Human Rights Officer

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), West Africa Regional Office based in Dakar, Senegal. The Human Rights Officer reports directly to the Regional Representative of the West Africa Regional Office (WARO). The Human Rights Officer is responsible for conducting a wide range of tasks. Depending on the organizational setting, these may include monitoring and investigating compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law; analyzing and managing data to inform early-warning, accountability and policy; drafting evidence-based reports and strategic advice; integrating human-rights perspectives into peace, humanitarian and development planning; advising UN leadership and national authorities on protection of civilians, rule of law and transitional justice; and fostering partnerships, capacity-building and advocacy initiatives that advance equality, accountability and the promise to leave no one behind.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Administrative Officer will be responsible for the following duties - Conduct substantive monitoring of the implementation of human rights and international humanitarian law and follow up on recommendations from human rights mechanisms, including treaty bodies, the UPR, and special procedures, as well as investigative findings, to ensure compliance with human rights and advance accountability. -Collect, document, and analyse evidence-based information on civil, cultural, economic, social, and/or political rights, including the right to development, to enable analysis, early warning and response, accountability and informed decision-making, identifying gaps and contributing to ensuring human rights data is discoverable, interoperable and appropriately shared, including from gender and leave no one behind perspectives. -Conduct human rights monitoring and field verification missions, including assessments and early-warning exercises, in accordance with UN methodology, gender indicators, and victim/witness protection standards, and draft comprehensive reports on findings and recommendations. -Conduct fact-finding or investigative missions to document violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, ensuring adherence to victim and witness protection standards and facilitating cross-component collaboration as necessary. -Draft, review, and disseminate human rights reports, briefings, and other communications, with legal analysis as appropriate, and prepare analytical papers to inform strategies, policies, programmes, crisis management, guidance, and decision-making processes, with attention to gender integration and leave-no-one-behind perspectives. -Undertake analysis and prepare analytical papers, including on lessons learned, to inform human rights strategies, crisis management, prevention, and response policies, programmes, and other decision-making processes. -Provide advi...