Disability Rights Scholarship Program

Open Society Foundations Disability Rights Scholarship Program

The Disability Rights Scholarship Program provides year-long LLM awards to disability rights advocates and lawyers to develop new legislation, jurisprudence, impact litigation, and scholarship.

With the knowledge and networks gained through the scholarship, fellows will have the ability to challenge rights violations in their home countries by drafting enforceable legislation consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), utilizing enforcement mechanisms set forth in the Convention, taking forward disability rights litigation, requesting CRPD-compliant remedies, and engaging in disability rights advocacy.

The program does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. Candidates with disabilities are particularly encouraged to apply. The competition is merit-based and open to those meeting the following criteria:

• Citizen and legal resident of an eligible country at the time of application (China; Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe; Mexico, Peru, Colombia);
• Have work experience in the legal profession or advocacy focusing on human/disability rights;
• Demonstrate an excellent academic record with a bachelor of laws (LLB.; in exceptional circumstances, those without a LLB but with substantial relevant experience may be considered);
• Demonstrated leadership in the field of disability rights;
• Proficient in spoken and written English or French and able to meet university-designated minimum scores on standardized language tests.

Application deadline: January 13, 2014

Read more and apply here.