MENA Investigations Intern, Fall 2022
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), which shared in the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, is a U.S.-based international advocacy organization working at the intersection of medicine, science, and law. With a global network of thousands of medical, scientific, and legal experts, PHR uses the power of medical and scientific evidence to document human rights and humanitarian law violations and prevent abuses, protect survivors, and promote justice and universal human rights for all.
Building upon its highly respected place in the field, and supported by a committed and talented team, PHR seeks a MENA Investigations Intern.
Location: Remote
Reports to: Program Officer
Organizational Overview
Physicians for Human Rights was founded in 1986 by five physicians who were united in the belief that health professionals, with their specialized skills, ethical duties, and credible voices, are uniquely positioned to prevent harm and promote respect for human rights. Since its founding, PHR has built a long and distinguished record of accomplishment by conducting groundbreaking investigations and advocacy, in concert with strategic partners.
PHR’s approach includes extensive documentation of the use of illegal and inhumane weapons in armed conflicts, attacks on civilians, and the physical and psychological impacts of torture and sexual violence as a weapon of war. Other core activities include protecting the rights of those seeking asylum in the United States, the human rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and halting attacks on medical facilities and frontline health professionals.
Internship Description
The MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Investigations Intern is the perfect role for a budding human rights activist interested in hands-on non-profit programmatic experience. This opportunity allows the intern to develop research, language, and analytical skills on topical and important human rights issues through PHR’s hands-on work. The intern works closely with PHR’s research and investigations team to help monitor and document daily developments in Syria with a focus on attacks on health care facilities and personnel. PHR utilizes this documentation to inform the media, motivate governments and the UN to denounce such violations of international law, and reinforce that attacks on medical workers, hospitals, and health care infrastructure must stop.
The MENA Investigations Intern will attend departmental and staff meetings, as well as regular learning and social events with other PHR interns and staff to round out the learning experience and complement PHR-provided career mentoring.
PHR offers stipends to student interns. The specific stipend amount will be determined by the average number of hours worked by the intern per week. Details will be further provided during the interview process.
Duties and Responsibilities
· Contribute to PHR’s online interactive map that tracks the deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on medical workers and health facilities in Syria.
· Monitor daily developments and violations of medical neutrality in Syria and Yemen.
· Conduct, analyze, and organize open-source research on attacks against health care in Syria and Yemen.
· Analyze video and other media and extract relevant data.
· Provide translations of articles and videos from Arabic to English.
Qualifications and Experience
· Current enrollment in an undergraduate or graduate program in a related field
· Must sufficiently speak, read, and write in Arabic
· Professional working proficiency (written and verbal) in MSA and Levantine or Yemeni dialect required.
· Demonstrated interest in and commitment to human rights.
· Strong analytical, writing, and verbal communication skills
· Mature judgement, able to maintain confidentiality and a self-starter.
· Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and follow-through.
· Willingness to work with graphic visual and written content.
Location and Hours
· The internship will be entirely remote due to PHR’s evaluations of coronavirus health risks.
· PHR welcomes applications for candidates out of state.
· The internship will commence in September with at least a 12-week commitment.
· Hours can be flexible to accommodate different types of schedules.
How to Apply
Please send a cover letter and resume, to resumes@phr.org. Include “MENA Investigations Intern, Fall 2022” in the subject line. Please include in your cover letter the number of weekly hours you would be able to commit to the internship.