As part of the regional hub, reporting to UNAIDS Country Director Uganda, and under the overall guidance of the Regional Director, the Regional Advisor, Human Rights and Law supports RST ESA and country offices’ efforts for law reform, based on human rights centered approaches in the HIV response. This post includes a focus on key and priority populations, customized to respond to the regional and subregional contexts and epidemic, and to match the focus of the post (i.e. gender equality posts include a focus on women and girls living with HIV, women key populations, human rights posts include a focus on the rights of people living with HIV and key populations, youth posts include a focus on young people living with HIV and young key populations etc.) This being a regional hub position, it is primarily meant to support the countries in region, and this specific post will support the East African countries, as part of RST, located in UCO Uganda.
He / she / they has the following key responsibilities:
1) Provision of technical knowledge and expertise on human rights and law
Applies knowledge tools to advance country offices’ effort for law review and reform. This includes:
-the practical adaptation of knowledge management products that support legal, policy and regulatory reform with priority to those laws pertaining to criminalization of PLHIV and key populations, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and access to affordable treatment and prevention tools.
-the direct provision of knowledge and information to inform country advocacy to the reform of laws, policies, and regulations, including country advice for leveraging UNAIDS and UN country teams plans on human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals,
-the direct provision of support for the establishment or strengthening of national human rights institutions and community-led monitoring platforms for human rights violations
-the direct provision of support to country partners in Universal Periodic Reviews and other human rights-related reporting mechanisms.
Provides interventions to strategically inform regional human rights bodies to ensure regional jurisprudence and guidance regarding people living with and affected by HIV and regarding human rights issues affecting the HIV and HIV/TB and COVID 19 responses are grounded on human rights and informed by the latest public health evidence. This may include but is not limited to supporting the development and submission of regional human rights cautionary measures, among others
As required, provides substantive legal expertise, including on law reform, litigation, and human rights monitoring, including via engagement, briefings, communities of practice and other means on law reform and related areas.
Provides technical support, as needed, to UNAIDS and UN country teams for the effective integration of human rights-based approaches in UN-wide resource mobilization efforts in the context of humanitarian emergencies. This includes but is not limited to flash appeals and other efforts led by the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office.
Provides technical support to regional and country-level partnerships to end all forms of HIV-related stigma and discrimination (e.g. under the Global Partnership), on joint efforts focused on law review and reform, and leverage the role of the national partnerships as a convening platform for dialogue, strategic planning, and action on law review and reform.
2) Partnerships, influencing and representation
Builds and sustains alliances and strategic relationships with United Nations partners covering the ESA region, including but not limited to the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, and with regional mechanisms, civil society organizations and networks for strategic advancement of regional human rights standards and responses, real-time knowledge sharing and support for national-led responses to emerging HIV-related human rights emergencies.
Supports and engages with United Nations-wide human rights initiatives and strategies present in the region, as delegated.
Builds partnerships with legal operators, academia, and other influential actors that play critical roles in legal review and reform at the country and regional level, to advance human rights for people living with and most affected by HIV.
3) Engage and support the Equality and Rights for All Practice in the region, serving as focal point for the ESA region on law and HIV.
Liaises with relevant staff across the region, to provide advice in the areas related to decriminalization, human rights, and law and supports institutional mechanisms to ensure mainstreaming of human rights advice and expertise.
Provides supports to human rights monitoring and emergency response to rights violations in the ESA region
Leverage the role of the national partnerships to end HIV-related stigma and discrimination in the ESA region
Provides expertise to country processes for the completion of the Global AIDS Monitoring report, specifically on matters related to laws and policies.
Monitors the legal landscape impacting HIV the region, and develops, peer-reviews and quality-assures briefs, reports and other communications related to the ESA region, that are developed for internal and external audiences, to ensure inclusion of HIV human rights perspective in support of UNAIDS’ institutional efforts to advance human rights in the overall health and HIV response, ensuring the highest standards of quality, accuracy, clarity, and presentation
Performs other duties as assigned.
Required qualifications
Education:
Essential: University degree in law at any level, with advanced degree at the masters’ level in law, policy, public health or related field.
Desirable: Specialization in Human Rights.
Competencies:
Values
Commitment to the AIDS response
Integrity
Respect for diversity
Core competencies
Working in teams communicating with impact
Applying expertise
Delivering results
Driving change and innovation
Being accountable
Managerial competencies
Vision and strategic thinking
Leading teams
Building relationships and networks
Managing performance and resources
Developing and empowering others
Exercising sound judgement
Experience:
Essential: At least 7 years of professional experience at the national and international levels in the area of law and human rights advocacy, programming, policy analysis and law/policy/regulatory reform.
Desirable: Experience in the analysis, design and implementation of national and regional human rights programmes and HIV responses grounded on human rights.
Languages:
Essential: Proficiency in English and working level of other UN official language as may be applicable to the duty station.
Desirable: Knowledge of other UN official language in the region.
Job application procedure
Online applications are strongly encouraged to enable UNAIDS to store your profile in a permanent database. Please visit UNAIDS’s e-Recruitment website at: https://erecruit.unaids.org . The system provides instructions for online application procedures.