About the Fellowship Program:
The Minorities Fellowship Programme (MFP), established in 2005, is the OHCHR’s most comprehensive training program for human rights and minority rights defenders from national, ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities.
By the end of the MFP, the fellows should have a broad understanding of the United Nations system, international human rights treaties and mechanisms in general, and those relevant to minorities in particular. Fellows should also be able to further train their communities or organizations.
Furthermore, the program allows human rights advocates fighting to preserve and promote minority rights to broaden their network of partners. They accomplish this by establishing strategic communication with fellow activists from throughout the world, the United Nations, and relevant Geneva-based NGOs, among other partners.
The program is available in three languages: English, Russian, and Arabic.
The MFP takes place in Geneva, Switzerland. Fellows are entitled to:
The program includes a roundtrip economy class flight from your home country to Geneva, basic health insurance, and a stipend to cover minimal living expenses.
Who can apply?
Candidates must belong to a national, ethnic, linguistic, or religious minority group.
Please note that if your community identifies as Indigenous, you should apply to our Indigenous Fellowship Program rather than this one. Please keep in mind that the Indigenous Fellowship is a separate initiative with its application procedures and deadlines.
Formal education should not be a barrier to participation in the Minority Fellowship Program if relevant experience can be documented.
Candidates should be able, willing, and able to train other members of minorities when they return to their respective communities or organizations, and they must commit to doing so.
Candidates must have a good working knowledge of the language in which the curriculum is delivered.
The candidate’s organization and/or community should suggest and support his or her candidacy. The sponsoring organization should have a strong minority constituency, represent minority issues, work on minority issues, and be made up of individuals from the minority community.
The overarching purpose of the Minorities Fellowship Program is to provide minorities with the opportunity to obtain knowledge and skills in the field of international human rights so that they may help their organizations and communities preserve and promote human and minority rights. As a result, the candidate submitted and nominated by a minority organization or community must be someone who intends to return to his or her NGO to work in this field.
How to apply:
Both parts I and II of the application form must be filled out and signed. In addition, application forms need to be accompanied by an official recommendation letter from the nominating organization or community. Fellowship applications will only be taken into consideration if they are fully completed.
Interested candidates should submit their application indicating “Application to the 2024 Minorities Fellowship Programme” as the subject either by e-mail* to ohchr-fellowship@un.org or by post to:
Mr. Morse Caoagas Flores
Coordinator, Indigenous and Minority Fellowship Programs
Indigenous Peoples and Minorities Section
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
48, Avenue Giuseppe-Motta, Office 2-05
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
*E-mailed applications must be signed, scanned, and submitted as a single PDF file.
Any questions about the Minority Fellowship Program can be directed to the addresses mentioned above.
Please note that applications received after the closing date will not be considered.