UNV Associate Human Rights Officer

Details

Mission and objectives

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is mandated by General Assembly Resolution 48/141 of December 1993 to promote and protect all human rights for all. This mandate also includes the lead within the United Nations to coordinate all human rights-related activities and to cooperate with member states on implementing human rights. By virtue of this global mandate, its expertise and its independence, OHCHR is therefore ideally positioned to engage with states of the G5 Sahel and other partners on the implementation of relevant human rights provisions of Security Council resolution 2391 (2017) including the required Compliance Framework. OHCHR draws on experiences and lessons learned from other operational of the Compliance Framework have been applied, including UNAMA in Afghanistan and AMISOM in Somalia. In addition, the experiences gained in the context of support to the implementation of the Compliance Framework of the FC-G5S inform developments at the continental level, including the ongoing cooperation between the UN and AU to establish a compliance framework for AU peace operations.

Context

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that promotes volunteerism to support peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development and it benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing volunteers. In most cultures volunteerism is deeply embedded in long-established, ancient traditions of sharing and support within the communities. In this context, UN Volunteers take part in various forms of volunteerism and play a role in development and peace together with co-workers, host agencies and local communities. In all assignments, UN Volunteers promote volunteerism through their action and conduct. Engaging in volunteer activity can effectively and positively enrich their understanding of local and social realities, as well as create a bridge between themselves and the people in their host community. This will make the time they spend as UN Volunteers even more rewarding and productive.

Task description

• Within the organization’s delegated authority and under the overall supervision and guidance of the G5 Sahel Project Coordination Team and under the direct supervision of the Human Rights Officer where s/he will be deployed, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: • Facilitate the implementation of human rights mandate in the designated area of responsibility (AOR); • Gather information, analyse and report on the human rights situation in the designated AOR, including through close cooperation with other United Nations actors and the community; • Follow up on individual cases and issues with authorities with the aim of stopping or preventing human rights violations or seeking remedial action by the authorities to prevent similar violations occurring in the future; • Establish and maintain contacts with government representatives, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations, UN agencies and other partners operating in the AOR; • Assist in conducting human rights capacity-building activities and in developing and implementing human rights training programmes; • Contribute to and/or draft various reports, communications, briefing notes, statements or other products; • Conduct fact-finding missions and investigations into abuses/violations of human rights or humanitarian law; • Ensure, coordinate and supervise the timely entry of accurate and verified human rights cases into an established database; conduct quality control and deliver statistics and trend reports as required; • Ensure human rights mainstreaming within UN planning and programming; • Ensure the integration of gender perspectives, with specific attention to issues related to women and girls, including conflict-related sexual violence, within all assigned human rights activities; • Represent the UN human rights component at working level meetings, as relevant; • When working with (including supervising) national staff or (non-)governmental counterparts, set aside dedicated time for capacity development through coaching, mentoring and formal and on-the-job training; and • Perform other related duties as required.