Apply for the Exciting UNFCCC Internship assignment as a Legal Affairs Divison Intern

Ednah Carrick 41 seconds ago

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Closing Date: 28 March 2025

Apply for the Exciting UNFCCC Internship assignment as a Legal Affairs Divison Intern

Background

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the focus of the political
process to address climate change. The UNFCCC secretariat supports the Convention, its Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement through a range of activities, including substantive and organizational support
to meetings of the Parties and the implementation of commitments. It is a dynamic organization working in a politically challenging environment to help resolve one of the defining environmental issues of our time.

This UNFCCC internship assignment is located in the Legal Affairs Division of the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Legal Affairs Division is accountable for providing legal and procedural advice and services to support (1) the intergovernmental negotiation process, (2) the implementation of the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, and (3) the administration and operations of the secretariat.

Objective of the UNFCCC Internship assignment internship and responsibilities

Under the supervision of the legal officer, Intergovernmental Negotiations Support Subdivision, and in close collaboration with staff members of the Legal Affairs division, the Legal Affairs Divison Intern will perform the following tasks:

Conduct research and analysis on global climate litigation trends, including advisory options related to climate change and legal responses.
Assist Legal Officers in servicing meetings of constituted bodies, such as the Paris Agreement Implementation and Compliance Committee (PAICC), including the preparation of background materials, issue summaries, and delegation viewpoints.
Undertake basic or extensive review of legal documents, instruments, or other material; identifying important issues, similarities, and inconsistencies, etc.;
Assist in the preparation of research studies and legal opinions, as well as perform extensive legal research and analysis on highly complex or novel legal issues/questions.
Support the organization of capacity building activities, such as workshops, courses, and trainings.
Assist in other tasks being carried out by the Legal Affairs division as required.

Internship Minimum Requirements

Candidates must be enrolled in the last year of an Undergraduate (bachelor) or in a Graduate (master) or PhD programme at a recognized university in a law programme at the time of application and for the duration of the internship
Candidates must be fluent in English (both oral and written) and have strong writing skills. Excellent skills in additional United Nations languages are an asset;
Excellent computer literacy (Microsoft Office) is required;
Demonstrated interest in climate change and sustainability is highly desirable.

Internship Timeframe

The internship is for a period of minimum four months within the period between August to the end of December 2025. The exact period will be determined based on the availability of the intern and the needs of the division. The maximum duration of the internship is six months, subject to the intern’s continued university enrolment and performance.

Computer requirements

For a remote internship, candidates will require a laptop or desktop PC (with Windows 10 or newer)
or Mac (with the latest MacOS update), as well as a reliable, high-speed internet connection. An Office 365 license will be provided by the UNFCCC to enable the candidate to access official emails, SharePoint, OneDrive and other office applications, such as Word and Excel.

Further computer requirements:

An antivirus application which receives regular updates;
Browsers must be a newer version with regular updates enabled;
Regular Windows 10 updates should be enabled with Windows laptop or PC. In addition, a mobile phone will be required to enable Multifactor Authentication (MFA) through SMS or the Authenticator App.