Political Affairs Officer

Details

Mission and objectives

The Office of the Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa was established when the remit of the Office of the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan was expanded to cover the entire Horn of Africa region, encompassing all the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) countries. The Office of the Special Envoy also coordinates and helps to enhance the coherence of the United Nation’s collective work in the region, focuses on the prevention of crises impacting human security through joined-up action in support of Member States’ national and regional strategies in pursuance of lasting peace and sustainable development.

Context

UNOAU is mandated to contribute to enhancing the strategic partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in the area of peace and security through joint UN-AU policies and approaches through all stages of conflict in Africa. In this regard, the Office and the key Departments of the AU Commission, especially the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, have developed joint work plans, which are aimed at facilitating a more strategic partnership. The Political Affairs Section of UNOAU is responsible for promoting such strategic partnership in order to contribute to a shared understanding of challenges confronting the continent and common approaches to addressing them. This, in turn, will facilitate the integration of sub-regional perspectives into UN-AU engagements. The UNV will be assigned to the Political Affairs Section of UNOAU.
Stemming out of the mandate of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide as outlined in the 2004 letter addressed by the Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council (S/2004/567), the Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide (OSAPG) works to support the following core functions: Information collection and analysis, in particular from within the United Nations system, on massive and serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law of ethnic and racial origin that, if not prevented or halted, might lead to genocide; Early warning to the Secretary-General, and through him to the Security Council, by bringing to their attention potential situations that could result in genocide; Recommendations to the Security Council, through the Secretary-General, on actions to prevent or halt genocide; Liaison with the United Nations system on activities for the prevention of genocide and work to enhance the United Nations capacity to analyze and manage information relating to genocide or related crimes.
The UNV will be based in the UN Office to the African Union (UNOAU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, working with UNOAU and the UN Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide (OSAPG) in New York.
The UNV will work under the day-to-day supervision of the Chief of Political Affairs, in UNOAU and the overall guidance of OSAPG. The incumbent will act as a liaison for the OSAPG to strengthen its engagement and cooperation at the regional level with key stakeholders, in particular the African Union, on the mandate of the OSAPG on prevention of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as on countering and addressing hate speech in line with the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech. The UNV will work in close collaboration with the UNOAU and in line with the broader UN-AU Joint Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security.
The position will enable the Offices to build further and enhance their engagement with the African Union on scaling up awareness-raising efforts on the prevention of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and hate speech with partners in the Africa region – in line with the UN-AU Joint Framework on Peace and Security on efforts for preventing and mediating conflict and sustaining peace.

Task description

– Maintains up-to-date knowledge and a high degree of situational awareness on developments relating to the prevention of genocide, war crimes and crimes against
humanity in AU Member States, in particular related to the prevention of incitement to violence and countering and addressing hate speech.
– Provides high quality political analysis and reporting on strategic and planning matters related to UNOAU’s support to and collaboration with the African Union.
– Supports initiative to support education curricula and learning material on prevention of genocide and countering and addressing hate speech in Member States of the
African Union.
– Supports Mediation efforts by contributing to analyses of root causes and drivers of violent conflicts and extremism in Africa, in order to promote harmonized
approaches to preventing conflicts before they occur, mitigating ongoing conflicts, and building the peace in the aftermath of conflicts.
– Supports capacity building and technical assistance, including coordinating training seminars, capacity building workshops and technical assistance programmes,
related to the prevention of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity as well as countering and addressing hate speech, in close collaboration with the
UNOAU Training Officer, and relevant bodies of the African Union Bodies and regional organizations (RECs/RMs).
– Serves as liaison officer between the OSAPG and UNOAU and works with relevant bodies of the African Union on joint initiatives related to the prevention of genocide,
war crimes and crimes against humanity as well as countering and addressing hate speech.
– Maintains contacts with other UN entities, and international organizations on coordination and policy matters, in particular with subregional organizations in the region.
– Monitors actions taken by the various bodies of the African Union, RECs/RMs, intergovernmental groups, government and non-governmental organizations related to
the mandate of OSAPG.
– Support outreach related to the prevention of genocide and countering and addressing hate speech in the region, in particular with the African Union.
– Liaises internally as required, including with Public Information colleagues.
– Performs other related duties as required.