Human rights and legal internships at the world's leading institutions are open right now: seven of them, at UN Women, OHCHR, OPCW, Human Rights Watch, Mercy Corps and the World Food Programme. If you are a law, politics or international relations student trying to break into the human rights field, this is exactly the kind of experience that defines a career, the sort of first step an internship abroad is meant to be. You could be advancing women's political participation with UN Women in Brussels, drafting legal memoranda at the OPCW in The Hague, researching the Great Lakes region for Human Rights Watch in Nairobi, supporting investigations and litigation at the World Food Programme in Rome, or working on the right to development with OHCHR in Geneva. These are institutions whose names carry real weight, and most of these roles are paid.
Whatever your angle on human rights, there is a fit here. Studying law? The OPCW's legal internship and the WFP's investigations and litigation role are built for you. Drawn to gender equality and advocacy? UN Women's WYDE Women's Leadership programme is your place. Interested in research and reporting? Human Rights Watch is offering roles in both Amsterdam and Nairobi. Into compliance, governance and the humanitarian sector? Mercy Corps in Edinburgh covers exactly that. Focused on development and international cooperation? OHCHR's Right to Development section is a rare opening. A clear note on pay: five of the seven are paid (OPCW at 540 euros a month, HRW Amsterdam at 300 euros, HRW Nairobi at 30,000 Kenyan shillings, Mercy Corps at 13.45 pounds an hour, and WFP at up to 1,000 dollars a month), while the UN Women and OHCHR roles do not state a stipend. The deadlines are the pressure point, all falling between 25 and 30 August, so if one speaks to you, apply today.
In This Batch
- 🇧🇪 Brussels · UN Women · WYDE Women's Leadership Programme Intern · paid: not stated · 📅 25 Aug
- 🇳🇱 The Hague · OPCW · Legal Affairs Intern · paid ~540 euros/month · 📅 26 Aug
- 🇳🇱 Amsterdam · Human Rights Watch · Development & Outreach Intern · paid ~300 euros/month · 📅 28 Aug
- 🇰🇪 Nairobi · Human Rights Watch · Africa Division Intern (Great Lakes) · paid ~30,000 KES/month · 📅 28 Aug
- 🇬🇧 Edinburgh · Mercy Corps · Compliance Due Diligence Intern · paid £13.45/hour · 📅 28 Aug
- 🇮🇹 Rome · WFP OIGI · Investigations & Litigation Support Intern · paid up to $1,000/month · 📅 29 Aug
- 🇨🇭 Geneva · OHCHR · Human Rights Intern (Right to Development) · paid: not stated · 📅 30 Aug
7 Human Rights, Legal & Gender Internships · 6 Countries · Most Paid
⚖️ Internship Opportunities
1. 🇧🇪 WYDE Women's Leadership Programme Intern 🌸 UN Women Internship in Brussels, Belgium 📣
📅 Deadline: 25 August 2026
Passionate about gender equality and women's political participation? UN Women is offering an internship in Brussels with its EU-funded WYDE Women's Leadership programme, working on advocacy, communications, events and reporting with civil society partners across the world. Apply here →
2. 🇳🇱 Legal Affairs Intern ⚖️ OPCW Office of the Legal Adviser Internship in The Hague, Netherlands 🏛️ (€540/month)
📅 Deadline: 26 August 2026
Studying law and interested in international organisations? The OPCW is offering two legal internships in The Hague with its Office of the Legal Adviser, drafting memoranda, researching public international law and supporting meetings of States Parties, with a 540 euro stipend. Apply here →
3. 🇳🇱 Development and Outreach Department Intern 🤝 Human Rights Watch Internship in Amsterdam, Netherlands 📣 (€300/month)
📅 Deadline: 28 August 2026
Want to work for one of the world's leading human rights organizations? Human Rights Watch is offering an internship in its Amsterdam office, focused on fundraising, digital event planning, prospect research and donor outreach. Apply here →
4. 🇰🇪 Africa Division Intern (Great Lakes Region) 🌍 Human Rights Watch Internship in Nairobi, Kenya 📰 (KES 30,000/month)
📅 Deadline: 28 August 2026
Interested in human rights work in Africa? Human Rights Watch is offering an undergraduate internship in its Nairobi office, focused on the Great Lakes region, covering press monitoring, research, data management and drafting. Apply here →
5. 🇬🇧 Compliance Due Diligence Intern ⚖️ Mercy Corps Internship in Edinburgh, United Kingdom 📋 (£13.45/hour)
📅 Deadline: 28 August 2026
Interested in compliance, governance and the humanitarian sector? Mercy Corps is offering a paid internship in Edinburgh, supporting donor due diligence processes, developing an SOP and exploring AI-enabled automation, at 13.45 pounds per hour. Apply here →
6. 🇮🇹 Investigations Strategy and Litigation Support Intern ⚖️ WFP OIGI Internship in Rome, Italy 🕊️ (up to $1,000/month)
📅 Deadline: 29 August 2026
Studying law and interested in the humanitarian sector? The World Food Programme is offering a paid internship in its Office of Inspections and Investigations in Rome, covering legal research, investigation report review and litigation support, with a stipend of up to 1,000 dollars per month. Apply here →
7. 🇨🇭 Human Rights Intern (Right to Development) 🕊️ OHCHR Internship in Geneva, Switzerland 🌍
📅 Deadline: 30 August 2026
Passionate about human rights and development? OHCHR in Geneva is offering an internship in its Right to Development Section, covering research and analysis on international cooperation, trade and development finance, plus support for major UN human rights meetings. Apply here →
Seven human rights internships, six countries, and a real door into the field for the next generation of advocates and lawyers. If you scrolled this far, one already fits: legal work at the OPCW and WFP, gender advocacy at UN Women, research and reporting at Human Rights Watch, compliance at Mercy Corps, or development and cooperation at OHCHR. Two things should shape your shortlist: focus and pay. These span law, advocacy, research, compliance and policy, and five of the seven are paid, so factor in what you want to build and where you can be based, from Brussels and The Hague to Nairobi, Rome, Edinburgh and Geneva. On timing, this list is ordered soonest-first for a reason: every deadline falls between 25 and 30 August, so waiting is not an option. Do one concrete thing today: pick the role that fits you, open its link, check the requirements, and start your application. And if you want opportunities like these to reach you the moment they open, rather than scrolling dozens at once, join our broadcast channel through the link in our bio, where we share every new batch first.
