In honour of Nick Howen, his family and the ICJ have established a fund that will provide opportunities for young jurists from developing countries to build and develop their knowledge and experience in human rights and the rule of law through an internship at the ICJ.
The ICJ relies on interns for part of its work and the support they provide is greatly valued by the organisation. On average, there are four to six interns working at the ICJ in Geneva at any given time. Interns help with research, organisation of events, advocacy work and much more. The average stay is six months. A few of the ICJ interns have scholarships from their University, but most of them receive a stipend of around 14 CHF per working day (which amounts to a monthly income of 300 CHF). This is insufficient to be able to live in Geneva and therefore, in practice, most interns come from families that can support them during their internships, and very few interns come from developing countries.
The ICJ and the family hope, through the Nicholas Howen Memorial Fund, to sponsor one to two scholarships a year within the ICJ for post-graduate human rights lawyers from developing countries. With 13,000 CHF the Memorial Fund will be able to contribute substantially to sponsoring travel costs, board and lodging for one young lawyer for a period of six months. Ideally the
Memorial Fund would aim to sponsor two internships a year (26,000 CHF), and to be sustainable in the future.
The Fund is held through a separate ICJ bank account, and will be managed by a Committee that includes members of Nick’s family, ICJ Commissioners and ICJ staff. If the fund attracts sustainable funding, an association will be created which will include members of Nick’s family, of the ICJ Commission and of the ICJ Secretariat.
Applications for sponsorships will be open and posted on the ICJ website provisionally as of January 2011. Post-graduate students with a specialization in International Law and/or Human rights, and from developing countries, will be encouraged to apply. The Committee will decide on successful candidates and will report on the use of these funds through its
website.
To make a donation, please see the Nick Howen Memorial Fund Pledge Form. The Nicholas Howen Memorial Fund will acknowledge all donations, independently from the form of donation chosen, if the identity of the giver is known. When you make a donation to this Fund, please consider giving donations on an annual basis, even if for a smaller amount: this will help the fund to be sustainable and it can continue to sponsor human rights law internships.
Lucy Howen & the ICJ Secretariat