Examples of Student Internships
Amnesty International
This spring semester, 2024, two of the master's program students, Karianne Meaker Laird and Sara Nordahl Thorsen, work with Amnesty International Norway. Here are some of their experiences:
"So far, our practice period has been exciting, educational, and eventful. We have been working on a wide range of tasks, including conducting research on democratic decline, the Norwegian Transparency Act and Oil Fund investments, violent extremism in Norway, transgender rights in Europe, as well as helping coordinate a trip for two Ukrainian LGBTQ activists to Norway in relation to Pride.
However, our main task has been focused on the visit from Rocky Myers’ legal team, Miriam Bankston and Kacey Keeton, who came to Oslo as a part of a European Amnesty tour to raise awareness about the injustice of Rocky’s fate. We have been responsible for their stay, organizing meetings and events with relevant Norwegian stakeholders. It has been fascinating to hear about the important work they continue to do in the face of an unjust legal system."
Rocky Myer's Case
Can you tell us more about your collaboration with the Alabama lawyers working on Rocky's case? What was the purpose of their visit?
"Our role involved coordinating the legal team’s Oslo visit to bring attention to Rocky’s case. While telling his story might not directly benefit Rocky, as his main hope now is to be granted clemency, which only the governor of Alabama can grant, the purpose of the visit was to educate and inspire others to take notice, ask questions, and demand justice. Rocky’s case, in particular, has caught the attention of so many people worldwide because it is emblematic of the legal system’s inability to protect those who are weakest and reflects many of the structural inequalities in American society at large. By sharing his story, we hope to make a difference for Rocky and the many others facing a similar situation."
You can learn more about Rocky Myers and his legal team's fight for clemency and support his case by signing the petition here (amnesty.no).
The Norwegian Refugee Council
A typical recent internship saw in 2024 a student working with the Information Counseling and Legal Assistance (ICLA) program at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). The program concentrates on housing, land, and property rights. The intern was involved in various tasks directly related to human rights practice, as each activity aimed to support and protect the rights of individuals affected by displacement and to facilitate their rightful access to housing, land, and property rights. According to the student, it provided the intern with organisational and “program experience, as well as a basis from which to understand challenges related to the need to contribute to ongoing documentation of impact, funding limitations, and the increasing numbers of displaced individuals globally…”, etc.
The Norwegian Human Rights Fund
We also have over several years students able to do their internships at the Norwegian Human Rights Fund (NHRF), an organization that works with grassroots human rights organizations in seven selected countries: Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Mexico, and Colombia. One of the ongoing tasks last year was, for example, to follow up on the Women at Work program - a grant-making project going towards women workers in India, who are prone to several human rights violations based on the intersectional discrimination they face as women and often parts of the Dalit caste.
Other varied tasks included reading funding proposals from grassroots human rights organizations in India working towards improving the lives of women workers. Interns also typically include co-arranging events. For example, one was to plan the visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor. During her visit, the fund co-arranged two events with the United Nations Association of Norway (FN-sambandet) and the Norwegian Nobel Institute (Det norske nobelinstitutt).
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
In more recent years, some students intern remotely with the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. The mandate was created to promote the effective implementation of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, study developments and challenges to the situation of human rights defenders, and seek, receive, and respond to information on the situation of human rights defenders (HRDs).
One intern’s tasks included a project to bring out positive and successful stories of HRDs who work relentlessly, facing extreme challenges. According to the intern this is particularly important to bring a sense of solidarity, appreciation, and positivity towards the work done by HRDs. While working on this project, the intern went through over 180 questionnaires answered by HRDs before consultations with the Special Rapporteur in the past 2 years. They processed this information and focused on making positive stories. They also analysed the data from questionnaires and the nature of the threat and risk to HRDs. This information would be useful for understanding trends and potentially help with planning and strategies for the Mandate in the coming years.
These are just some highlights from the approximately dozen organisations NCHR works with to give students access to internships subject to availability.