Clone of Human Rights and Business in South Africa and Colombia Application (2025-2026)

Human Rights and Business in South Africa and Colombia Research Assistant Application (2026-2027)
DUE: May 10, 2026, by 11:59 p.m. (CST)

Academic Year 2026–2027

Join a collaborative research team supporting skill-building for human rights lawyers in South Africa and Colombia. This project focuses on developing legal strategies to hold corporations accountable for human rights and environmental impacts.

THE PROJECT

Under the guidance of Professor Kaushik Sunder Rajan (Anthropology) and the Corporate Accountability Lab (CAL), research assistants will facilitate a strategic litigation skill-share between South African and Colombian legal teams. This initiative is sponsored by the Pozen Family Center for Human Rights.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Research assistants will be expected to attend a multi-day event in in Paris or Bogotá prior to the Fall 2026 quarter. Assistants will work alongside international lawyers to define research priorities, which may include:
- Legal Analysis: Helping to survey and analyze relevant laws and histories of litigation pertaining to business and human rights in South Africa and Colombia. Likely areas of focus will include (but are not restricted to) class actions against mining companies, mining and land rights, protocols for community consent for extractive enterprise, use of regional courts for bringing human rights cases against corporations, and health and environmental impacts of extractive industry.
- Expert Interviews: Conducting interviews with legal and policy experts in South Africa and Colombia (likely by Zoom, though as the project progresses, a research visit to one of the countries may become necessary).
- Advocacy Support: Compiling data and drafting legal memos to support active human rights cases.
- Strategic Collaboration: Engaging in regular briefings with project partners and experts.
TIMING & COMMITMENT

The Pozen Family Center for Human Rights is seeking three to four undergraduate research assistants to start prior to the beginning of the 2026 Fall Quarter by attending a multiple day event in Paris or Bogota. The meeting time and place may change depending on the availability of lawyers from abroad. After the initial week of meetings, the commitment will average four to six hours per week during Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarters. Work will be done independently or at the offices of Corporate Responsibility Lab.

ELIGIBILITY
- Open to all UChicago undergraduates; preference for 3rd and 4th-year students.
- At least one of the research assistants should have a working knowledge of Spanish.
- Interest in extractive industries, environmental health, or regional human rights courts is highly valued.
COMPENSATION

$19/hour.
Work-study students are strongly encouraged to apply.

Questions? Please contact Adam Avrushin, aavrushi@uchicago.edu.
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Your UChicago student status in academic year 2026-2027 (preference for 3rd and 4th year UChicago undergraduate students): *
Your undergraduate major*
Please explain your availability for this position. Preference will be given to those who are available during the week of September 21 and can commit 4-6 hours per week for three quarters. Also, please indicate if you intend to study abroad.
YesNoI plan to declare human rights as my major.I am a human rights minorI am a graduate studentOther
Please list any past or current Human Rights coursework.

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In addition to English, what other languages do you speak, read, or write proficiently? For each, please rate your proficiency level (native speaker, fluent, advanced beginner, etc.).

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Please briefly list any experience with research, analysis, interviewing, working with data (including computer science or coding abilities), or working on business and human rights-related projects. Please note that it is not expected that you have all of these skills – we will build an interdisciplinary team!

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Please describe your interest in joining the research team supporting lawyers who promote human rights and business in South Africa and Colombia. You may include influential and formative academic work, work experience, volunteerism, activism, personal experiences, and/or interests in particular issue areas that have (a) influenced your decision to apply and (b) prepared you for a research position. Are there personal and professional areas where you’re looking to grow? (300-word limit)*

Note: prior work experience in human rights is not a program prerequisite.0/300
Note: Word limits are strict. There is no minimum word count. We encourage you to be as succinct as possible. Use block paragraphs instead of indented paragraphs to avoid formatting errors.
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Human Rights and Business in South Africa and Colombia Research Assistant Application (2026-2027)