for three months Spring 2008

The candidates that have been selected for the 2008 English speaking programme are :

Mr Manpreet Singh (Sikh from India)
Mr Fedor Kondur (Rom from Ukraine)
Ms Nilofar d/o Abdul Hussain (Hazara Shiat from Afghanistan)
Ms Anna Dreyzina (Russian from Azerbaijan)
Mr Khalid Hussain (Bihari from Bangladesh)

Each Fellow will be entitled to the following :

1) A return air ticket (economy class) from the country of residence to Geneva;

2) A monthly grant to cover modest accommodation as well as other living expenses in Geneva for the duration of the Programme; and

3) Health insurance for the duration of the Programme

VII. Selection process and criteria:

The following guidelines and general criteria pertain to the selection of candidates for the Minorities Fellowship Programme:

 The individual candidate:

1. The candidate must belong to a minority group (persons who do not belong to a minority group will not be taken into consideration, even if they have close links with minority communities and/or organizations)

2. Age should not be a limitation to participation in the Minorities Fellowship Programme, although preference initially will be given to candidates between 25 - 35 years.

3. Formal education should not be a limitation to participation in the Minorities Fellowship Programme, if relevant experience can be demonstrated.

4. Candidates should have ability and willingness to train other persons belonging to minorities upon return to their respective communities/organizations.

5. The candidate should have the written support of their community or organization.

6. The candidates must have a good understanding of the English language, as all trainings and debriefings will be conducted in English.

 The sponsoring organization/association/community :

7. The overall goal of the Minorities Fellowship Programme is to offer persons belonging to minorities the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in the field of international human rights in order to assist their organizations and communities in protecting and promoting human and minority rights. Therefore, it is important that the candidate proposed and nominated by a minority organization or community be someone who will return to his or her NGO to work in this field.

8. It is desirable that the sponsoring organization or association undertakes work on minority issues and is composed of persons belonging to minorities.

  Other guidelines and criteria:

9. The selection of the Minorities Fellows should reflect a regional and gender balance.

10. Ten alternates should be selected in the event that any of the first five preferences will not be available for the period of the programme.

Any questions pertaining to the Minority Fellowship Programme can be sent to the address mentioned below or E-mailed to: minorities@ohchr.org

Minorities Fellowship Programme
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
UNOG-OHCHR
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Telephone number: (+ 41 22) 928 9204
Telefax number: (+41 22) 928 9010

* The implementation of the Fellowship programme is dependent on funding being made available