Legal Fellow (Human Rights)

Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)H (no hardship)

Family Type (not applicable for home-based)

Family

Staff Member / Affiliate TypeFellow

Target Start Date2025-06-02

Deadline for ApplicationsApril 11, 2025

Terms of ReferenceThis is a temporary job posting on 'Job on Invitation-only' basis. No other applications will be considered.

Organizational Context

The Human Rights Liaison Unit is part of the PPLA Section in the Division of International Protection (Service 1 - Policy & Law). The Unit aims at promoting the effective use of international human rights law and UN human rights mechanisms to strengthen the protection of persons of concern to UNHCR.

Goals:

The strategic goals of the Human Rights Liaison Unit are three-fold: first, to contribute to human rights standards setting as relevant, and advocate for the inclusion of protection issues related to refugees, asylum-seekers, IDPs, stateless persons and returnees into legal instruments, policy documents, recommendations and other outcome documents of the Human Rights Council, the Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Bodies, the UN Special Procedures, and in other inter-agency or relevant fora. The second goal is to contribute to the mainstreaming of human rights into all areas of UNHCR’s work and promote the effective use of human rights law, procedures and standards for advocacy and as complementary protection tools in the respective UNHCR operations. This area prioritizes seeking ways to promote operationalization of human rights engagement in the field to ensure protection of persons under UNHCR’s mandate. Third, the HRLU endeavours to function as the liaison between UNHCR and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to strengthen human rights approaches and ensure continuous exchange of relevant information.

Objectives:

In support of the above-mentioned Goals, the Unit leads and supports DIP’s efforts, as appropriate, to ensure that:
- Protection of persons under UNHCR’s mandate is complemented and strengthened through the use of human rights standards.
- Substantial resolutions of the Human Rights Council, reports and recommendations issued by Special Procedures, as well as General Comments and General Recommendations of Treaty Monitoring Bodies and other standard setting instruments are in line with and contribute to the progressive development of international refugee law and to the enhancement of the protection of persons of concern.
- Asylum-seekers, refugees, IDPs, returnees and stateless persons, and information about the extent to which they enjoy their rights, are systematically included in Treaty Body Concluding Observations and Recommendations, General Comments and General Recommendations by the Treaty Monitoring Bodies, UPR recommendations, reports of Special Procedures mandate holders, by OHCHR and by the High Commissioner for Human Rights in statements and interventions.
- Human rights law and standards, as well as human rights mechanisms are regularly and effectively used as protection tools by colleagues for UNHCR advocacy and interventions; and eventually incorporated into regular protection planning. Protection colleagues are well capacitated to identify and make use of human rights engagement in their programming.
- The cooperation with diverse human rights bodies results in the adoption of specific concluding observations, recommendations, resolutions and reports, which benefit country operations and specific protection situations, and operations are capable of taking advantage to produce results in the field.
- The rights of asylum-seekers, refugees, stateless persons, internally displaced persons and returnees, as set out in the international human rights treaties, are promoted in a non-discriminatory manner.
- In close partnership with OHCHR and in cooperation with UN agencies, human rights strategies and approaches are consolidated and joint advocacy and interventions are taken, when appropriate and relevant.
- Ensure that effective communication between the various counterparts – from UNHCR, UN agencies, human rights mechanisms, and others – is promoted and supports greater protection.

Activities:

Given the importance of international human rights law to the protection of refugees and other persons of concern to UNHCR, the Human Rights Liaison Unit continuously cooperates with the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and monitors the work of the Human Rights Treaty Monitoring Bodies, the Human Rights Council, including the Universal Periodic Review and its Special Procedures, and contributes, if and when relevant, to ensure that the rights and needs of persons of concern to the Office are systematically considered in the discussions, country visits and other activities and reflected in the respective reports, decisions, conclusions and recommendations.

