Call for Applications: Human Rights Fellows Program for Angola and Mozambique (2008 - 2010 Session)

The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and the Open Society Justice Initiative (the Justice Initiative) are pleased to invite applications for the Human Rights Fellows Program for the 2008-2010 session. The deadline for applications is September 17, 2007.

This program was launched in 2003 by OSISA and the Justice Initiative, in collaboration with Conectas Human Rights, the Open Society Foundation for South Africa, and civic organizations in South Africa, Mozambique, and Angola.

The fellows program is 20 months in duration and involves both academic study and practical experience in human rights and public interest advocacy. Up to six human rights lawyers and activists from Angola and Mozambique will be selected to participate. Candidates must be nominated by a human rights non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Angola or Mozambique.

Program Description: For the first eight months of the program, fellows will reside in Brazil and complete a four-month non-degree course of study at the Catholic University of São Paulo, followed by a four-month internship in a non-governmental organization based in Brazil.

The study course at the Catholic University of São Paulo runs from February to June 2008. Fellows will audit 3-4 courses, including a special "Human Rights in Practice" seminar specifically designed for the fellowship. The seminars will provide a practice-oriented, interdisciplinary overview of law reform issues, democracy-building, civil society, and the promotion and protection of human rights. Each fellow will be expected to propose a project relating to human rights or other public interest law issues, which he or she will research in connection with the seminar. The project should be related to the needs and priorities of the applicant's nominating NGO, but may change over the course of the semester, in response to the input of other students. The seminars will ideally result in project plans that can be further modified during the remainder of the year to fit the particular needs of nominating NGOs. Conectas Human Rights will supervise the fellows during the four-month course, and provide them with certificates at the end of their stay in Brazil. A respected professor in the course will serve as academic advisor. The course does not provide students with either a master's or a specialization degree.

From July to October 2008, fellows will participate in internships at human rights, legal services, or other public interest law organizations in Brazil. To the extent possible, internships will be selected according to each fellow's particular interests. Conectas Human Rights will coordinate the placement of fellows in internships.

After the first eight months, fellows will return to their home countries, where they will spend at least one year working with their nominating NGOs on human rights and public interest advocacy issues. The work may include the provision of legal services or human rights training/education and the initiation of strategic litigation or legal reform campaigns.

The Justice Initiative and OSISA will cover each fellow's coach airfare to and from Brazil. During the eight months of the first year of the program, while fellows are residing in Brazil, the Justice Initiative and OSISA will provide each fellow with a monthly stipend, a textbook allowance, medical insurance and rent. The amount of the stipend will be calculated to cover the expenses of one person living in Brazil and participating in the program for no more than an eight-month period. The Justice Initiative and OSISA will pay each fellow's salary for his/her work with his/her nominating NGO for one year, after successful completion of the eight months in Brazil and fellow's return to his/her home country. Fellows' salaries are defined by the Justice Initiative and OSISA. These two organizations will provide the salary amount to the nominating NGOs in the form of a grant.

Please note that the Justice Initiative, OSISA, Conectas Human Rights and the Catholic University of San Paulo will not provide any financial or logistical assistance for family members accompanying fellows to Brazil, including assistance with securing suitable family housing. In addition, Conectas Human Rights requires evidence of financial support for accompanying family members. Providing such evidence will be the responsibility of the applicants.

Qualifications: Applicants must work with and be nominated by a human rights oriented NGO. Applicants should have a university degree and a strong commitment to human rights or public interest law. Applicants will be selected for the program on the basis of their experience and their potential to contribute to the development of the field of human rights or public interest law in Angola or Mozambique. The feasibility of an applicant's proposed role in his or her nominating NGO will also be considered. Legal background is a preference but not a requirement for the program. Selection decisions will be made, and accepted candidates informed, by mid-October 2007.

Once selected, fellows will be required to contractually commit to one year and eight months of service in the Program.

Application Procedure: Applicants must submit a completed program application form. Applicants should also identify a project that they would like to design during the first semester of the program. Projects should demonstrate practical significance to the work of the nominating NGO.

Each applicant must also arrange for his or her nominating NGO to provide a nomination letter to the Justice Initiative and OSISA, to be sent together with other application documents to the addresses below. In the nomination letter, the nominating NGO should indicate its need for a lawyer or a human rights activist, such as the applicant, on its staff and should specify what type of work the applicant will engage in while working for the nominating NGO. The nominating NGO should also contractually commit to hiring the applicant for at least a one-year period after his or her return from the eight-month training program in Brazil, and this should be indicated in the nomination letter. The nomination letter should specify the gross monthly salary (to be fixed by Justice Initiative and OSISA according to usual NGO salaries in the given country), inclusive of all income taxes, social security and other wage-related payments payable by the individual or organization, that will be offered to the applicant by the NGO in the event that he or she is selected for the program. (This gross monthly salary amount would be provided by the Justice Initiative and OSISA to the nominating NGO in the form of a grant.) The applicant should also provide at least one recommendation in addition to the nomination letter. Additional recommendations and information on the profile of the nominating NGO are also encouraged.

Electronic submission of application materials (via e-mail) is strongly encouraged. However, an original application must also be submitted through regular mail. INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. If an application is submitted without one of the required components, it will be disqualified unless the applicant can justify why he or she cannot obtain the required information.

Information on the program, in Portuguese: http://www.conectas.org/intercambio.html/ or http://www.conectas.org/fellows.html.

Information on applications (and application form), in Portuguese: http://www.conectas.org/noticia.php?not_id=149

The DEADLINE for receiving applications is SEPTEMBER 17, 2007.

APPLICANTS FROM MOZAMBIQUE SHOULD SEND APPLICATIONS TO:
Leopoldo Amaral
Human Rights and Democracy Building (HRDB)
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA)
Tel.: +27 11 403 3414
Fax: +27 11 403 2708
Email: \n leopoldoa@osisa.org This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

and

Catharina Nakashima
Conectas Human Rights
Rua Pamplona, 1197 casa 4
São Paulo SP 01405-030 Brasil
Tel (55 11) 3884 7440
Fax (55 11) 3884 1122
Email: \n catharina.nakashima@conectas.org This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

APPLICANTS FROM ANGOLA SHOULD SEND APPLICATIONS TO:
Katila Pinto de Andrade
Rua Saturnino de Sousa e Oliveira, 129/131
Vila Alice Luanda Angola
Tel: +244 222 325 989/222 326 916
Fax: +244 222 325 015
Email: K \n atilaP@angola.osisa.org This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

and

Catharina Nakashima
Conectas Human Rights
Rua Pamplona, 1197 casa 4
São Paulo SP 01405-030 Brasil
Tel (55 11) 3884 7440
Fax (55 11) 3884 1122
Email: \n Catharina.nakashima@conectas.org This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

The URL for this page is:
http://www.justiceinitiative.org/db/resource2?res_id=103833

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The Open Society Justice Initiative, an operational program of the Open Society Institute , pursues law reform activities grounded in the protection of human rights, and contributes to the development of legal capacity for open societies worldwide. The Justice Initiative combines litigation, legal advocacy, technical assistance, and the dissemination of knowledge to secure advances in the following priority areas: national criminal justice, international justice, freedom of information and expression, and equality and citizenship. Its offices are in Abuja, Budapest, and New York.

http://www.justiceinitiative.org