Three Human Rights Careers You Don’t Need a Law Degree For
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Author: Anusha Natarajan
Anusha Natarajan is a sophomore at Arizona State University’s honors college, studying sociology and history and is also the Educational Programs intern at the McCain Institute for International Leadership. Anusha hopes to pursue a law degree and doctorate in international law and relations. She is also the civic engagement chair with Changemaker Central, a local nonprofit and a reporter for ASU’s student-run newspaper The State Press, writing stories for the community desk. Outside of college, Anusha likes to travel and learn about different cultures.
Click here to read her other Zig Zag piece about keeping up with the news.
Human rights is a field that I’ve been passionate about since coming to university. I’ve always had an interest in helping people, especially making sure that they have access to education and healthcare as well as having their voices being heard. After university, I hope to work for nonprofit organisations, and focus specifically on advancing election security abroad so that all people have the right to vote.
So what are human rights? Human rights are norms and principles, which are protected by the law, that affects people on a daily basis. Some examples of human rights are free speech, freedom of religion, and healthcare access. All of these rights are protected for all people, regardless of their race, age, class, and sexuality. Human rights are important to protect and uphold by public and private institutions because it is important to take care and provide support to the well being of all people.
Typically, human rights careers are commonly associated with the legal field, such as human rights lawyers and prosecutors. Human rights is a broad field and there are a wide variety of areas where people can be involved in that necessarily do not have a legal component. For example, you could be a healthcare professional working for a non-profit organisation abroad.
Here are some of my preferences of human rights careers that aren’t legal but are definitely still worth considering:
A policy analyst’s main goal is to work and analyse the current developments in the public policy arena. An analyst does not necessarily work just in politics and government, but can be involved in helping out in the science, education, and law field.
The day-to day-job of a policy analyst will be going through research and data and developing analysis and reports based on the data and how it might impact the community. The research and data are from the effect and impact of specific policies into the community. Research experience and a bachelor's degree are strongly encouraged in becoming a policy analyst.
A Human Rights Educator’s role is to educate the public about human rights through events, blog posts, or dialogues. Typically, human rights educators work for non-profits, such as Amnesty International or Freedom House, since the mission statement of these non-profits is to educate and hold events about human rights.
To become a human rights educator, it is important to have a college degree in an area preferably in the human rights field, fluency in English and other languages, and organisation skills to run fundraisers and events.
Human Resource Officers oversee the day to day operations of a company. They are in charge of team building, hiring, office administration, and compliance.
As touched on previously, human resource officers typically work on developing management programs, seeking recruits, and maintaining employer records. Human resource officers are an example of a career in human rights because their job is to take care of the rights of their workers.
In terms of experience, a candidate for this position should have at least a bachelor’s degree, preferably in business administration, and knows how payment and job recruitment work.
Concluding Thoughts
These are just a few examples of potential non-legal human rights careers to take into consideration. You can find more options by Googling “non-legal human rights careers”. Human rights careers are not just in the legal field but can range from several areas in health care and non-profit areas. You can still make an impact in the human rights field through advocacy, community action, and research and really make a difference in this field.
Edited by Ashvini Rae
Published 3rd February 2021