NGOs in Francophone Africa?

May 24, 2009 8:43 AM

I'm looking for a human rights NGO to work for in the Francophone world. My preference is for a Francophone Arab country, but I'm open to any option that would be a good work experience. Does anyone have experience or other knowledge of NGOs they would recommend?

I'm about to graduate from Harvard Law School. I was supposed to go to a law firm this fall, but because of the economy, they want to defer my employment until January 2011. In exchange, they will pay for me to work for a non-profit until then.

I'd like to get involved in human rights work anyway, so I'm very excited about this possibility. I have studied and worked a bit with human rights issues, so it would not be completely new to me. I am fluent in French and might be interested in starting to learn Arabic (thus the preference). I am very healthy, am fully vaccinated, and have spent several months in developing countries; I would prefer a higher quality of life (e.g. Tunisia), but can deal with whatever.

I have looked at Human Rights Internet and the FIDH network, but it's hard to get a good sense of the organizations online. I really appreciate any information or recommendations anyone can give.

posted by totalbs247 to law & government (5 comments total)

MSF has a slightly different mission, though its humanitarian work usually has a substantial human rights capacity. It's recruiting field staff for its Francophone missions, and there are positions that don't require medical training.
posted by holgate at 8:54 AM on May 24

What about CARE? Here's a searchable map that highlights the countries where they work.
posted by runningwithscissors at 9:22 AM on May 24

Because of your law background, I would suggest looking at the human rights bodies in Geneva. French is one of the working languages of the UN and highly preferred in Geneva. In addition, Geneva is a center for a number of important NGOs and IGOs (WHO, ICRC, World Bank, etc.) Depending on the work, it might also include significant amounts of travel, if that's what you're interested in. Do you have a particular substantive interest?
posted by B-squared at 12:35 PM on May 24

You also might want to get in touch with someone at the Carr Center; they may have standing relationships with reputable organizations that would make the best use of your skills.
posted by B-squared at 12:37 PM on May 24

I like the idea of the Carr Center; I should have thought of that. I'll look into Geneva, but I shy away a little because of the cost of living. I appreciate all the tips from everyone, but I am interested in focusing on the law side of things, as B-squared noted. I'll check in with people at the Carr Center.
posted by totalbs247 at 8:02 PM on May 25