Organization Mission

The OHCHR Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSA) is one of the regional offices of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the leading UN entity on human rights. The General Assembly entrusted both the High Commissioner and her Office with a unique mandate to promote and protect all human rights for all people. The United Nations human rights programme aims to ensure that the protection and enjoyment of human rights is a reality in the lives of all people. UN Human Rights also plays a crucial role in safeguarding the integrity of the three interconnected pillars of the United Nations – peace and security, human rights and development. UN Human Rights provides assistance in the form of technical expertise and capacity-development in order to support the implementation of international human rights standards on the ground. It assists governments, which bear the primary responsibility for the protection of human rights, to fulfil their obligations and supports individuals to claim their rights. Moreover, it speaks out objectively on human rights violations.The OHCHR Regional Office for Southern Africa delivers technical assistance on the promotion and protection of human rights in 14 countries: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Priority focus areas include strengthening national human rights protection and accountability mechanisms, enhancing civil society participation and safeguarding civic space, enhancing equality and countering discrimination, integrating human rights in development, early warning, prevention and protection of human rights in situations of conflict and insecurity and strengthening stakeholder engagement with human rights mechanisms and support implementation of recommendations.

Context

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSA) is based in Pretoria, South Africa, and covers Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In addition to the staff in Pretoria, OHCHR has Human Rights Advisors in Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe and has a project with staff based in Mozambique. The Regional Office provides technical support and guidance to Resident Coordinators (RCs), UN Country Teams (UNCTs), States, national human rights institutions, civil society and other stakeholders on early warning and prevention, enhancing participation and protecting civic space, strengthening rule of law, accountability and national human rights institutions, advancing equality and non-discrimination, addressing gender-based violence, integrating human rights in sustainable development and supporting States and other stakeholders to engage with and follow up to recommendations of human rights mechanisms. The work of the Regional Office includes identifying, collecting, processing and sharing data, information and analysis of human rights trends in the region, ensuring support to RCs/UNCTs as well as other OHCHR presences in the region. This work requires human rights and information management expertise to better advocate for the protection of human rights by strengthening its analysis with accurate supporting data, empowering the Office to take a more active inter-agency leadership role and to better engage key decision-makers with compelling analytical and data-driven information and preventative measures in support of early action. The objective of this 1-year NUNV post is to support ROSA in promoting and protecting human rights throughout the Southern Africa region. This includes a focus on priority human rights country situations and supporting the Regional Representative and Deputy Regional Representative in various tasks

Key Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Regional Representative and Deputy Regional Representative of the OHCHR Regional Office for Southern Africa, the NUNV will undertake the following tasks:

• Researches and collects information pertaining to human rights matters, including their gender dimensions, from a variety of data sources (e.g. communications, publications, the press);
• Through remote monitoring, keep abreast of relevant issues/events in the Southern Africa Region and provide up-to-date information;
• Assists in the analysis of information, to include the impact on the countries and thematic mandates on the human rights situation in assigned areas, with a focus on vulnerable groups;
• Participates in meetings and consultations and prepare summaries of results/outcomes;
• Reviews human rights issues, including their gender dimensions, and participates in discussions with other Human Rights Officers on the integration of these issues into political, humanitarian and socio-economic efforts and programmes;
• Prepares correspondence, talking points, briefing notes, and provides human rights legal analysis on the various country and thematic situations;
• Contribute to strengthen the ROSA”s work on addressing human rights situations of concern and building a constituency for human rights;
• Contribute to the identification of human rights issues/problems, including in re­lation to development, accountability and rule of law, human rights mechanisms through good research and analysis and timely preparation of reports;
• Contribute to strengthening ROSA”s partnerships with a wide array of stakeholders;
• Contribute towards building the visibility and case for support for OHCHR”s work in the area of communication and advocacy;
• Demonstrate effective interaction with colleagues and other concerned parties internally and externally;
• Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment;
• Performs other related duties as required.

Required Skills and Experience

• Experience in human rights, political affairs, international relations, law or related area is required.
• Experience in working with international human rights standards, instruments and mechanisms is desirable;
• Experience in human rights monitoring and reporting and/or in building capacity for the promotion and protection of human rights is desirable;
• Experience in social justice communication, advocacy and campaigns is desirable;
• Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e. studies, volunteer work, internship) would be highly regarded and can be considered at 50%, if deemed relevant;
• Knowledge of another UN official language is desirable.

Core Competencies

Professionalism; Planning and organisation, Communication; Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidar­ity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards the UN core values.

Living Conditions

Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province in South Africa. It is one of the country’s two capital cities serving as the executive (administrative) and de facto national capital. It offers excellent living conditions with various types of world-class available facilities. Housing is readily available, and rents can be negotiated. Infrastructure, internet connectivity, roads, utilities, telecommunications are of a high standard. Airbnb and Uber are in common use. The other city is Cape Town, the legislative capital. Pretoria is classified as an A duty station, and South Africa is in security phase 1. Like in other big cities with significant crime rates, caution must be exercised always.

UN Volunteers receives the below entitlements:
• A Monthly Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA): R22,926.08 per month;
• A once off entry lumpsum of $400 at the start of the assignment;
• Medical insurance; Life cover, and annual leave;
• Access to all learning platforms;
• A once off exit lumpsum at the end of the assignment.