Amnesty International Nigeria Graduate Programs & Internships

What It Does: Amnesty International is involved in fighting against the abuse of human rights. It researches and investigates death penalties, detention, disappearances, discrimination, and police brutality. The organization uses its influence to lobby or push corporate bodies and governments to do the right thing regarding human rights. 

Mission: Amnesty International carries out research and takes action to prevent or rectify severe human rights abuses and demand justice on behalf of those whose rights were violated. 

Size and Presence: Amnesty International has a very modest presence in Nigeria. It comprises a few employees in its Abuja office. 

Best Known For: This organization is renowned globally for protecting human rights. In 1977, Amnesty International was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. 

The Good Bits: The work is positively impactful. The pay is very good. Freshers and interns have great career prospects in this organization. 

The Not-So-Good Bits: Getting a job at Amnesty International is not easy. The employee retention rate can be better. 

Brief History of Amnesty International

Peter Benenson established Amnesty International in London in 1961. Before this, he was a founding member of JUSTICE, a UK legal reform organization. Benenson's motivation came from his discovery of two Portuguese students being maltreated and jailed for seven years. A few years later, this organization was growing internationally. Amnesty International received secret support from the British government. The organization came to Nigeria in 1967. In the 70s, Martin Ennals and Sean MacBride took over the organization's leadership. In 1979, the organization's membership grew to 150,000 people. This enabled the program to expand effectively. 

Thanks to its defense of human dignity against torture, Amnesty International was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In the 80s, Amnesty International was subject to several criticisms from various governments. In the 90s, Amnesty International's membership grew to 7 million across 150 countries worldwide. AI argued in favor of the creation of the International Criminal Court in 2002. In July 2011, Amnesty International celebrated its golden jubilee. In early 2016, Amnesty International launched State of the World's Human Rights, its yearly global report on human rights. In 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, the offices of Amnesty International and other international non-governmental organizations were shut down for "violating Russian law."

Culture & Vibe

This organization is people-oriented; it abides by specific core values which guide its employees' code of conduct and determine the organization's day-to-day operations. These core values include Respect, Being Considerate, Decisive, Accountable, and Creative. The organization is accountable to its employees, treating them with respect and a sense of fairness. 

Amnesty International also has an inclusive culture that embraces and accommodate diverse religions, ethnicities, socioeconomic background, gender, and opinions. Employees are friendly with each other, creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere for fresh graduates who want to build their careers.

Career Prospects

Amnesty International offers viable career development opportunities for freshers, students, and volunteers. Its internship and volunteering program exposes its participants to various cultures and experiences. They also get to collaborate with governments and other prestigious organizations. The organization highly values volunteers, and they get to make invaluable contributions to the organization. Volunteer trainees are taught to build expertise they can offer to the organization or undertake specific research tasks. 

Recruitment Process

Amnesty International's recruitment process takes an average of 2-3 months. The process involves:

• A review of the submitted applications.
• Screening the applicants and subjecting them to a series of interviews to get the best of the best.
• The next stage is a background check on these prospective employees.
• Offer is provided

Remuneration

A fresher working at Amnesty International earns an average of ₦3 million yearly. 

Benefits

• Amnesty International gives its employees up to 37 days of leave within a calendar year
• Life insurance policy
• The organization also offers pension benefits to long-serving employees
• All its field staff gets a travel allowance and an employee assistance program.  

Social Contributions 

Amnesty International is proposing a human rights agenda as well as recommendations to ensure the Nigerian government improves its respect for the civil and human rights of the Nigerian populace. 

Controversies

There have been reports of Amnesty International looking the other way regarding human rights abuses.