Human Rights Officer

The Human Rights Officer supports the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan by advising on gender dimensions of human rights violations, ensuring proper documentation and reporting, supporting treaty bodies and mechanisms, and coordinating with UN and non-governmental programs. The role involves training, supervising staff, and contributing to human rights program design and evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Advise the Special Rapporteur and the Secretariat on the gender dimensions of human rights violations, including through gender analysis, interviewing and evidence gathering activities, ensuring integration of a gender perspective.
• Ensure proper documentation, collection, preservation of information, analysis and reporting on cases of sexual and gender-based violence and other gender-based human rights violations and abuses and that the gender-specific impact of violations is assessed, documented, analysed and reported by all members of the team.
• Review, monitor and evaluate activities relating to the implementation of international human rights instruments, including recommendations of treaty bodies and mechanisms of the Human Rights Council.
• Support the work of treaty-established bodies and extra-conventional mechanisms and special procedures.
• Prepare relevant human rights parts of reports for the General Assembly, Human Rights Council, notes on the status of ratification of human rights instruments, etc.
• Work with UN and non-governmental programmes in the country/region to integrate human rights, including their gender dimensions in their programs; help design and implement the human rights program and design the organization and focus of the evaluation.
• Ensure up-to-date information regarding substantive matters in the field of human rights and make recommendations on actions to take.
• Make contact with other sectors of the UN, other international organizations and governments on coordination and policy matters; brief representatives and provide, as appropriate, suggestions and recommendations.
• Assist country military and police to develop and implement a training program in the field of human rights, international humanitarian law, democracy and the rule of law, with attention to gender perspectives.
• Train and supervise new/junior staff.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, political science, international relations, social sciences or related field.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in human rights, political affairs, international relations, law or related area is required.
• Experience providing gender analysis on human rights issues is required.
• Experience in interviewing victims and witnesses, including victims of sexual and gender-based violence is desirable.
• Experience in supporting human rights mechanisms is desirable.
• Knowledge of and exposure to a range of human rights issues including approaches and techniques to address sensitive and complex human rights problems in their political, ethnic, racial, gender and socio-economic dimensions.
• Knowledge of institutional mandates of human rights organizations, prevailing policies and procedures.
• Ability to evaluate and integrate information from a variety of sources and assess impact on the human rights situation in the region or country of assignment, including the political environment and legal statutes as they pertain to human rights.
• Ability to complete in-depth studies and reach conclusions on possible causes and solutions to human rights problems in specific societies and systems.
• Demonstrated skills in training civil authorities and members of advocacy groups to recognize warning signs of civil unrest and take preventive action to avert hostilities.
• Ability to relate to human rights issues and perspectives, including their gender equality dimensions, to political, social, economic and humanitarian programmes in affected countries and areas.
• English language proficiency at UN Level III in reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Skills

• Human Rights Analysis
• Gender Analysis
• Interviewing Victims and Witnesses
• Human Rights Mechanisms Support
• Human Rights Documentation
• Human Rights Reporting
• Training Delivery
• Human Rights Program Design
• Human Rights Program Evaluation
• Political Analysis
• Legal Analysis
• Advocacy Group Training
• Human Rights Monitoring
• International Relations
• Social Science Research
• Treaty Bodies Coordination
• Supervisory Abilities
• English Language Proficiency

Languages

English