UNHCR’s Multi Country Office in Washington D.C. (MCO-W) serves as a resource to policymakers in drafting and implementing refugee protection measures and monitors US compliance with international standards. MCO-W maintains relationships with key government partners, including the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Justice. Staff also closely engage with US resettlement NGOs. The operation plays a role in providing information on asylum laws, policies, and procedures in the US, particularly to those in immigration detention, asylum-seekers, non-governmental organizations, and attorneys. Further, the office also monitors detention conditions as well asylum access at the US southern border and engages on the issue of statelessness in the US.
Within MCO-W, the Protection and Solutions Unit (PSU) serves asylum-seekers, refugees, and stateless persons who are in the United States or seeking to enter the United States to seek asylum or be admitted to the United States as a refugee. PSU seeks to ensure that US law and policy is aligned with international refugee law and works with stakeholders throughout
the country to ensure protection for asylum-seekers, refugees, stateless people, and others. In resettlement, UNHCR focuses primarily on three different areas of engagement: a) global refugee populations, b) refugees identified for resettlement in the Caribbean region, and c) reception and integration of refugees in the United States.
The position:
Within PSU, the intern will support the Individual Case (IC) team. The IC team The Individual Case (IC) Team facilitates a central part of UNHCR’s work in the U.S. to provide information on the laws, policies, and procedures for seeking protection in the United States to asylum- seekers, NGOs, and attorneys. The team also provides counseling on individual resettlement queries from congressional offices, NGOs and resettlement agencies.
Duties and responsibilities:
Answer and respond to individual queries from asylum seekers, refugees, stateless people, and other people with and for whom UNHCR works;
Conduct country of origin and other research to support individual asylum cases;
Provide counseling on individual resettlement queries from congressional offices,
NGOs and resettlement agencies through writing to UNHCR country offices;
Observe and report on relevant meetings and conferences with government agencies and various NGOs working in the field;
Open and maintain individual case files in UNHCR’s case management database;
Conduct other projects as needed to further assist the people with and for whom UNHCR works.
Minimum qualifications required:
In order to be considered for an internship, candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria:
Be either a recent graduate (having completed their studies within two years of applying) or a current student in a graduate/undergraduate school programme from a university or higher education facility accredited by IAU/UNESCO1; and
Have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies in a field relevant or of interest to the work of UNHCR2.
Candidates with previous UNHCR Internship experience must not have exceeded the maximum total cumulative full-time internship duration of eight (8) months.
In the education section of the application, please make sure that your school is selected from the list of accredited higher education institutions when creating a profile in UNHCR Recruitment Portal - Workday. To do this, click on the magnifying glass next to Select School, then select Contains next to Description, type in the name of the school, click Look up and finally click on the result.
For internships, completed university degree is not a requirement.
