Intern: studies in law, preferably international law/ human rights/ environmental law

Duties and Responsibilities

The intern is expected to contribute to the work of the Environment and Forests Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Under the supervision of the officers of the secretariats of the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) and its Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (Protocol on PRTRs) and the UNECE Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention) and its Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment (Protocol on SEA), the intern will:

• Support the preparation, organisation and servicing of the intergovernmental meetings under the Espoo Convention and its Protocol on SEA, including the Bureau meeting, the 10th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Espoo Convention and the 6th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on SEA and any other intersessional activities.
• Support the preparation (including through legal and policy research and drafting of relevant documents), organization and servicing of the meetings of the Compliance Committees under the Aarhus Convention and the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs), as well as meetings of other bodies under the Convention and the Protocol such as the Task Forces and the Working Groups of the Parties, and of any other intersessional activities.
• Assist in the preparation of outreach materials for publication and drafting short articles on the Aarhus Convention and Espoo Convention, as well as their Protocols, including drafting content for the Conventions’ websites, social media accounts and related updates.
• Assist with updating the databases of the Aarhus Convention and the Espoo Convention, as well as their Protocols, including the Aarhus Clearinghouse for Environmental Democracy and PRTR.net, through research, drafting and editing of entries.
• Carry out other tasks as required in the section, such as desk research, meeting support, drafting of reports, processing of data, and assist the officers of the secretariat with day-to-day tasks required to implement of the work programmes of the Aarhus Convention and the Espoo Convention, as well as their Protocols.

Qualifications/special skills

To qualify for the United Nations Internship Programme, the following conditions must be met:

• Applicants to the United Nations internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements: (a) Be enrolled or have completed a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); (b) Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor's level or equivalent).
• Be computer literate in standard software applications and CMS (e.g. Drupal).
• For this internship, studies in law, preferably including international and/or human rights and/or environmental law or equivalent are required.
• Have a demonstrated keen interest in the work of the United Nations and have a personal commitment to the ideals of the Charter.
• Have a demonstrated ability to successfully interact with individuals of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which include willingness to try and understand and be tolerant of differing opinions and views.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this internship, fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of French or Russian is an asset.