The human rights sector offers a broad and wide range of opportunities covering many areas and disciplines.
There is no single point of entry into the sector and, as such, no human rights graduate scheme. That said, the market is a saturated one and there is stiff competition for jobs.
Some opportunities may be of more interest if you are a law graduates such as working as a human rights lawyer or in policy whilst other opportunities may be more attractive to non-law graduates such as communications or fundraising.
What types of roles are available?
There are a huge variety of paths open to you in the human rights sector including but not limited to:
Lawyer;
Human Rights Researcher;
Academia;
Communications;
Human Rights Education;
Fundraising;
I.T.;
Policy;
Campaigns and Advocacy;
Human Rights Defender;
International Civil Servant (in multilateral organisations like the UN, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights);
Government Lawyer
… to name but a few!
These roles will require a different skills and experience.
International or Domestic Opportunities:
The world can be your oyster if you so choose!
Your human rights career can take you overseas or you may prefer to stay in your own country and work on domestic human rights issues.
Working overseas is highly regarded by employers as it gives you valuable frontline experience of working in the human rights sector.
There are different opportunities available to you if you choose to work overseas. For example, you may look to work in a non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity to gain some direct experience of working with communities on a particular human rights issue. For instance, you may want to work for a charity campaigning against Female Genital Mutilation in Kenya. This is often called ‘working in the field’, ‘on the ground’ or ‘field experience’. Such experiences will help broaden your perspective and understanding of human rights issues. NGOs are often small in terms of their personnel and budget; you may be able to help make a real difference to their work.
Alternatively, you may wish to work at Headquarters of a multilateral organisation such as the United Nations or the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. You may work at the Headquarters of these organisations in cities such as New York, Geneva or Vienna or you may work in field offices.
The United Nations has 130 field offices, which includes political, humanitarian and peacekeeping missions. These field offices may deploy Human Rights Officers who are responsible for investigating and monitoring human rights abuses, researching and analysing human rights issues and building partnerships with local non-governmental organisations. Field offices are often located in remote locations in conflict or fragile affected states. You can find out more about working in the field with the United Nations here.
There are cultural challenges to living overseas and the lifestyle in some locations may be particularly tough. Please refer to the section on Lifestyle and Salary to find out more.
Human Rights at Home
You may decide that pursuing a career in human rights domestically is more appealing. This could include working in a non-governmental organisation or charity focusing on domestic human rights issues such as employment rights, women’s rights or refugee rights. Alternatively, you may find opportunities to work on human rights issues in local government – such organisations are at the forefront of promoting and protecting human rights. It is important that civil servants and public officials are aware of their human rights obligations to those they serve e.g. children, refugees, people with disabilities.
A mixed portfolio:
It is perfectly possible to combine a human rights career at home and overseas – the two are not mutually exclusive! You may build up skills, knowledge and experience domestically which will be helpful for a human rights position overseas.