CT PHARE: Senior Consultant

About the IIJ

The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ) is a multinational organisation focused on building the capacity of justice practitioners to fight terrorism, violent extremism, and transnational crime in line with human rights and the rule of law. It designs and delivers tailored training and capacity-building programmes as well as activities that help governments and practitioners address—in a practical, effective, and collaborative manner—the evolving nature of contemporary transnational threats. The IIJ was founded in 2014 and has a Governing Board of Administrators consisting of 13 states and the European Union. For more information, visit the IIJ website: https://theiij.org/.

Background of the Consultancy

In the campaign to protect their populations and territory from the violence and upheaval caused by terrorism, many countries have adopted counter-terrorism measures designed to increase law enforcement and military powers and toughen criminal codes. Unfortunately, many of these measures have had a substantial negative impact on human rights, not only violating substantive and procedural protections, but contributing to the shrinking of civil space and fuelling the anti-government sentiment that is a key driver of radicalisation.

In this context, and in support of the Council Conclusions on EU External Action on Preventing and Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism of June 2020, the IIJ has launched the CT PHARE facility, funded by the European Union’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), with the specific objective to increase the degree to which states’ counterterrorism policies, legislation, and judicial strategies, in addition to day-to-day investigation and prosecution practices, comply with internationally-recognised human rights standards – both on the policy and the operational levels.

Among the activities, the IIJ CT PHARE has developed a workstream on oversight and accountability mechanisms to seek redress for victims and to monitor states interventions while countering terrorism. The objective for this workstream is to provide criminal justice practitioners, representatives of the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs)/Ombudsman Institutions, Police complaints authorities, Parliamentarians and Intelligence Oversight Bodies and civil society organizations’ from beneficiary countries, with an increased understanding on how to address gaps and vulnerabilities in their national responses to human rights violations, as well as to enhance collaboration amongst them and at the transregional level among their respective countries.

Therefore, to achieve this, the IIJ CT PHARE has conducted four regional capacity building activities across the MENA, West and East Africa and Southeast Asia regions. The outcomes of these four regional activities will assist with contributions of participating states in drafting a set of recommendations on how to strengthen and improve oversight and accountability mechanisms in counter-terrorism operations.

The IIJ requires the services of a short-term Consultant to assist with the development of a set of recommendations on the role and responsibilities of oversight and accountability mechanisms in counter-terrorism operations.

Key tasks and deliverables

In close cooperation with the Project Lead and Project Manager of CT PHARE, the Consultant will entail the following:

1. To provide some research background on countries’ good practices on oversight and accountability mechanisms.
2. To attend two online meetings of the Reference Group scheduled for January and February 2024 (two hours each).
3. To conduct bilateral interviews with oversight bodies in counter-terrorism in some specific countries (e.g., Denmark, The Netherlands, Canada and New Zealand). Additional countries may be included following the Reference Group’s recommendations.
4. To attend a two-day event on oversight and accountability mechanisms to be scheduled end of February 2024 in Kenya.
5. To provide regular updates throughout the period of the consultancy, at least weekly, directly via email or via a call to the CT PHARE team.

Breakdown of effort required

The short-term consultancy will start in early January 2024 for a period of 10 working days (spread over two month).

Consultant profile – Skills and competencies required

The Consultant will have the following qualifications:

• At least 15 years of experience as a practitioner in the field of oversight and accountability mechanisms in counter-terrorism operations.

• Familiarity with the MENA, East and West Africa, as well as Southeast Asia regions, and previous interactions with these regions.

• Strong conceptual thinking and analytical skills.

Deadline for applications
All interested applicants meeting the qualifications above are invited to submit a cover letter and CV to the IIJ Executive Secretariat at HR@THEIIJ.ORG by no later than 12th January 2024 with “CT PHARE_SeniorConsultant on oversight and accountability mechanisms ” in the subject line.