Deadline: 22 July 2016
Open to: young lawyers from Central and Eastern European and the Newly Independent States (CEE/NIS)
Costs: all expenses related to the selected participants attendance at the three sessions of the Institute are covered by the organizers
Description
Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation (BGRF) are pleased to announce the Call for Applications to participate in the training programme of the Sixth Round of the Women’s Human Rights Training Institute (WHRTI), 2016-2017. It is the first of its kind programme aimed at building and developing the capacity of young lawyers from Central and Eastern European and the Newly Independent States (CEE/NIS) for litigation on women’s rights issues, including:
- Violence against women;
- Sexual and reproductive health and rights;
- Social and economic rights and employment discrimination.
The WHRTI provides the participants advanced and in-depth knowledge and practical exercises on women’s human rights protection in the three areas noted above. The WHRTI improves their practical skills in writing and advocacy for development of strategic litigation in the region both at the national and international levels through the use of regional and universal human rights mechanisms such as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Optional Protocol to CEDAW as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Optional Protocol to ICCPR. The WHRTI also gives lawyers an opportunity to get acquainted with the EU standards in the field of equal treatment of women and men, including the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Eligibility
Twenty five participants will be selected among practicing lawyers and legal counselors working with human rights or women’s rights NGOs in the region. The applicants should:
- Have a substantial and sustainable interest and a demonstrated commitment to women’s human rights advocacy and/or litigation and in using the law creatively to secure redress for women’s rights violations;
- Have a professional relationship/affiliation for at least one year prior to the application with an institution/organization that has capacity to litigate women’s rights cases or has experience with litigation and preferably focuses in its work on women’s human rights;
- Have demonstrated interest and basic knowledge of the international universal and regional human rights law, legal standards and instruments,
- Be committed and available to actively participate in all the three sessions of the Institute (approximately one week every six months) and to be involved in the intersessional work;
- Have fluency in written and spoken English, and advanced English language comprehension.
Costs
All expenses related to the selected participants attendance at the three sessions of the Institute are covered by the organizers.
How to apply?
In order to apply download and fill out the application. List of documents you must submit along with the application form:
- Curriculum Vitae;
- Letters from 2 references;
- Letter of support from the head of your organization/institution;
- A 750-word commentary on the substantive and procedural shortcomings that women in your country face in accessing justice in one of the three topics covered by the WHRTI. Briefly suggest some changes that would improve the situation.
The completed WHRTI application form and all supporting documents must be sent to the Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation (BGRF) by 30 June 2016, to the following e-mail address: office@bgrf.org and whrtinstitute@gmail.com
The applicants short-listed for an interview will be contacted by 5 August. 2016
The final selection will be done by 25 August 2016.
For more information visit the official web page.
