ELIGIBILITY:

The candidate must belong to a national, ethnic, linguistic or religious minority group (persons who do not belong to a minority group will not be taken into consideration, even if they have close links with minority communities and/or organizations)

Formal education should not be a limitation to participation in the Minorities Fellowship Programme, if relevant experience can be demonstrated.

Candidates should have ability, willingness and possibility to train other persons belonging to minorities upon return to their respective communities/organizations, and should agree to do so.

Candidates must have good working knowledge of the language in which the programme is imparted.

The candidate should be proposed—and his/her candidacy supported—by his/her organization and/or community. It is desirable that the sponsoring organization:
has a firm constituency or membership in the minority;
is representative of minority issues; 
undertakes work on minority issues; and
is composed of persons belonging to minorities.

The overall goal of the Minorities Fellowship Programme is to offer persons belonging to minorities 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 human and minority rights. Therefore, it is important that the candidate proposed and nominated by a minority organization or community be someone who will return to his or her NGO to work in this field.

BENEFIT:

The MFP takes place in Geneva, Switzerland. Fellows are entitled to:

a return ticket (economy class) from the country of residence to Geneva;

basic health insurance for the duration of the Programme; and

a stipend to cover modest accommodation and other living expenses for the duration of the Programme.