Paid Internship Opportunity: Legal Intern

(Mid-September – Mid-December 2022)

Deadline for applications: 7 September

About CTI

CTI is an inter-governmental, cross-regional initiative launched in March 2014, by the Governments of Chile, Denmark, Ghana, Indonesia and Morocco, and joined in February 2019 by Fiji, (“the Core States”) to promote the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). CTI’s overall aspiration is to reduce the risks of torture and ill-treatment. CTI uses government-to-government dialogue, international cooperation and diplomacy, alongside capacity building and technical assistance, to assist governments on ways to address and overcome specific challenges.

Vision

By 2024, universal ratification of UNCAT will be a reality. The risk of torture will be reduced as all States parties will be working actively to implement the Convention.

Objectives

The objectives of the CTI are:

• To identify challenges and barriers to ratification and implementation of the UNCAT;
• To address these obstacles through inter-State cooperation, assistance and dialogue;
• To become a hub for sharing knowledge and good practices between governments;
• To build a global platform of States, the UN, national and international NGOs and experts to work jointly to achieve the CTI vision.

More information is available at www.cti2024.org, Twitter: @cti2024, and LinkedIn.

Tasks and Responsibilities

As part of the CTI Secretariat team, the CTI Intern will be involved in a range of tasks including:

• research and analysis of country situations, policy and legal issues;
• provide support for the preparation of events, technical workshops, missions or expert meetings, covering all aspects including logistical and substantive inputs;
• development and editing of various documents, including advice notes, speeches, research papers, concept notes, minutes of meetings, etc.;
• attending and reporting on bilateral or multilateral meetings at the United Nations and other fora;
• drafting press releases and social media posts;
• other tasks as they arise.

Intern Expectations

The Intern will (i) gain a deeper understanding of the Convention against Torture, its Optional Protocol and associated legal frameworks and rules, as well as its implementation in practice, (ii) be privy to the workings of a diplomatic initiative and understand better the challenges facing States regarding ratification and implementation of an international treaty, and (iii) practice and develop “professional skills”, such as project and time management, prioritization, teamwork, research, analysis and drafting, etc.

The internship will be a mix of substantive and administrative contributions. As we are a small Secretariat, there is a certain amount of administrative work being done by each staff member and while efforts are made to keep this to a minimum, all staff members are expected to contribute fully to the collective work of the Secretariat.

Your Profile

The CTI intern will have studied/be studying international human rights law, and would ideally be undertaking a relevant Masters or equivalent postgraduate programme or be in the final year of a Bachelors programme.

Fluency in English is required, and working knowledge of another UN language would be considered an asset.

While not a formal requirement, any relevant work or volunteer experience will be taken into account in the selection process. The Intern should in particular have excellent research, analytical and drafting skills, be well-organised and motivated.

Terms of Internship

The CTI Secretariat is looking to recruit a candidate based in Geneva for a three months internship to start in September, on a part-time basis (8 hours per week). While the internship period may be extended, there is no expectation in that regard.

CTI Internships are paid. Interns will need to possess a valid visa or residency permit allowing a period of Internship.

How to Apply

Please apply by uploading your CV (maximum two pages) and a cover letter (one page maximum) to the application platform. You’ll also be asked to record a short video (1 minute maximum), answering a question on the UN Convention against Torture.

Unfortunately owing to the small Secretariat, we will only be in touch with short-listed candidates. Therefore, if you have not heard from us by 16 September you should assume your application has not been successful. If you have a question, you can write to recruit_cti@cti2024.org (any application sent by email will be disregarded).