CT PHARE: Consultant CTStrategy2025

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 combat 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 14 Member States and the European Union. For more information, visit the IIJ website: https://theiij.org/.

Background of the Consultancy

On 21 March 2023, the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ) launched the European Union (EU)-funded Counter-Terrorism Platform for Human Rights Engagement (CT PHARE). On 3-5 December 2024, the IIJ through the CT PHARE platform with the support from the European Union Delegation to Iraq and the European Union Advisory Mission (EUAM) in Iraq hosted an event entitled “Strengthening Dialogue between Iraqi Government Authorities and Human Rights Stakeholders”. Convening senior leaders and human rights directorate representatives from various government of Iraq ministries and agencies, the event focused on identifying ways to better mainstream respect for human rights in the counter-terrorism context, which is a core focus of CT PHARE’s activities. Among the key areas examined throughout this event were Iraq’s efforts to revise and strengthen its national counter-terrorism strategy before late-2025. CT PHARE coordinated inputs from key Iraqi stakeholders, spanning senior leadership of key security agencies to newly appointed human rights directorates across several ministries, the Integrity Commission, the Iraqi Human Rights Commission, and academia. 

Following this activity, Iraq’s Office of National Security Advisory (ONSA) has made an official request, via EUAM-I, for in-depth dedicated CT PHARE support on the development of the new national counter-terrorism strategy, focused on strengthening human rights-based approaches, and at the same time to support drafting of the next iteration of the national human rights plan. 

Having coordinated with EUAM officials in Baghdad and with ONSA, CT PHARE proposes a series of targeted technical support missions through May-September 2025, working with a small expert team to assess, coordinate and calibrate key areas of the national counter-terrorism strategy and national human rights plan with government and other critical stakeholders. In view of the timeline for Iraq’s expected announcement of accepted Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations in May 2025, CT PHARE and EUAM-I recognise an important opportunity to socialise and coordinate these recommendations, as they pertain to counter-terrorism policy and operations, and connect them to the parallel development of the national strategy. Another key document to be referenced by CT PHARE in the support of this initiative will be the recently revised Valletta Principles under a joint initiative between the Government of the Republic of Malta and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (UN CTED), a set of non-binding Guiding Principles for Counter-Terrorism Strategies for developing National and Regional Counter-terrorism Strategies.   

Following the technical support missions, a finalised draft of key human rights content for the national counter-terrorism strategy and a national human rights plan will be coordinated with ONSA and launched at a follow-up plenary workshop in late 2025. The plenary workshop will also provide an opportunity to deliver capacity-building training focused in particular on the newly established human rights offices across multiple national ministries. It will also enable coordination mechanisms, a priority for Iraqi authorities in the new counter-terrorism strategy and a request from the human rights offices during the December 2024 event, to be put into immediate practice. 

The IIJ CT PHARE requires the service of two consultants to support the Government of Iraq in its efforts to revise its national counter-terrorism strategy with a view to strengthening, mainstreaming and coordinating human-rights based approaches; and to revise its national human rights plan in line with Iraq’s identified priorities, including as reflected in the UPR recommendations that Iraq accepts.

CT PHARE will implement these missions in close cooperation and coordination with the EU Delegation Counter-Terrorism Expert to Iraq, EUAM-I, and the ONSA who will assist with identifying the participating Iraqi entities.

Specific key tasks and deliverables

Under the overall guidance of the IIJ Executive Secretary, the consultants will work closely with the Project Lead and the Project Manager in charge of the implementation of CT PHARE. 

The consultants will entail the following responsibilities:

1. Preparatory Work

• Document review of existing counter-terrorism strategy document and national human rights plan and benchmarking exercise against international examples and UN and EU expectations. 
• Mapping of existing stakeholders, roles and responsibilities, reporting structures and key personnel.
• Review of UPR recommendations to be accepted by Iraq.
• Development of interviewee list and methodology for key informant interviews and focus group discussions. 
• Outreach to and consultation with international partners engaged in human rights and the counter-terrorism strategy. 

2. In-person, three missions in Baghdad (May-September 2025)

• Meetings and interviews with key leadership and decision-makers, including ONSA, NCCT, CTS civil society organisations, and others to consolidate aims and priorities, ascertain progress to date and understand key political and policy processes involved in the strategy drafting and approval. 

3. Final draft

• Final inputs to draft of strategy and plan completed, translated and shared with Iraqi authorities.

4. Launch Workshop

• Launch workshop that will include formal adoption of the national counter-terrorism strategy and national human rights plan.

Consultant criteria and qualifications

To successfully carry out the tasks outlined above, the ideal consultants will need to demonstrate a comprehensive skill set and a broad range of competencies, including:

• Professional experience in counter-terrorism policy development, national security strategies, or related fields, with a focus on strategic planning, risk assessment, and policy implementation.
• Expertise in human rights protection within counter-terrorism policies and practices, ensuring compliance with international human rights laws and conventions.
• Extensive knowledge of international counter-terrorism standards, including the Valletta Principles and those set by the United Nations and the European Union.
• In-depth understanding of Iraq’s national security challenges, and knowledge of its law, including counter-terrorism laws, and national security frameworks.
• Strong analytical and research skills, with a proven ability to assess the effectiveness of counter-terrorism policies and suggest relevant updates based on local context, regional developments, and global best practices.
• Demonstrated ability to engage with government agencies, security institutions, and international stakeholders on sensitive national security issues.
• Familiarity with interagency coordination mechanisms and experience in facilitating dialogue between security agencies, ministries, and civil society organisations.

Application Submission

All interested applicants meeting the qualifications should submit a cover letter and resume to the IIJ Executive Secretariat at hr@theiij.org and ameriof@theiij.org clearly stating “CT PHARE_CTStrategy2025” in the subject line. The deadline for submission is 21 April 2025.