OHCHR Minorities Fellowship Program 2026 in Geneva

The Minority Fellowship Programme (MFP) is a flagship capacity-building initiative of OHCHR — the principal human-rights office of the United Nations. Established in 2005, the MFP is designed to empower defenders from national, ethnic, religious, or linguistic minority communities worldwide. The High Commissioner for Human Rights is the principal human rights official of the United Nations. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is accountable to the Secretary-General and is responsible for all the activities of OHCHR, as well as for its administration.

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Each year, OHCHR selects a cohort of minority rights defenders to participate in a structured fellowship programme based in Geneva, Switzerland. The programme is offered in three languages: English, Russian, and Arabic. The goal is to strengthen their understanding of international human rights law, the UN human-rights system, and global human-rights mechanisms with a particular emphasis on minority rights.

The selection of fellows reflects a gender and regional balance. They also take into consideration the general human rights situation in the respective regions/countries, and the situation of the minority community to which the applicant belongs. Pre-selection of 15 to 20 candidates per language group is conducted by previous fellows, followed by interviews for pre-selected candidates. The final decision is made by an advisory group of OHCHR staff. In view of the large number of applications, they will only contact successful candidates. The programme usually takes place in November for a month each year, including a preparatory training component in Strasbourg, France, for one week.

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The training is interactive: fellows partake in briefings, workshops, group and individual assignments. Through these sessions, participants gain insight into how the UN and OHCHR operate, how human-rights treaties and instruments work, and how to use these tools to promote and protect minority rights in their home countries. In addition to imparting technical knowledge, MFP fosters a global community of minority-rights defenders. It creates opportunities for fellows to connect and network with other activists, UN staff, and Geneva-based NGOs — forging international partnerships and broadening the reach of their advocacy.

A distinctive aspect of the programme is its multiplier-effect ambition: after completing the fellowship, MFP expects fellows to return to their communities or organizations and share their knowledge. The idea is that this intervention not only strengthens individual skills but also builds capacity at grassroots, community, and organizational levels — thereby contributing over time to stronger protection and promotion of minority rights globally.