Consisting of one Senior Legal Officer (Human Rights)/Head of Unit, one Legal Officer (Human Rights) and legal fellows/interns, the Unit carries out and provides the following activities and services:

General information and advice:
- Provide constant guidance and advice to staff on how to effectively and strategically use the UN human rights mechanisms and standards.
- Keep colleagues informed about developments in the area of human rights of relevance to UNHCR. This includes webinars, newsletter dissemination, Community of Practice engagement and other forms of regular and more particular communication.
- Analyse new international and human rights instruments as to their potential value for the work of UNHCR.
- Review findings and recommendations of Treaty Monitoring Bodies, the Human Rights Council and Special Procedures as to their standard setting, promotional or COI value and systematically disseminate for use in UNHCR’s protection and promotion efforts.
- Support UNHCR colleagues to incorporate human rights engagement into their strategic protection planning through provision of recommendations and guidance, upon completion of ongoing analysis and pilot project phase.

Contribution to standard-setting exercises:
- With the support of, and in consultation with thematic and country-specific focal points, provide input into new legal instruments in the area of human rights during the drafting process, including Human Rights Council resolutions, Treaty Body General Comments/Recommendations, Special Procedures reports and OHCHR guides and studies.
- Provide legal and doctrinal advice on human rights standards.
- Prepare papers, statements and speeches, as well as other contributions into global and regional human rights processes which promote UNHCR’s position.

Cooperation with Treaty Monitoring Bodies:
- Assist colleagues in the preparation and finalization of Confidential Comments for submission to the human rights treaty monitoring bodies.
- Monitor and provide feedback to colleagues from treaty body sessions, highlighting concluding observations and recommendations of particular relevance to UNHCR’s mandate and advising on how these can be used as protection advocacy tools.

Contribution to the Universal Periodic Reviews:
- Assist colleagues in the preparation and finalization of contributions to the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, in the form of standalone contributions to the OHCHR Compilation Reports or in the context of reports prepared by UN country teams.
- Monitor UPR sessions and provide feedback to colleagues on adopted recommendations of particular relevance to UNHCR’s mandate, including advice on how these can be used in the context of protection strategies and as advocacy tools.

Cooperation with the Human Rights Council:
- Monitor regular and special sessions of the Human Rights Council, and inform colleagues about discussions, reports, decisions and resolutions of particular interest to UNHCR, which can complement or reinforce UNHCR’s positions and protection strategies.

Cooperation with the UN Special Procedures:
- Provide input into thematic, country-specific and mission reports and studies by relevant Special Procedures mandate holders, in collaboration with field-based colleagues and thematic and country-specific UNHCR focal points.
- Inform colleagues about relevant recommendations by Special Procedures and how these can be used as protection advocacy tools.

Key internal relationships:

All of DIP; Bureaux Regional Legal Advisers/Policy Officers; Department of Operations; Media Relations and Public Information Service; Liaison offices in Vienna and New York; Regional Protection Hubs and colleagues in UNHCR Country Offices.

Key external relationships:

International Agencies: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies, UN Special Procedures mandate holders, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and other UN entities as relevant.

Other: Permanent Missions in Geneva, several universities and academies, coordination bodies such as GANHRI, and NGOs as relevant.

The position

The focus of the fellow is the ongoing legal protection work of UNHCR. Through the fellowship, fellows will: (i) gain a deeper knowledge of and contribute to the work of UNHCR; the international legal framework governing the organization’s interventions, namely international refugee law, human rights law and the international standards relating to the prevention and reduction of statelessness and the protection of internally displaced persons; and the way UNHCR uses the UN human rights machinery at large to further the protection of persons of concern and (ii) practice and develop ‘professional working skills’, such as time management, prioritization, management of tasks, team work, presentation skills etc. The work of an fellow is not confined to a single research project as may be the case with other fellowship, but it rather involves direct engagement with operational aspects of the work of the Unit although it might also encompass some elements of routine (e.g. compilation and preparation of seminar folders) at times.

