United Nations OHCHR Third Human Rights Youth Challenge 2020 – Application Procedure

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights invites applications for the UN OHCHR Third Human Rights Youth Challenge 2020. APPLY NOW following the procedure here.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, also known as Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations that works to promote and protect the human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 with headquaters Geneva Switzerland and New York City United States.

The Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation is organizing the Third Human Rights Youth Challenge and invites youth aged between 18 to 23 years to create an original submission and youth aged between 24 and 32 years to submit a 2000 word essay on “privatization and the human rights to water and sanitation”.

The Special Rapporteur is looking for submission that examines the involvement of the private sector – namely: businesses in the water and sanitation sector, from a human rights perspective.

Prizes

• The winner will be invited to join the Special Rapporteur at a side-event of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, September 2020.

Eligibility

• Open to youth aged 15 to 32 from around the world.
• Participants aged between 24 and 32 will be required to submit an essay as their submission.
• Youth below age 24 are free to submit any format of their choice, following the format from first two youth challenges.

Entry Requirements

• 15 – 23 year olds can show their knowledge, understanding and passion about the human rights to water and sanitation by creating an original submission about the human rights to water and sanitation and uploading it to a social media network (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook or Twitter).
• 24 – 32 years olds: The submission will be in a form of an essay focusing on one case study. Participants are free to choose a case, which focuses on various forms and models of private sector participation in the water and sanitation sector and analyse gaps in human rights protection and impact on the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation.
  • Length of essay: 2,000 words in word document (including footnotes, page numbers, heading)
  • Language: English, Spanish and French

How to Apply

• Share your submission via social media channels where the UN Special Rapporteur has accounts (@UNSRwatsan on Instagram, @SRwatsan on Facebook and Twitter).
• Mark the social media update by including the hashtag #Youth4watsan and tagging the Special Rapporteur’s account
• Submit a link to your social media update to srwatsan@ohchr.org with the subject: “Submission for 3rd Human RIghts Challenge”

Deadline: April 30, 2020