Hate Crime Officer (S)

Background:

This position is open for secondment only and participating States are kindly reminded that all costs in relation to assignment at OSCE/ODIHR must be borne by their authorities.

Candidates should, prior to applying, verify with their respective nominating authority to which extent financial remuneration and/or benefit packages will be offered. Seconded staff members in the OSCE Secretariat and Institutions are not entitled to a Board and Lodging Allowance payable by the Organization.

The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, combating human trafficking, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism and economic and environmental activities. All 57 participating States enjoy equal status, and decisions are taken by consensus on a politically, but not legally binding basis.

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is the principal institution of the OSCE responsible for the human dimension. ODIHR is active throughout the OSCE area in the fields of election observation, democratic development, human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and the rule of law. ODIHR’s assistance projects and other activities are implemented in participating States in accordance with ODIHR’s mandate.

Under the 2003-2009 OSCE Ministerial Council Decisions on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination, the ODIHR was given the task to:

a) Serve as a collection point for information and statistics on hate crimes collected from OSCE participating States,civil society, and intergovernmental organizations and to report regularly on this information;
b) Closely follow racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic and other incidents, including also against Muslims, in the OSCE area and to collect and disseminate information on best practices for preventing and responding to such incidents.
c) Assist participating States, upon their request, in developing appropriate methodologies and capacities for collecting, maintaining and reporting reliable information and statistics about hate crimes and violent manifestations of intolerance and discrimination, with a view to helping them to collect comparable data and statistics.
d) Further strengthen its assistance programmes, in order to assist participating States, upon their request, in implementing their commitments on hate crimes;
e) Strengthen its early warning function to identify, report and raise awareness on hate-motivated incidents and trends and to provide recommendations and assistance to participating States, upon their request, in areas where more adequate responses are needed.

This position is one of the two posts (a contracted and a seconded) that have similar descriptions. The post holders will cover different parts of the OSCE region and different areas related to hate crimes following a division established by the management of the Department. The Hate Crimes Officers will be expected to exchange information and plan on a regular basis and collaborate closely and will be able to replace each other in case of absence.

Acknowledging the fact that the hate crime report constitutes the backbone of ODIHR’s activities in preventing and responding to hate crimes, the post holder has a strategic position in the Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department (TND).

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, please see: http://www.osce.org/odihr

Tasks and responsibilities:

Under the supervision of the Head of the Tolerance and non-Discrimination Department, the incumbent is responsible for the implementation of core tasking given to ODIHR in the area of hate crime. With a view to preparing the annual ODIHR report on hate crime (Hate Crime Report), the incumbent is the main focal point for participating States, OSCE Field Operations, civil society and intergovernmental organizations. The incumbent analyses submissions, liaises with external experts and ODIHR staff during the drafting process and ensures that the report reflects submissions from participating States and other contributors.

Based on findings and recommendations of ODIHR’s Hate Crime Report, the incumbent proposes activities to assist participating States. The Hate Crime Officer also delivers trainings for government officials, Field Operations staff and inter-governmental organizations on hate crimes. The incumbent is also responsible for co-operation and co-ordination with the 57 National Points of Contact on Hate Crime (NPCs) in OSCE participating States.

In particular, the incumbent will be responsible for:

1. Providing legislative and policy assistance to states in the area of hate crime; monitoring and analyzing hate crimes throughout the OSCE region; developing and implementing capacity building and programmatic activities the area of hate crime, in particular for police, prosecutors and judges;
2. Leading, together with the other Hate Crime Officer, the preparation of ODIHR’s annual Hate Crime Report and ensuring it successful launch;
3. Informing and advising TND strategy on hate crime, including through proposing new areas of work; proposing and assisting with the development of publications and toolkits on hate crimes;
4. Ensuring optimal co-ordination with relevant actors and contributing to international policy, guidance and tools on hate crime; representing ODIHR in expert discussions, conferences, working groups, and meetings on hate crimes
5. Performing other related duties as assigned.

Education and Experience:

• First-level university degree in international relations, political science, social sciences, law or other disciplines related to human rights;
• A minimum of six years of progressively responsible experience at an international level in the human rights field;
• Understanding of hate crime issues;
• Practical experience in monitoring and reporting on hate-motivated incidents as well as familiarity of methodologies for hate crime data/statistics collection;
• Excellent drafting skills;
• Excellent knowledge of UN, Council of Europe, EU and OSCE human rights standards;
• Experience in project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation;
• Training experience is essential;
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines;
• Initiative and sound judgement, strong analytical and organisational skills
• Field experience or experience with international organisation is desirable;
• Computer literacy with practical experience in Microsoft applications;
• Excellent knowledge of English with good drafting skills is essential; knowledge of another OSCE language is desirable;
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;
• Ability to work in a team and to establish and maintain effective working relationships with people of different nationalities, religions and cultural backgrounds.