Fellowships

IHRDA offers fellowships to persons, usually qualified lawyers in their home countries who have a wealth of professional experiences.

Fellows at IHRDA stay for three months to a year and usually devote their time to research human rights issues and prepare specific cases to be brought before the ACmHPR and other complaint handling bodies within the African human rights system. Fellows also participate in other IHRDA programmes such as research and publication, capacity-building and advocacy.

Depending on the availability of funds of the specific fellowship, IHRDA covers fellows’ travel to and from The Gambia and provides a modest monthly stipend to cover their living expenses.

IHRDA Fellowship/Internship Policy

IHRDA Fellowship/Internship Application Form

Current Fellows

Watna Horemans (Cape Verde/Belgium)
Publications and Communications Fellow, IHRDA
Born of a Sao Tomean mother and a Belgian father, Watna has lived with his family for several years in different places (Cape Verde, Italy, Burundi and Benin) and attended high school in Cotonou. Watna hold a double Masters degree in Political Science and Human Rights Law from Université Libre de Bruxelles and Institute d’Etudes Politiques d’Aix-en-Provence. His studies are an expression of his concern for political issues, the consequences they have in the societies we live in and the means to improve them, and remains committed to work in defending and promoting human rights. A veritable polyglot, Watna is fluent in his native French and Portuguese, as well as English, Spanish and Italian, and speaks some Dutch. Watna has previously collaborated with Amnesty International francophone Belgium section and interned at IHRDA in 2011 for 6 months on the CLA project.

Elizabeth Kumbong Amaazee (Cameroon)
Publications and Communications Fellow, IHRDA
Ms Amaazee holds an M.A. in Translation. She graduated from the University of Yaounde I in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree (Hons) in Bilingual Studies (English-French). She passed the competitive entrance examinations into the Advanced School of Translators and Interpreters (ASTI) of the University of Buea, Cameroon, in November 2007. As part of her studies, she did six weeks internship in the Ministry of Justice in Cameroon and was later selected for a six months internship in the Court Interpretation and Translation Section of the International Criminal Court at The Hague. She does translation, terminology, proofreading and editing as a freelancer.

Tapsoba Josiane Somdata (Burkina Faso)
Publications and Communications Fellow, IHRDA
With a “maitrise’ in public law and a Master degree in Ethics and Governance with specialisation in human rights, Tapsoba is fascinated by human rights and good governance promotion.
She is a member of CIFDHA (Centre d’Information et de Formation en matière de Droits Humains en Afrique) and has previously completed internships in NGOs (Bureau International Catholique de l’Enfance in RCI, World Wide Fund for Nature in Ghana) and public administration (National Assembly and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Burkina, Burkina Consulate in Abidjan and the “Société Nationale de Gestion du Stock de Sécurité Alimentaire)”.
She likes writing and published articles about “EITI”, Social Responsibility Agreement in Ghana and sanitation issues in Abidjan.

Cases developed during previous fellowships

2009

In 2009, IHRDA hosted Nicole Odia and Serge Lukunga, two (2) fellows from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They will be developing cases from Katanga Province on:

  • 393/10 IHRDA, Action contre l’impunité pour les droits humains (ACIDH) & Rights & Accountability in Development (RAID) v DRC; alleging gross human rights violation in the town of Kilwa in October 2004 [Read more about the case];
  • Alleged forced evictions in Kisiba, Katanga province in 2005.

2007/8

With the generous support of the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) IHRDA hosted in 2008 Simon M Weldehaimanot [Eritrea], who developed and filed the following case.

  • 349/07 Simon Weldehaimanot / Eritrea; on the right to free movement, and right of citizens to leave their own country

2004

Otto Saki from Zimbabwe and Steve Kafumba from Malawi attended their fellowship in 2004 and worked on three cases:

2002

Sabelo Gumedze, from Swaziland, developed the following communication and did substantial research on citizenship rights in Africa during his fellowship at IHRDA.

Watna Horemans (Cape Verde/Belgium)

Publications and Communications Fellow, IHRDA

Born of a Sao Tomean mother and a Belgian father, Watna has lived with his family for several years in different places (Cape Verde, Italy, Burundi and Benin) and attended high school in Cotonou. Watna hold a double Masters degree in Political Science and Human Rights Law from Université Libre de Bruxelles and Institute d’Etudes Politiques d’Aix-en-Provence. His studies are an expression of his concern for political issues, the consequences they have in the societies we live in and the means to improve them, and remains committed to work in defending and promoting human rights. A veritable polyglot, Watna is fluent in his native French and Portuguese, as well as English, Spanish and Italian, and speaks some Dutch. Watna has previously collaborated with Amnesty International francophone Belgium section and interned at IHRDA in 2011 for 6 months on the CLA project.

Elizabeth Kumbong Amaazee (Cameroon)

Publications and Communications Fellow, IHRDA

Ms Amaazee holds an M.A. in Translation. She graduated from the University of Yaounde I in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree (Hons) in Bilingual Studies (English-French). She passed the competitive entrance examinations into the Advanced School of Translators and Interpreters (ASTI) of the University of Buea, Cameroon, in November 2007. As part of her studies, she did six weeks internship in the Ministry of Justice in Cameroon and was later selected for a six months internship in the Court Interpretation and Translation Section of the International Criminal Court at The Hague. She does translation, terminology, proofreading and editing as a freelancer.

Tapsoba Josiane Somdata (Burkina Faso)

Publications and Communications Fellow, IHRDA

With a “maitrise’ in public law and a Master degree in Ethics and Governance with specialisation in human rights, Tapsoba is fascinated by human rights and good governance promotion.

She is a member of CIFDHA (Centre d’Information et de Formation en matière de Droits Humains en Afrique) and has previously completed internships in NGOs (Bureau International Catholique de l’Enfance in RCI, World Wide Fund for Nature in Ghana) and public administration (National Assembly and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Burkina, Burkina Consulate in Abidjan and the “Société Nationale de Gestion du Stock de Sécurité Alimentaire)”.

She likes writing and published articles about “EITI”, Social Responsibility Agreement in Ghana and sanitation issues in Abidjan.

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