Imagine this: You are a young professional working over 40 hours per week in one of the most prestigious organizations in the world, you sit in on high-level meetings with well-paid officials, and help prepare briefing notes on inclusion or youth empowerment. The problem: Your work is not paid.
This is the reality for most interns working at the United Nations Secretariat in duty stations such as New York, Copenhagen, or Geneva — some of the most expensive cities in the world.
The fact is internships at the U.N. Secretariat are unpaid. No stipend is provided to cover basic living expenses such as food, rent, transportation, and health insurance. Interns don’t have access to formal complaint mechanisms, and no right to sick leave or days off, unless their supervisor is gracious enough to grant them.
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Fair Internship Initiative
The Fair Internship Initiative is a grassroots advocacy platform composed of Intern Boards, interns, and young professionals from across the United Nations system. Since 2015, FII has been advocating for better and fairer internships in the U.N. To this end, FII collects and disseminates data and information on U.N. internships, e.g., the 2019-20 Internships Report, along with organizing public events and other outreach activities.
