Associate Human Rights Officer (Climate and Environmental Action)

Update

The Human Rights Adviser in Samoa seeks to ensure the meaningful participation of women, children, persons with disabilities, and local communities in the development and implementation of climate change and disaster risk reduction frameworks. Specifically, networks of Human Rights Defenders, along with other civic space actors, remain weak. There is overall limited capacity to apply intersectionality and other human rights-based approaches to widen and deepen the space for engagement of/with other groups, such as LGBTQI+, indigenous and local communities, etc. vis-à-vis issues like environmental degradation and climate change. Women Human Rights Defenders' intersectional efforts to work on land and environmental issues, and to collaborate with LGBTQI+ human rights defenders, in particular, need increased coordination within civil society, as well as support from the government, the UN, and the international community. Like many member states, Pacific Island Countries are at risk of failing in its duty to protect against human rights abuses by businesses and other economic actors.

The 2023-2027 UNSDCF needs to be implemented in a manner that identifies, targets, and concretely redounds to the benefit of groups experiencing greater deprivation and vulnerability due to changing migration, cultural, and economic patterns brought about by the triple planetary crisis. OHCHR is uniquely positioned to do this within the UN Pacific Country Team.

Under the overall supervision of the Pacific UN Human Rights (OHCHR) Regional Representative and direct, delegated supervision of the Human Rights Adviser, RCO Samoa, based in Apia, the UN Volunteer will be expected to support capacity building, technical assistance, research, and human rights monitoring activities in the Pacific and undertake the following tasks:



1). Support the creation and/or strengthening of networks for land and environmental human rights defenders working to address impacts of climate change in Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau to amplify their voices and participation in decision-making processes. Link this capacity building to wider engagement by the Regional Office.

2). Conduct substantive research and analysis on challenges related to the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, including the impact of climate change in Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau. Link this research and analysis to wider engagement by the Regional Office.

3) Support the Regional Representative, Deputy Regional Representative, and Human Rights Adviser in the drafting of a variety of internal and external reports, communications, briefings, and statements, including to policy-making bodies;

4) Engage in educational and promotional activities in the country to raise awareness on the linkages between human rights and the environment;

5) Develop and implement a communication strategy to increase external engagement on these issues, and among others, will include the sharing of information on related activities on social media, in close collaboration and coordination with the Pacific Regional Office in Suva; and

6) Performs other related duties as required.