The Leitner Center also has ongoing relationships with the following organizations, which students may find of interest. 

Sorted by application deadline:

Rolling: The International Legal Foundation (ILF)

January 13, 2012: Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), Belfast, Northern Ireland

January 21, 2012: Advocacy Forum
                            Southern Africa Litigation Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa
                            Women for Human Rights (WHR), Single Women Group, Nepal

March 1, 2012: Asia Catalyst, New York
                        Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL), Sierra Leone                       
                        Human Rights in China, New York & Hong Kong

April 15, 2012: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, New York City (Spring: January 1, 2012)

Advocacy Forum, Nepal

Advocacy Forum (AF) is a leading non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting the rule of law and upholding international human rights standards in Nepal. Established in 2001, AF takes proactive measures to combat Nepal’s pervasive culture of impunity by systematically documenting human rights violations/abuses, filing lawsuits against perpetrators, lobbying the state for institutional and legal reforms, providing psychosocial and legal aid to victims, and monitoring government detention facilities.

Relying on an international human rights framework, AF publishes and presents the information it collects before national and international audiences in an effort to advocate for reform of the Nepalese justice system.  The group regularly works with other international organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, the Asian Human Rights Commission, and World Organizations Against Torture.   

AF seeks summer interns who are interested in working on issues relating to civil and political rights, international criminal law, and South Asia and/or Nepal.  For more information about AF, see http://www.advocacyforum.org.

Students who are interested should send their application materials to Aya Fujimura-Fanselow at afujimurafanselow@law.fordham.edu.  Applications are due January 21, 2012 and should include:

• a cover letter
• a résumé
• a copy of your transcript
• a writing sample of 5-7 pages

Asia Catalyst, New York

Asia Catalyst partners with activists in Asia to inspire, create and launch innovative, self-sustaining programs and organizations that advance human rights, social justice and environmental protection. We link up Asian community leaders, journalists, activists and lawyers with each other and with international experts who can help them to realize their visions. We incubate programs that may be too risky or innovative for larger organizations to take on.

Deadline: March 1, 2012

Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL), Sierra Leone

CARL is an independent organization working towards a just society for all persons in Sierra Leone, through monitoring, advocacy for institutional transparency, capacity building and empowerment of citizens.

CARL’s vision is to ensure a just Sierra Leone free from corruption and devoted to the protection of human rights, the rule of law and gender equity.

To apply: Please email the following to Aya Fujimura-Fanselow at afujimurafanselow@law.fordham.edu by March 1, 2012.

• CV
• Writing sample of not more than 500 words
• Cover Letter expressing interest
• A list of three referees with at least a recommendation from one of them

For more information, see:  http://www.carl-sl.org/home/

Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), Belfast, Northern Ireland

The CAJ seeks to secure the highest standards in the administration of justice in Northern Ireland by ensuring that the government complies with its responsibilities in international human rights law.  CAJ works to:

• Monitor policing and accountability mechanisms;
• Monitor the criminal justice system;
• Seek the promotion of equality by public authorities;
• Enhance rights protection through a strong Bill of Rights, scrutiny by international mechanisms, and the development of a human rights culture.

For more information about the CAJ, see http://www.caj.org.uk. 

Students who are interested in this placement should send application materials to Aya Fujimura-Fanselow at afujimurafanselow@law.fordham.edu.  Applications are due January 13, 2012. Your application materials should include:

• a cover letter
• a résumé
• a copy of your transcript
• a letter of recommendation (from a professor or employer).

Human Rights in China, New York & Hong Kong

Human Rights in China (HRIC), is an international, Chinese, nongovernmental organization based in New York and Hong Kong, founded by Chinese students and scholars in March, 1989.

For over 22 years, HRIC has actively engaged in advocacy, research and publications, and international media work to support Chinese lawyers, activists, journalists, writers, and others pressing for democratic reforms and social justice in China.

HRIC integrates casework and policy advocacy, media work, and leveraging of technology to support forces for change in China.  HRIC engages with influential actors such as the United Nations, national governments, and the corporate community to bring attention to individual cases, and to press for more effective systemic reforms.

HRIC’s internships offer direct and in-depth exposure to the workings of an international human rights organization, domestic and international advocacy work, and participation in HRIC’s projects.  Under the supervision of advocacy staff, interns will be fully integrated in to HRIC program work. 

