Human Rights Officer

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) opened a fully-fledged standalone country office in Liberia on 1 April 2018 and operates under a host country agreement with the Government of Liberia to promote and protect human rights. OHCHR-Liberia implements the full mandate of the High Commissioner as stipulated in General Assembly resolution 48/141 of 20 December1993.
The Office supports national efforts to strengthen respect for human rights through monitoring, reporting, technical assistance, capacity-building, and engagement with national and international human rights mechanisms. It works closely with Government institutions, National Human Rights Institution, integrity institutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), and other stakeholders to advance the rule of law, accountability, and protection of vulnerable populations.

One of the strategic approaches OHCHR uses in Liberia is to engage youth and ensure there are and remain agents of change and support prevention of human rights violations and protect human rights in their communities, online and offline. Under the Peace Building Fund Youth Promotion Initiative (which is ending in July 2026), OHCHR in Liberia has been engaging with young people and youth-led organizations to ensure they claim their civic space, their human rights and those of others in their communities. The population of Liberia is very youthful, with 63% and 79% below the ages of 25 and 35, respectively.

Despite this population age structure, the civic space is very restrictive to the meaningful participation of the youth, especially the marginalised groups and young women. The restrictive civic space has often hindered the ability of youth-led organisations/networks to freely mobilise their peers to meaningfully participate in democratic governance processes, including elections, public discourse and hearings, and peacebuilding activities in the absence of the manipulation of politicians and other civic actors. Many young people lack access to information and communication technologies, limiting their ability to engage offline and through online platforms, thereby hindering their access to relevant information for civic participation. Many young people in Liberia need to be made aware of their rights, responsibilities, and the importance of civic engagement.

OHCHR intends to continue to build on key achievements and results of the YPI Project to ensure continued support to youth -led organizations and to build the agency of grassroot, young men and young women from marginalised communities to have a voice and demand their rights to participation in all aspects of the civic spaces.
Since 2024, OHCHR Liberia is supporting Liberia in the ongoing Transitional Justice (TJ) processes including the establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court and the National Anti-Corruption Court. The Office is leading the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) strategic support to the TJ process in the country. OHCHR is supporting the involvement of the youth in TJ process to ensure that they remain agents of change and support the country’s efforts for accountability for past and current crimes.

Under the supervision of the Country Representative, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
• Conduct research and analysis of human rights trends and emerging issues, particular-ly those affecting young people’s rights and digital civic space and translate findings in-to youth friendly digital content to raise awareness and promote informed offline and online engagements.
• Support the monitoring and reporting of human rights issues, including Economic, So-cial and Cultural Rights, while leveraging digital platforms and social media to amplify key findings and mobilize youth participation in advocacy and accountability efforts.
• Contribute to integrating human rights perspective into political, social and develop-mental initiative by engaging youth networks and digital communities to promote inclu-sive participation in national development and governance processes.
• Mainstream gender equality and the rights of women and girls across all activities by utilizing digital campaigns, online dialogues, and social media advocacy to elevate their voices and address gender-based discrimination and online harms.
• Follow up on human rights cases and situations, including violations and abuses, and support the dissemination of accurate and timely information through digital platforms to strengthen public awareness, youth engagement, and community response.
• Assist in designing and implementing human rights education and capacity-building program, including on digital rights, transitional justice, civic participation, corruption and Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs), while fostering youth-led online advocacy and awareness initiative.
• Represent the UN Human Rights Office in relevant working-level meeting and en-gagements with youth organizations, digital influencer and online communities to strengthen partnerships for human rights promotion and protection.
• Contributing to drafting reports, briefings, communication and advocacy materials, and adapting key messages into accessible digital formats that empower young people to engage in human rights discourse and action.
• Support the implementation of initiatives that enhance youth leadership in digital rights, online civic engagement, and transitional justice and other human rights advocacy, while carrying out other duties assigned by the Representative or designated staff.