UN interns protest against unpaid policy

On World Social Justice Day, 20 February 2024, unpaid United Nations interns in Geneva, Nairobi, and New York mobilised demanding an end to unpaid internships.

Interns from UN agencies in Geneva gathered on the Place des Nations. Image by OHCHR.

Unpaid internships represent one of the least examined youth labour trends of the past few decades, not just in the United Nations but in many parts of the labour market [1]. While a more traditional apprenticeship program provides long term training with a guaranteed job at the end, interns are increasingly used by government agencies, NGOs and the private sector as a low-cost, contingent workforce.

As we discussed in our page How to become an Intern with the United Nations [2], they are ideal for people who want to gain a first-hand impression of the day-to-day working environment of the United Nations with UN people.

The BBC reported on the case of a United Nations intern found sleeping in a tent on the shores of Lake Geneva in 2015 [3] which first drew attention to the UN practice (one it shares with big business and some European Union institutions) of employing interns on an unpaid basis.

Following that widely published event, World Radio reports [4] that the UN said it would look at the issue of paying interns. Some organisations, such as the ILO, do pay interns. But the UN General Secretariat still offers nothing.

The system is deemed unfair as the only people who could consider taking up an intern post need an income from another source – normally a wealthy family. The UN General Assembly has asked the Secretariat to develop a compensation system for interns – but there’s been no further information.

However in most UN agencies no remuneration is offered to interns. As Public Services International reported in 2019 [5], unpaid internships reinforce persisting inequalities by selecting potential interns on the basis of their socio-economic status. Accepting an unpaid internship is a privilege reserved to the few who can count on another source of income.

Data from a U.N. Secretariat report on internships showed that close to half of UN interns come from Western countries, with a mere 10.5% representing African countries. As a consequence, lack of financial support reinforces disparities in intern and staff demographics at the UN, which contradicts the organisation’s commitment to fostering diversity, equal opportunities and equal pay for equal work.

The Tribune de Geneva reports [6] that Baptiste, an intern in Geneva and member of the Fair Internship Initiative (FII) [7], as saying: “The UN General Secretariat, although a key entity in the UN system, still offers nothing to its interns while the cost of living is enormous…In addition to putting interns in precarious situations, this lack of remuneration reinforces inequalities by selecting potential interns on the basis of their socioeconomic status. Accepting an unpaid internship is a privilege reserved for those who can count on another source of income.”

FII is a network of young volunteers that brings together current and former interns, and which advocates for equitable internships within the United Nations.

In March 2023, the UN General Assembly asked the Secretariat to develop a new policy to compensate interns. By March 2025, the U.N. Secretary-General has to present his proposals on the internship reform. Until then, UN interns will continue to demand fair internships.