For more information about HRIC, see http://www.hrichina.org.  For more information about the internship program and details on how to apply, see http://www.hrichina.org/public/contents/45846.

To apply, please send in one e-mail a cover letter, a resume including relevant coursework, and a brief writing sample to internships@hrichina.org.

Indicate that you are applying for a law program internship in the e-mail subject line.

International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, New York City

The mission of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran is to gather support for Iranian human rights activists and defenders advocating for civil, political, social, and economic rights using international media.

The Campaign documents and publicizes Iran’s compliance with its international human rights obligations to help provide a basis for accurate evaluations and constructive recommendations for improvements. The Campaign also advocates in international institutions promoting recommendations put forward by human rights and social movements in Iran.

Responsibilities for the internship include:

1.      Supporting staff with researching and drafting reports and press releases

2.      Preparing petitions for the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and other UN special procedures

3.      Drafting blog entries and memos on international and foreign law as well as human rights developments in Iran

4.      Manage smaller tasks that arise in the course of the Campaign’s work in addition to specific medium-term projects

Applications for Spring are due January 1, 2012, and Summer are due April 15, 2012.

Students who are interested in this placement should send application materials to mani@iranhumanrights.org. Your application materials should include a cover letter indicating your preferred start date, your resume and two references. All materials should be in PDF format.

For more information, please consult: http://www.iranhumanrights.org/

The International Legal Foundation (ILF)

The International Legal Foundation (ILF) is an international nongovernmental organization that assists post-conflict and transitional countries in establishing public defender systems that provide effective, quality criminal defense services to the poor. With projects in Afghanistan, Nepal and the West Bank, the ILF currently has 250 employees worldwide and a small headquarters office in New York. Internship opportunities are available for law students in the New York headquarters, as well as in the ILF's public defender offices in Nepal and the West Bank (interns in the West Bank must speak Arabic). It is possible to split internships between the New York and country offices.

Projects that interns in New York will have the opportunity to work on include:

-  Assisting in the preparation and publication of policy papers, reports and articles.
-  Researching the law in countries emerging from conflict or in transition.
-  Participating in the ILF's efforts to advocate for the rights of poor persons accused of crimes on the international level.

Interns in Nepal and the West Bank will have the opportunity to:

-  Document the work of the country offices.
-  Conduct legal research and assist in case preparation.
-  Assist with in the preparation and publication of reports and advocacy materials.

To apply: Please submit a cover letter, résumé and a brief writing sample to info@theilf.org.

Interns are accepted year round. Applications are considered on a rolling basis. For more information, please see http://theilf.org.

Southern Africa Litigation Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa

Based in Johannesburg, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) promotes and advances human rights and the rule of law in southern Africa, primarily through strategic litigation support and capacity building.  The group provides technical and monetary support to local and regional lawyers and organizations in litigating human rights and rule of law cases in the region.  SALC also provides training in human rights and rule of law issues and facilitates networks of human rights lawyers and organizations throughout southern Africa. 

SALC’s main areas of thematic focus include HIV/AIDS, international criminal justice, media defense, and prisoners’ rights.  SALC also supports other general human rights cases outside these areas of focus.  SALC works in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.  In addition, SALC supports litigation in South African courts that advances human rights in the southern African region.

For more information about SALC, see www.southernafricalitigationcentre.org/.

Students who are interested in this placement should send their application materials to Aya Fujimura-Fanselow at afujimurafanselow@law.fordham.edu by January 21, 2012.  Your application materials should include:

• a cover letter stating the nature of your interest
• a résumé
• a copy of your transcript.

Women for Human Rights (WHR), Single Women Group, Nepal

WHR works to address the rights of single women (widows) in Nepal.  In so doing, the group aims to empower single women and their dependents in the social, economic, legal, and cultural arenas.  Using an array of tools, WHR advocates to alleviate cultural discrimination, build sustainable income-generating programs, lobby for human rights-specific legislation, improve the capacity of single women to secure their own rights locally, and develop WHR’s infrastructure in order to better address these goals.  WHR seeks students who are especially interested in working in their rural field offices outside of Kathmandu.

For more information about the WHR, see http://www.whr.org.np/.

Students who are interested in this placement should send their application materials to the Board of WHR at csw@mail.com.np by January 21, 2012.  Your application materials should include:

• a cover letter: please indicate your areas of interest, and if you would be willing to be placed at a regional office outside of Kathmandu
• a résumé.