OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR …



OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

INTERNAL/ EXTERNAL VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Reference Number: 13/OHCHR/009/GENEVA

Deadline for Application: 12 February 2013

Post Title and Level: Human Rights Officer, P-4

Duty Station: Geneva

Duration: Four months

Organizational Unit: Methodology , Education and Training Section (METS)

Development and Economic and Social Issues Branch (DESIB) Research and Right to Development Division (RRDD)

Background

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) undertakes human rights monitoring and fact-finding and documents and reports on cases of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. To support its monitoring and reporting work, OHCHR is developing a Glossary of human rights and international humanitarian law violations inclusive of approximately 290 violations’ entries. The Glossary is being developed in two formats:

1. A condensed glossary with short definitions for each violation enumerating the key elements that constitute a specific human rights violation (about 10-12 lines);

2. A comprehensive glossary with a more detailed description of each violation, including references to general comments, jurisprudence and real examples (maximum 650 words).

Prior to finalization, the draft entries require a legal review as well as a review for their suitability for use by field monitoring practitioners.

Objective

The incumbent will have the main task of undertaking a thorough review of the legal accuracy of all the draft glossary entries and revise them as necessary to ensure accuracy of content, consistency in the way entries are classified, and coherence among entries. The incumbent will work in very close coordination with OHCHR staff responsible for managing the Glossary Project.

The incumbent will review the condensed and comprehensive glossary definitions for a selection of entries enumerated in a list of approximately 290 violations, classified under the following broad categories:

• Human Rights Law: Life; Physical and mental integrity; Liberty; Detention; Conditions of detention; Access to justice and fair trial; Additional fair trial guarantees with regard to criminal justice; Effective remedies; Religion, thought and belief; Opinion and expression; Incitement; Information; Assembly; Association; Participation; Movement and residence; Privacy; Property; Author’s rights and intellectual property; Marriage and family; Work and just conditions of work; Trade unions; Housing; Food; Water and sanitation; Social security; Health; Education; Culture; Nationality; Identity; Children; Refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people; Minorities; Indigenous peoples; Migrant workers and members of their families; Persons with disabilities; Equality; Discrimination; Legislative, policy and other measures; Corruption.

• International Humanitarian Law: Killing or injuring protected persons; Liberty and personal integrity; Unlawful attacks and destruction; Conscription of children; Use of prohibited weapons; Deportation and population movements; Fair trial, accountability and impunity.

Responsibilities

Under the general supervision of the Chief, Development and Social and Economic Branch, Research and Right to Development Division, and the direct supervision of the Chief of the Methodology, Education and Training Section, the incumbent will carry out the following duties:

• Undertake a review of the legal accuracy of selected draft glossary entries, each comprising of a condensed and comprehensive format, to ensure that each entry correctly spells out all the key legal elements according to international human rights law or international humanitarian law, current jurisprudence and authoritative interpretations;

• Redraft and finalise the entries as necessary, to ensure accuracy of content, coherence, consistency and standardization in the way entries are drafted and violations classified, as well as relevance and utility for end users:

• Verify that all relevant legal references and sources for each entry are cited and are correct (e.g. treaties, declarations, General Comments, jurisprudence, official UN reports);

• Conduct additional legal research as needed to complete and/or correct an entry;

• Include practical guidance on what constitutes a particular violation, including examples and illustrations of typical actions/omissions that would amount to a violation (based on the most common situations monitored at the field level);

• Make sure that language is not only accurate and consistent with key human rights sources, but also clear, simple (not ‘too academic’) and relevant, including for users without a specialized legal background;

• Ensure that the condensed and comprehensive entries can be understood and used in isolation from each other.

• Liaise with other relevant OHCHR Sections to seek feedback on the revised entries, incorporate comments received and produce final drafts;

• Performs other duties as required.

Competencies:

Professionalism: Good knowledge of institutional mandates, policies and guidelines related to human rights and ability to develop and implement approaches and techniques to address sensitive problems in the field of interest; Very good knowledge of a range of conceptual and operational issues related to the design and conduct of human rights monitoring, fact finding and reporting; Ability to carry out legal research and studies and reach conclusions on possible causes and solutions to human rights problems; Strong analytical and research skills, including ability to evaluate and integrate information from a variety of sources, and in particular from a legal point of view.

Communication: Excellent communication skills (spoken, written and presentational), including ability to produce a variety of written materials and to articulate complex ideas in a clear and concise style.

Planning and Organizing: Excellent planning and organizing skills; ability to establish priorities, review large amount of information, juggle competing demands and work under pressure of varied, frequent and tight deadlines; ability to make timely decisions, monitoring progress and reporting to the Section Chief; taking action to minimize delays.

Teamwork: Ability to interact and to establish and maintain effective working relations both as a team member and a task manager with people of different national and cultural backgrounds with sensitivity and respect for diversity, including gender.

Accountability: Ability to deliver expected outputs within the prescribed time and in keeping with required quality standards, to take ownership of work responsibilities and honour commitments.

Qualifications

Education:Advanced University Degree, preferably in law, political science, international relations, or social sciences.

Work Experience: A minimum of 7 years of professional experience in the practical application of international human rights law and/or international humanitarian law; Proven experience in conducting legal research with strong analytical and drafting skills; Excellent knowledge of international human rights law (civil, cultural, economic, social and political rights) and international humanitarian law; Field experience in human rights monitoring and fact-finding, including with OHCHR or DPKO/DPA missions.

Languages:Fluency in oral and written English, with excellent drafting skills.

How to apply:

Applicants are instructed to submit the following documents in one single e-mail to: humanresources@

▪ A completed United Nations Personal History form (PHP) or P-11, in PDF or [pic]Word

▪ A cover letter as attached document;

▪ United Nations staff members must submit scanned copies of their latest Performance Appraisal System (PAS).

Important:

Please mention the reference number of the vacancy announcement in the subject header of your e-mail: 13/OHCHR/009/GENEVA

Name any attached documents as follows:

LAST NAME First name – Type of document

Example: SMITH Jacqueline – PHP.doc

SMITH Jacqueline - Cover letter.doc

SMITH Jacqueline – PAS.pdf

Note: Applications without P-11 or PHP cannot be considered;

Applications received after the deadline or not compliant with the instructions will not be accepted.

Please note that, because of the volume of messages, applications will not be acknowledged.

Only applicants possessing the required qualifications will be taken into consideration. Only the successful candidate will be notified of the outcome of the selection.

The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. (Charter of the United Nations - Chapter 3, article 8). The UN also encourages women’s candidatures.

The Secretary-General reserves the right to appoint a candidate at one level below the advertised level of the post.

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