Description: The Children's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch ("HRW") is seeking an intern to assist the California Advocate in our Los Angeles office, where our efforts are focused on juvenile delinquency and foster care abuses.  The intern will help with a variety of projects, which may include creating a database of investigations; researching and writing profiles of juveniles who have been sentenced to life in prison in California; researching, summarizing, and analyzing laws and social science reports on various issues pertaining to juvenile justice and foster care; organizing  information and communications; following up with field contacts; working with family members of incarcerated; and legislative work.  Responsibilities may include other divisional duties such as file management, writing letters, working with spreadsheets, data entry from inmate surveys, and translating, depending on the intern's specific language skills.
 
Internships are unpaid. Students are often able to arrange academic credit, as HRW internships offer direct exposure to the workings of an international human rights organization, close supervision by the HRW staff, interaction with other U.S. and international organizations and foreign and domestic government officials, and opportunities to attend lectures, trainings, and special events relating to human rights.
 
Qualifications:  The intern must be an enrolled student during the internship term.  Applicants should be well-organized, self-motivated and reliable, with a strong interest in human rights, juvenile justice, and/or dependency issues.  Personal or professional experience in the areas of juvenile delinquency or foster care is highly desirable.  Relevant coursework is helpful, and knowledge of foreign languages is a plus.  Computer skills (i.e., Microsoft Office, Internet applications) are required. The candidate should be based in Los Angeles or its surrounding areas, and must be available a minimum of 15 hours a week for three months. A higher number of hours is desirable. Strong preference will be given to individuals in graduate school, law school students or individuals with research experience.
 
Applicants who are offered an internship, but who are not US permanent residents, US citizens, or in possession of a valid student visa, must apply for a J-1 visa through a sponsoring organization.  This process can take several weeks and applicants will have to incur their own costs. 
 
How to Apply:  Please apply immediately by emailing a letter of interest, resume, three names or letters of reference, and a brief, unedited writing sample (no calls or email inquiries, please) to LAjobs@hrw.org.  Please use "CRD Internship Application" as the subject of your email.  Only complete applications will be reviewed. 
 
Human Rights Watch is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in its hiring practices and, in order to build the strongest possible workforce, actively seeks a diverse applicant pool.
 
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Human Rights Watch is an international human rights monitoring and advocacy organization known for its in-depth investigations, its incisive and timely reporting, its innovative and high-profile advocacy campaigns, and its success in changing the human rights-related policies and practices of influential governments and international institutions.