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OHCHR in the Field: Africa

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OHCHR’s approach to field work Background deployment of monitoring missions or additional surge capacity for UN operations on the ground in the context of humanitarian emergencies. OHCHR’s Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division (FOTCD) is responsible for As of the end of 2015, OHCHR was running 65 field overseeing and supporting work of the Office of the presences and providing support to other members High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at of the UN system through rapid deployments of the country and regional levels, including through human rights officers in response to emerging advisory services and technical cooperation. situations across regions. At the country level, OHCHR works with national counterparts to strengthen national protection systems and support the implementation of effective Types of field presences measures to overcome obstacles to the realization of human rights. This includes efforts to establish or reinforce justice and accountability mechanisms at OHCHR operates through two main types of field the national level, including by undertaking effective presences: stand-alone offices and collaborative monitoring and investigation, to help secure redress arrangements. The first category is comprised of for victims of human rights violations. The ultimate country and regional offices which are under the direct aim of this work is to empower rights-holders to supervision of OHCHR. The second category consists claim their rights and strengthen the capacity of of field presences with double reporting lines, namely duty-bearers to fulfil their obligations to deliver human rights components of peace or political missions positive human rights outcomes. OHCHR also who report to the Head of the mission and the High responds to deteriorating human rights situations Commissioner and human rights advisers who report to and early signs of emerging crises through the rapid resident coordinators and the High Commissioner. © OHCHR/Bolivia OHCHR staff member at an indigenous territory in Alto Parapeti, Bolivia, where a hydrocarbon exploration project has affected indigenous lands and graves. OHCHR REPORT 2015 137 OHCHR’S APPROACH TO FIELD WORK Country and Stand-alone Offices Human rights components of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and Special OHCHR country and stand-alone offices are Political Missions established on the basis of a standard agreement between OHCHR and a host government. A In 2015, OHCHR’s capacity to support peace missions mandate typically includes human rights monitoring, was strengthened with the establishment of the protection, technical cooperation activities and Peace Missions Support Section (PMSS) in New York. public reporting and is tailored to a specific country The work of PMSS has been critical to securing the situation. These offices are primarily funded through integration of human rights in UN peacekeeping voluntary contributions. operations as well as in special political missions, primarily in relation to mission mandates, structures OHCHR has 14 country or stand-alone offices which and concepts of operations, policy development are comprised of 13 country offices in: Bolivia, and implementation and strategic engagement with Burundi, Cambodia, Colombia, Guatemala, Guinea, Member States and UN departments that are dealing Honduras, Mauritania, Mexico, the State of Palestine1, with peace and security issues. The Section provides Tunisia, Uganda and Yemen, as well as one field- thematic technical support and advice to the human based structure in Seoul covering the Democratic rights components, Special Representatives of the People’s Republic of Korea. Secretary-General and other parts of peace operations. It also extends human rights technical expertise and quality control in support of the Department of Field Regional Offices and Centres Support for the clearance, identification, recruitment and deployment of human rights staff in UN peace Regional offices are established through an operations, especially with regard to start-up teams. agreement with a host government and in In order to ensure thematic quality and a coherent consultation with other countries in the region. UN approach, OHCHR maintains close coordination These offices have an important role in supporting and communication with various UN partners, governments in their engagement with the UN particularly the human rights components and relevant human rights mechanisms, specifically the human Integrated Operational Teams, and the Inter-Agency rights treaty bodies, the special procedures and the Integrated Task Forces in New York. OHCHR’s active Universal Periodic Review (UPR). They also focus engagement in interdepartmental fora facilitates the on cross-cutting regional human rights issues, in inclusion of human rights considerations in decision- close cooperation with regional and subregional making processes, in line with requirements of the intergovernmental organizations and civil society. Human Rights Up Front Action Plan. Regional offices further support and cooperate with OHCHR country offices by providing assistance on In 2015, the Secretary-General appointed a High- institutional and thematic issues. In addition to the level Independent Panel on UN Peace Operations regional offices, OHCHR maintains regional centres to shape a vision for the future of UN peace with specific mandates established through General missions. Throughout the year, OHCHR actively Assembly resolutions. Regional offices and centres engaged to ensure that the Panel’s review reflected are funded by the UN regular budget and voluntary relevant human rights aspects and developments contributions. in its recommendations for the adoption of new approaches for future peace operations. As a result OHCHR maintains 12 regional presences which of this successful advocacy, the final report of the are comprised of 10 regional offices in: East Africa Panel situated human rights at the centre of United (Addis Ababa), Southern Africa (Pretoria), West Nations efforts to address conflict. Africa (Dakar), South-East Asia (Bangkok), the Pacific (Suva), the Middle East and North Africa Fourteen UN peace missions maintained a human (Beirut), Central Asia (Bishkek), Europe (Brussels), rights component and incorporated human rights Central America (Panama City), South America promotion and protection into their mandated work, (Santiago de Chile), a subregional centre for human namely in: Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, rights and democracy for Central Africa (Yaoundé) Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and a Training and Documentation Centre for South- Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iraq, Kosovo2, Liberia, Libya, West Asia and the Arab Region (Doha). Mali, Somalia, South Sudan and the Sudan (Darfur). 1 Reference to the State of Palestine should be understood in 2 Reference to Kosovo should be understood in full compliance compliance with United Nations General Assembly resolution with United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 and 67/19. without prejudice to the status of Kosovo. 138 OHCHR REPORT 2015 OHCHR’S APPROACH TO FIELD WORK Human Rights Advisers in United Nations Azerbaijan and Georgia), Sri Lanka, Tanzania3, Country Teams Timor-Leste3, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Zambia3, as well as for UNDG Human rights advisers (HRAs) are deployed at the regional teams in Bangkok3 and Panama3. request of resident coordinators on behalf of the United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs). They may also be posted at the request of Regional Teams of the United Nations Development Group (UNDG). Engagement in Humanitarian Action Advisers support and assist the resident coordinators, Heads of UN agencies and members of UNCTs to integrate and implement human rights through their The Office sustained strong engagement in programming strategies and their implementation humanitarian action at the global and field levels, and to build and strengthen national human rights with a view to ensuring that the protection of human capacities. Other functions include: advising and rights remains a central tenet of humanitarian action providing training to independent national human in line with the UN’s Human Rights Up Front Action rights institutions (NHRIs) and other stakeholders; Plan and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s advising State actors on the promotion and (IASC) Centrality of Protection Agenda. protection of human rights and other UN norms and standards; building networks with and providing At the global level, OHCHR engaged with relevant practical support to civil society actors; providing policy, strategy, decision-making and operational operational support to human rights training and/ fora, including by maintaining consistent dialogue or national capacity-building activities; promoting with and contribution to the IASC Principals, engagement with the international human rights Working Group and the Emergency Directors Group. mechanisms; and when applicable, advising on The Office continued to serve as co-chair, along with integrating human rights in humanitarian response InterAction, of the Global Protection Cluster Task and post-crisis recovery processes. Team on the IASC Protection Priority. In 2015, the Task Team completed the Independent Whole-of- Human rights advisers are funded through System Review of Protection in Humanitarian Crises, extrabudgetary contributions. In some instances, the findings and recommendations of which have cost-sharing agreements are concluded with triggered debates about strengthening
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