Human Rights Internships in South Africa

International Human Rights Internships in South Africa

Our Human Rights internships in South Africa are based in the bustling city of Cape Town. Interning in this cosmopolitan city gives interns the opportunity to work on a really worthwhile internship alongside respected humanitarian organizations while gaining first hand experience about human rights law in practice.

Interns with an interest in human rights, government & politics, campaigning, and even writers interested in social justice issues will be put to great use in marginalized communities in and around Cape Town. Our internships are all at the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office.

You’ll be working alongside qualified and passionate individuals who will vastly increase your knowledge of Human Rights, campaigning, community involvement, the legal system and the politics of governance. You’ll be given the opportunity to expand your horizons while making a real impact on people’s quality of life.

Human Rights Internships in South Africa

Kids With its brutal history of apartheid and colonialism, there can be few better places than South Africa to get involved in campaigning for human rights. Our Human Rights projects in Cape Town offer interns the unique opportunity to get involved at grass roots level, raising awareness about human rights in a variety of marginalized communities or at risk groups such as prisoners, children, women, or those in rural communities throughout the Western Cape.

An international internship with Projects Abroad in Cape Town would be a valuable addition to your resume in the notoriously competitive world of Law, Human Rights or International Development and might just secure you that lucrative first job once you graduate.

Your precise role will be determined by your background and level of interest in specific areas. Internships are ideal if you are a law student, journalist or graduate seeking practical experience in human rights. However, the work is also suitable if you're interning as pre-university student or if you only have a general interest in human rights. Some internships will accept interns for one month while others require you to commit to at least three months on the internship and have some law experience. Please contact our staff if you would like further information on which internships you qualify for.

All interns need to be flexible, communicate well, and work hard. Internships are demanding and must be taken seriously; you will be representing a professional organization. You may sometimes have deadlines and asked to represent these organizations at rallies, private interviews, government meetings and other events.

Internships in Human Rights in South Africa

Office of our Human Rights project The collective mission of our Human Rights internships is to provide good quality, independent legal advice to the poor and vulnerable, to highlight inequalities and demand redress for unfair laws, and to ensure effective access to justice for all South Africans - especially the communities so appallingly mistreated during apartheid. We also work with many vulnerable communities composed of refugees and recent African immigrants.

Internships in Cape Town at the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office cover a broad spectrum of topics, or with an organization that specializes in one of the following areas:

  • 1. Children's rights and prevention of child abuse
  • 2. Prison conditions and prisoners Rights
  • 3. Election monitoring and Participatory Governance
  • 4. Development and human rights in rural communities
  • 5. Women’s rights
  • 6. Immigrants and refugees rights

The schemes are there to help ordinary South Africans understand their rights, to empower people to speak out when their rights are infringed, and to give them the skills and knowledge necessary to do so. Your role in this might involve various activities such as:

  • 1. Researching and generating media features
  • 2. Conducting interviews and receiving complaints of human rights violations
  • 3. Raising awareness in rural and urban communities
  • 4. Preparing training materials and conducting workshops
  • 5. Providing free legal advice
  • 6. Preparing parliamentary submissions

Typically your internship will involve several elements. You might be producing information resources, such as research reports or questionnaires. You'll also be encouraged to make good use of the local media by writing articles on social themes or even appearing in radio debates! At other times you might visit community groups to give advice on specific civil rights aspects. There is plenty for you to become involved with and you will definitely be kept busy!

The Projects Abroad Human Rights Office in South Africa

In response to the huge need for human rights interns in South Africa, Projects Abroad funds our own Human Rights office in Cape Town. Allied with a number of different organizations, including the International Peace Commission, our office is led by Theodore Kamwimbi, a dedicated lawyer with vast international experience across Africa and a seemingly never ending knowledge of the field of Human Rights Law.

Interns working for the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office will be given the opportunity to gain international work experience across a variety of disciplines, from researching human rights cases, conducting legal consultations, monitoring prisons, parliament and refugee conditions, preparing parliamentary submissions and much more!

Interns are given the freedom to direct their activity and learning towards any given sector of human rights with the full support of our staff. In addition to these optional special interest projects, all interns will help support our key areas of work, these include:

  • 1. Immigrants and refugees rights.
    Following tumultuous recent events in neighboring countries such as Zimbabwe, Somalia, Rwanda, Uganda and the Congo, South Africa has increasingly become a central assembling point for refugees. Projects Abroad has been helping the refugee protection service providers with the various tasks focusing on the refugees' situation regarding food, employment and accommodation.

    Refugees are facing serious protection and safety challenges within the communities and the aim of this project is to empower rather than assist the refugees. Reports generated by these site visits have been handed to the South African Human Rights commission, so our interns are a vital tool in ensuring that refugee’s basic rights are upheld. Projects Abroad Human Rights Office has recently developed a relationship with the UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency) and continues to push for collaboration with this esteemed organization to help the plight of refugees in South Africa.


  • 2. Free and Independent legal advice.
    Projects Abroad successfully places qualified interns at the South African Human Rights Commission's office. In addition, the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office also serves as a consultation office for other existing NGO’s and human rights organizations such as the UNHCR, which helps to ensure that everyone with a human rights complaint is able to state their case and know their rights within a reasonable time frame.


  • 3. Parliamentary Monitoring.
    Even in an established democracy such as South Africa, independent monitoring of the discussions and decisions of parliament is vital to maintain transparency and public trust in government. Projects Abroad supports the work of the Parliamentary Monitoring Group, an independent regulatory body, visiting parliament and reporting on the effectiveness and democracy of the decisions made.

This internship offers an unprecedented opportunity to gain first hand experience of human rights law while also making a valuable contribution to the welfare of marginalized groups in African society. It is important that you have strong English skills to participate in a Human Rights internship.

Human Rights interns should expect to work from 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday, with the option of working longer hours if you choose. All interns need to show a good level of initiative; the Human Rights projects are fast paced and interns who seek their own work, ask questions and make an impact on their supervisors will have a fantastic learning experience.

This truly amazing internship will have you living in Cape Town and working alongside Theodore Kamwimbi, one of the country's most experienced lawyers. Mr. Kamwimbi has worked with people such as Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu as well as with the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation.

For even more information please check out our Projects Abroad Human Rights Office website.