Fellowship Programme 2005

The deadline for applications is 27 August 2004

Fellowship Application

The aim of the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights' Indigenous
Fellowship Programme is to give indigenous women
and men the opportunity to gain knowledge in the
field of international human rights in general
and on indigenous rights in particular in order
to assist their organizations and communities in
protecting and promoting the human rights of
their people.

The Indigenous Fellowship Programme for 2005 will
run from April to September. The Fellows will be
based at the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva,
Switzerland for a period of five months. They
will also have the opportunity to establish
contacts with other inter-governmental and
non-governmental organizations.

After an introduction to relevant Geneva based
bodies and human rights instruments and
procedures, the Fellows have the opportunity to
gain practical experience with OHCHR and its work
with human rights through their practical work as
part of the Indigenous Project Team.

It is expected that each Fellow at the end of the
Programme will possess general knowledge about
the overall United Nations system, and knowledge
about the international human rights instruments
and mechanisms, in particular those with
relevance to indigenous peoples. Furthermore,
each Fellow should also at the end of the
Programme be capable of giving training within
their communities and organizations in the fields
of international human rights in general, and on
indigenous peoples rights in particular, and be
able to disseminate the information and knowledge
gained during the Fellowship Programme.

Five Fellowships will be awarded for 2005 including the following:

1. An economy class air ticket from the country
of residence to Geneva (return). 2. Modest
accommodation in Geneva for the duration of the
Programme. 3. Health insurance for the duration
of the Programme. 4. A monthly grant to cover
other living expenses in Geneva.

Selection process and criteria:

The final selection of successful candidates will
be made by the consultative group for the
Indigenous fellowship programme, which is
composed of indigenous persons. In view of the
large number of applications, we regret that only
successful candidates will be contacted.

The Advisory Group of the United Nations
Voluntary Fund for the International Decade of
the World's Indigenous People has adopted the
following guidelines and general criteria
pertaining to the selection of candidates for the
Indigenous Fellowship Programme:

The individual candidate:

1. Age should not be a limitation to
participation in the Fellowship Programme,
although preference should be given to candidates
in the age-bracket 25 - 35 years.

2. Formal education should not be a limitation to
participation in the Fellowship Programme given
the socio-economic barriers confronted by many
indigenous peoples that limit access to formal
educational institutions.

3. Candidates should have ability and willingness
to train other indigenous persons after the
return to their respective
communities/organizations.

4. The candidate should be supported by their
indigenous community or organization.

5. The Fellows should have a basic understanding of the English language.

The sponsoring organization/community:

6. The overall goal of the Programme is to give
indigenous persons the opportunity to gain
knowledge and skills in the field of
international human rights in order to assist
their organizations and communities in protecting
and promoting the human rights of their people.
Therefore, it is important that the candidate is
proposed and nominated by an indigenous
organization or community.

7. It is desirable that the sponsoring
organization has a firm constituency or
membership and that it is representative.

Other guidelines and criteria:

8. The selection of fellows should reflect a regional balance.

9. The general human rights situation in the
respective regions/countries should be taken into
consideration in the selection process.

10. In accordance with the general practice of
the United Nations, selection of Fellows should
reflect a gender balance.

11. Ten alternates should be selected in the
event that any of the first five preferences will
not be available for the Fellowship period. Five
alternates should be selected as first, second,
third, fourth and fifth preferences in the event
that any of the five first preferences will not be
available. The remaining five alternates could be ungrouped.

Fellowship applications will only be taken into
consideration if they are fully completed.

Fellowship applications must be faxed or sent by
regular post. E-mailed applications will not be
taken into consideration.

Fellowship applications or any questions
pertaining to the Indigenous Fellowship Programme
should be addressed to:

Indigenous Project Team
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
UNOG-OHCHR CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland Telephone number: (+ 41 22) 917
9434 or 917 9272 Telefax number: (+41 22) 917 9010
E-mail: fellowship_prog@ohchr.org

Deadline for applications: 27 August 2004