Application Deadline: 22 Oct 2021
Started in 2013 by former UN lawyers, the organization seeks to fuel systemic change in India’s approach towards migration and displacement. Its mission is to end the marginalisation of forcibly displaced and migrant communities by enabling them to access mainstream legal systems.
M.A.P, formerly known as Ara Legal Initiative, was conceived by Roshni Shanker, the organisation’s founder, when she was working as a lawyer with UNHCR’s field offices, assessing asylum claims from conflict-affected countries.
Roshni realised that traditional humanitarian interventions often fail to recognise legal assistance as being fundamental to post-displacement recovery and rehabilitation. Recognising that these gaps would be better addressed at the grassroots by organisations familiar with the local context, Roshni decided to leave the UN and returned to India to set up the first such organisation.
CFC Fellows will have an unparalleled opportunity to spend twelve to eighteen months gaining both academic and field experience working in the niche area of refugee law and forced migration, and being part of a movement to build an inclusive and responsive legal protection landscape through a rule of law-focused approach.
The Fellows will work directly with migrant and refugee communities across India and will have the rare chance to use core human rights and international law principles to directly impact the lives of their clients. Over the course of the Programme, the Fellows will be trained to effectively leverage the law as a tool to protect the rights of displacement populations, contribute to ongoing advocacy and policy making efforts and undertake path breaking research and work in the field. Fellows will also have exposure to the workings of MAP’s key partners and collaborators, which includes UN agencies, CSOs, state legal aid authorities etc.
The CFC Fellowship can be used as a springboard towards a wide range of academic and professional opportunities in the future. MAP’s alumni have gone on to pursue careers in the development sector including in within the UN system and graduate degrees, other prestigious academic fellowships and PhDs.
Eligibility
MAP is looking for applicants who are qualified lawyers, with 0-2 years of experience, with good academic qualifications, and a demonstrated commitment towards human rights and development issues.
Application Procedure
We are looking for applicants who are qualified lawyers, with 0-2 years of experience, with good academic qualifications, and a demonstrated commitment towards human rights and development issues.
How to Apply
Send in an updated curriculum vitae, and a Letter of Motivation, along with contact details of two referees to recruitments@aratrust.in.
Official Website: Applications Invited for Catalyst for Change Fellowship Programme
