Associate Human Rights Officer

Details

Mission and objectives

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote and protect the enjoyment and full realization, by all people, of all human rights. The Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and international human rights laws and treaties established those rights. UN Human Rights was created by the General Assembly in 1993 through its resolution 48/141 which also details its mandate. UN Human Rights is mandated: • Promote and protect all human rights for all • Recommend that bodies of the UN system improve the promotion and protection of all human rights • Promote and protect the right to development • Provide technical assistance to States for human rights activities • Coordinate UN human rights education and public information programmes • Work actively to remove obstacles to the realization of human rights and to prevent the continuation of human rights violations • Engage in dialogue with Governments in order to secure respect for all human rights • Enhance international cooperation for the promotion and protection of all human rights • Coordinate human rights promotion and protection activities throughout the United Nations system • Rationalize, adapt, strengthen and streamline the UN human rights machinery

Context

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 environments where aspects 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.

Task description

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Senior Human Rights Officer (Coordinator), leading the implementation at the field level of the OHCHR G5 Sahel Compliance Framework Project (FC-G5S) in Bamako, Mali, and under the direct supervision of the Team Leader for Burkina Faso, or his/her designated representative(s), the UN Volunteer will perform the following tasks: • Facilitate the implementation of human rights mandate in the designated area of responsibility (AOR); • Contribute to the implementation of the Compliance Framework of the FC-G5S; • 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 of violation of human rights and international humanitarian law and related 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; • Contribute to the design and implementation of strategies aiming at enhanced Protection of Civilians in the AoR; • Establish and maintain cooperative 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 per the Compliance Framework Project; • 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 the Project 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 Compliance Framework Project 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