Project profile — University of Toronto, International Human Rights Program – IYIP Internships 2015-2017

• Ghana (10.00%)
• Honduras (10.00%)
• Thailand (20.00%)
• Senegal (20.00%)
• South Africa (10.00%)
• Côte d'Ivoire (10.00%)
• Tanzania (10.00%)
• Indonesia (10.00%)

• Legal and judicial development:
Legal and judicial development (15130) (50.00%)
Human rights (15160) (50.00%)

• Gender equality (not targeted)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) International Youth Internship Program (IYIP), funded by the Government of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy (YES). The IYIP contributes to the YES by providing a large spectrum of Canadian graduates with valuable international development work experience abroad. The two-year fellowship project provides 20 young Canadian lawyers with international experience, skills, and knowledge to prepare them for future employment in the field of international human rights law, public international law, and/or immigration and refugee law. The interns provide legal expertise to eight field offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and impact the lives of stateless and/or refugee women, children and men in eight countries (Indonesia, Thailand, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, South Africa, and Honduras).

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (1) increased access by Canadian interns (young men and women) to Canadian labour market opportunities, including in the field of international development; and (2) increased engagement of Canadian interns (young men and women) as global citizens in supporting international development in Canada and abroad.

Results achieved as of March 2017 include: 15 interns (12 female and 3 male) have (1) assisted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in advising on internal displacement matters, including the provision of technical assistance and support to the work of the Inter-Institutional Commission for Persons Displaced by Violence on legal issues; (2) assisted in enhancing the protection capacity of national and local governments, partners and civil society to assume their responsibilities vis-à-vis all persons of concern through protection training; (3) conducted protection needs assessments for refugees and recommended follow-up actions; (4) provided protection counselling to refugees and followed-up on necessary cases, including making referrals to implementing partners and other units; (5) conducted research and gaps analysis on issues of interest to UNHCR such as statelessness, implementation of the UNHCR Urban refugee policy, mixed migration, immigration reforms and impact on asylum; (6) assisted in creating media messages and working on public information; (7) co-ordinated with other United Nations actors in the statelessness working group on thematic issues; and (8) conducted interviews with persons at risk of becoming stateless, as needed.

• Proactive disclosure