Africa Middle East Refugee Assistance

Organisation profile

Africa Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA) is a UK-based refugee rights organisation assisting refugees who seek asylum in Egypt and is the primary provider of pro bono legal aid as a professional service in Egypt. There are more than 500,000 asylum seekers and refugees mostly from surrounding African nations residing in Egypt. AMERA has established a working relationship with the UNHCR and other refugee organisations to help it effectively advocate for refugee rights.

Egypt has ratified both the 1951 UN and 1969 OAU (Organisation of African Unity) refugee conventions, however its reservations to several of the articles therein has significantly impacted on refugee's right to work, education and social security, leaving refugees dependent on the informal economy.

AMERA gives advice and representation to refugees seeking recognition at UNHCR Cairo, as well as legal advice on relevant Egyptian law to refugees with protection problems in Egypt. AMERA also provides psychosocial and mental health assistance to refugees, and undertakes community outreach activities.

More information about AMERA can be found at http://www.amera-uk.org/egypt/

Intern Profile

AMERA'S internship program offers interns hands on exposure to a range of refugee and human rights issues. Through their work at AMERA, interns will gain a deeper knowledge of the UN and OAU Refugee Conventions, the UNHCR and its related bodies, and will also have an opportunity to develop their research, advocacy and organisational skills.

Interns are assigned to work on the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) team and are responsible for representing individual refugee status determination cases before the UNHCR in Cairo.  Interns manage their own caseload of clients, interviewing them, taking their testimonials, writing legal arguments for appeal/reopening, and accompanying clients to their interviews at UNHCR.

Tasks can include, but are not limited to:

1. Participate on the RSD team and other teams if interested such as Protection,  unaccompanied Minors, Community Networking and Outreach or the Sexual and Gender Based Violence Team.

2. Represent applicants in the refugee status determination process including taking testimonies, preparing legal briefs, researching country of origin information, gathering supporting documentation, and accompanying them to their interviews before the UNHCR.

4. Attend all the regular staff meetings and continuing education/training seminars that are held at AMERA.

6. Participate in policy development and liaise with the UNHCR, other NGO's and the community on refugee issues.

7. Undertake file management and co-ordination of work on cases within the office and report on any developments.

8. Provide training to new legal advisors and community interpreters on legal issues faced by refugees.

The AMERA intern will start the internship with a two-week-long intensive training course in refugee law and social welfare at the beginning of the internship. In addition, continuing education seminars and case consultation groups are available. The intern works under the day-to-day supervision of the RSD team leader.

For more information on AMERA, visit their website http://www.amera-uk.org/egypt/

Eligibility criteria

The Amera intern must be able to commit to the full 7.5 month placement starting in January 2011 (there may be a possibility for a July 2011 start instead of January 2011).  The actual start and end dates of the internship are not negotiable.

Please click here for eligibility criteria.

Selection Criteria

The following selection criteria will be taken into account by the Castan Centre in choosing the intern and applicants are advised to directly address each criterion in the personal statement.

• A demonstrated interest in human rights as shown through your practical or academic experiences;
• Particular interest in the work currently being undertaken by AMERA;
• A demonstrated interest in refugee issues;
• Strong academic record, in particular marks received in human rights and other relevant subjects;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills;
• Ability to speak Arabic is desirable though not necessary.

Application process

This internship is part of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law's annual Global Internship Program.  For full details of the application process, go to the Global Internship homepage.

Equity grants

The Student Mobility Equity Grants have been developed as part of the Law Faculty Student Mobility Fund to provide financial assistance for faculty internship programs to those students who can demonstrate financial hardship. Students are advised to apply for Equity Grants by the Equity Grant application deadline of 20 August 2010. Contact Cathy Meredith (below) for more details about Equity Grants.

Contact information

If you would like further information about this internship please contact:

Forms

Global Internship Application Form