Fellows may occasionally be asked to offer support to other colleagues in the Protection Policy and Legal Advice (PPLA) Section within the Division of International Protection.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Head of Unit, the fellow will undertake the following responsibilities:
 Conduct analysis and prepare feedback on the outcomes of the UN treaty bodies;
 Participate as an observer in the sessions of the Human Rights Council, as well as in informal meetings organized in parallel to the Council sessions, or any special Council meetings throughout the year and prepare related reports as relevant;
 Contribute to the compilation of information and preparation of UNHCR submissions on countries to be examined under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism;
 Contribute to the preparation of UPR-related documentation to be used for outreach and advocacy purposes ahead of the UPR sessions;
 Participate as an observer in the sessions of the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Reviews as relevant and prepare related feedback reports;
 Contribute to the development of the analysis of the third and fourth UPR cycle (as to date);
 Contribute to the compilation of information and preparation of UNHCR submissions to the different treaty bodies;
 Undertake legal research on human rights issues relating to refugees and other persons of concern to UNHCR;
 Develop and update internal tools and guidance on the UN human rights mechanisms, as needed;
 Search for and analyse documents produced by the UN human rights machinery when needed and as relevant;
 Edit position papers and other legal documents as applicable.
 Assist in the organisation, preparation, recording and follow-up of workshops, webinars, conferences and meetings.
 Coordinate development of communications materials such as the leaflets, posters, and HRLU’s regular newsletter, and promotional content for events and campaigns.
 Facilitate the translation of certain materials.

In addition, where occasions arise, fellows may participate in bi- and multilateral meetings of UNHCR with government and other agency partners, as well as in training seminars or briefings offered by UNHCR colleagues.

CANDIDATE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS, SELECTION CRITERIA

Required qualifications, language(s) and work experience:

Degree: Be a recent graduate (within 2 years of completion) or current student in a graduate/undergraduate school programme of the University of Toronto; have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies in a field relevant or of interest to the work of UNHCR

Field of expertise, competencies:
Required/mandatory:
• Strong analytical skills
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Creative thinking
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Computer literacy (MS Office)
• Favourable disposition to working effectively and harmoniously with colleagues from varied cultures and backgrounds
• Knowledge of international law, including human rights law, and/or refugee law will be highly valued; and
• Experience or demonstrated affinity with the rights and well-being of refugees, IDPs and/or stateless persons.

Languages
Required: English
Desirable: Any second UN language

Note: Selected candidate may not have immediate relatives (parent or step-parent, sibling or step-sibling) working for UNHCR as a staff member on any contract type or as an affiliate at the time of application.

Legal Status of the Fellow
The Fellow shall not be considered in any respect as being staff members of UNHCR. This assignment does not carry expectation of extension or of conversion to any other type of contract or appointment in any activity of UNHCR.

Stipend
The Fellow will receive a stipend from the University of Toronto. The Fellow will receive no remuneration from UNHCR, including DSA. If travel is applicable, it shall not be paid or arranged for by UNHCR.

The Fellow is responsible for making travel and accommodation arrangements and for obtaining the necessary visa for entering the country of any duty station to which they have been assigned. The Fellow is responsible for ensuring that they have all the prescribed vaccinations for travel to the assigned duty station. The costs of travel, visas, accommodation, vaccines and living expenses are the responsibility of the Fellow or the University of Toronto.

UNHCR shall have no responsibility for any costs connected to medical insurance of the Fellow. The Fellow is fully responsible for arranging at his/her own expense, life, health and other forms of insurance covering the period of their services in the countries of work with UNHCR. A copy of documentation attesting of such insurance coverage shall be provided to the Personnel Officer by the Fellow on their first day of assignment.

Disability inclusion

The selected Fellow candidate will be required to submit an online application form through UNHCR’s platform.

If you are a person with a disability and you expect you may face challenges during the recruitment process, you can indicate it in your application form in our recruitment platform.

There are options to select any health conditions you may have and outline any necessary adjustments related to disabilities during the recruitment phases. Providing this information is optional. It will be treated as strictly confidential and used only for the purpose of finding out how to better assist you during the recruitment process.

Adjustments for candidates with disabilities will be provided as best as possible and as needed upon request.

All candidates will be assessed based on meeting the requirements for each vacancy in relation to experience, skills, and education.

Standard Job Description

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Other informationFellow from University of Toronto Faculty of LawThis position doesn't require a functional clearance

Home-BasedNo