Country: Switzerland
Closing date: 18 Jul 2018
What we do
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) works worldwide to provide humanitarian assistance to people affected by conflict and armed violence. We take action in response to emergencies and at the same time promote respect for international humanitarian law. We are an independent and neutral organization, and our mandate stems essentially from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. We work closely with National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and with their International Federation in order to ensure a concerted, rational and rapid humanitarian response to the needs of the victims of armed conflict or any other situation of internal violence. We direct and coordinate the international activities conducted in these situations.
Reports to (role)
The candidate will report to the Head of unit of the Advisory Service on IHL.
Purpose
Role of the ICRC Advisory Service on IHL
The Advisory Service on IHL (DP_CONSULT) contributes to institutional efforts aimed to support an environment conducive to the respect for the law, in particular international humanitarian law (IHL), by promoting universal acceptance of IHL treaties and the adoption of a comprehensive domestic legal framework to fulfill States’ obligations under these treaties and other relevant international norms. Working worldwide through a network of legal advisers, the Service supplements and supports governments’ own resources by: encouraging and supporting adherence to IHL and related instruments; providing specialist advice and assistance to States as they adopt legal and administrative measures to give effect to their IHL obligations; and collecting and facilitating exchange of information between States on national IHL implementation laws and other measures adopted. It furthermore promotes and supports the work of committees on IHL established to facilitate the IHL implementation process.
The Advisory Service multifaceted approach in the discharge of its mandate, includes bilateral contacts with relevant government authorities, hosting national workshops and regional conferences for government representatives, as well as thematic expert meetings, developing tools and other publications, working with a range of international and regional organisations, building dialogue with judicial and quasi-judicial bodies and NGOs, as well as systematically collecting national laws and case law for their inclusion into a public electronic database.
The Service regularly shares with States parties to the Geneva Conventions information on its activities, on the steps taken by States to enhance IHL treaty participation and domestic implementation, and on the work of national IHL Committees. It produces regular updates and publishes periodic progress reports. These are in some cases submitted to member States of international/ regional organisations.
Purpose of this traineeship
Working under the supervision of the Head of unit, the associate supports all the activities of the Advisory Service. He/she works in support of all members of the unit and maintains regular communication with the Advisory Service's regional legal advisers based in different regions of the world.
The specific focus of the position and its main responsibilities are on the facilitation of information exchange, including collection and analysis of national legislation and case law. This includes the drafting of two bi-annual progress reports on national laws and jurisprudence to be published within the International Review of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the support in the management of the database on national legislation. The associate is also expected to support the drafting of other documents and contributions by the Service (internal and external) as well as the preparation and production of specific thematic guidance tools.
Accountabilities & Functional responsibilities
Support the drafting and regular update of Guidance tools on IHL treaties and national implementation
- Prepare and update external documents on IHL treaties and national implementation, such as tables on specific legislations, the table on national IHL Committees, fact-sheets and documents
- Monitor and support the production process of guidance tools prepared by the Advisory Service; to this end interact as necessary with the linguistic division and other services as required
Collection and exchange of information on IHL treaty participation and national implementation measures, including the management of the DB on national legislation
- Search, collect, process and analyse implementing legislation and judgements and prepare a summary of the law / case to be used for the database on national legislation and to be included into progress reports
- Prepare analysed data for use in publications such as the bi-annual report for the International Review of the Red Cross, the Commonwealth Law Bulletin and any other formal or official reporting
- Analyse the laws / case law to establish trends and practices in the drafting of national legislation and best practices in the incorporation of international instruments into the domestic legal framework
- Undertake research on questions relating to specific topics
Communication and contribution to internal and external activities
- Support communication (internal and external) on activities of the Advisory Service, in particular through the drafting of short texts to be published on the ICRC Intranet and Web sites
- Prepare presentations, including PowerPoint presentations on IHL or specific related topics
- Make presentations on IHL in internal events and for external publics
- Support the organization of meetings with external interlocutors and experts
- Participate on behalf of the Advisory Service in external events
Certifications / Education required
- Advanced university degree in law or diploma equivalent to a Master's Degree
- Good knowledge of IHL, Human rights law and international criminal law
Professional Experience required
- Good knowledge of domestic legal frameworks and requirements for domestic legal implementation of international law ; working experience with government administration or judicial bodies of advantage
- Familiarity with both common law and civil law systems
- Strong interest in humanitarian action and in the ICRC
- Knowledge of the ICRC and the advisory service on IHL an advantage
- Maximum one year (or two if traineeships are included) work experience on a paid contract after the last graduation.
Desired profile and skills
- Strongly motivated by humanitarian work
- Excellent written and oral expression in French and English are required; knowledge (oral and written) of other languages would be an advantage
- Effective communication and analytical skills
- Creativity
- Facility in interpersonal relations and ability to work as part of a team
- Excellent organizational and planning skills
- Autonomous and motivated
- Good knowledge of Microsoft Excel and other IT programmes
- Good understanding of data management
Additional information
- Type of role: Traineeship
- Length of assignment : 12 months
- Working rate: 100%
- Estimated Starting date: 15/08/2018
- Deadline for applications: 18/07/2018
How to apply:
To apply, please visit: https://bit.ly/2ui88Rt