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PREVIOUS JOB VACANCIES
Project: Legal Services for Access to Justice
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“If the world measures a refugee according to the worst story, we will always excuse human suffering, saying it is not yet as bad as someone else's.” |
Rwanda has become home for more than 140,000 refugees. Among those refugees, Burundians fleeing pre- and post-electoral violence constitute the biggest batch which has recently crossed the borders to Rwanda. Since March 2015 approximately 70,000 Burundians are hosted mainly in camps and transit centres located in Mahama, Nyanza, and Bugesera as well as in urban areas such as Kigali and Huye.
Like any other human being, refugees are subjects of rights and obligations in their host country. Accordingly, they need full enjoyment of their rights as enshrined in national laws and international conventions as much as they must to be held accountable before competent organs when they do not fulfill their obligations.
Among those rights, it is worth mentioning right to access to justice, and other administrative services such as civil status office for birth registration. On the one hand, promiscuity in the camps, despair, and the high likelihood of indigence in a foreign country exposes refugees to child abuse, sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) or other common law crimes as either victims or perpetrators. As victims, justice must be done for refugees by bringing to justice the offenders. As suspects, refugees need to be assisted before competent administrative and judicial organs in order to make sure that they have a fair trial, and that - in case they are convicted – they are detained under strict respect of their fundamental rights.
On the other hand, birth registration is the foundation for the enjoyment of other fundamental rights as it is the legal recognition of the newborn as a member of the community. Indeed, the registration with the civil status office of the place where a newborn is born plays a crucial role in deciding on the newborn’s identity at birth and in the future, and – consequently – on the rights they are entitled to and the extent to which they can enjoy their basic rights such as right to a name and nationality, right to protection in the juvenile justice system, right to education, right to health, etc.
The majority of refugees in Rwanda live in camps with limited interaction with judicial and administrative organs able to provide them with quality services. Those who are in the proximity of these organs lack either the knowledge, the financial or legal capacity to successfully introduce their cases to the competent authorities. Most of them are limited by language barrier and/or knowledge of the complex Rwandan justice system. This state of affairs only worsens refugees’ already-fragile situation.
The Government of Rwanda in close collaboration with national and international organizations has been doing its utmost to provide access to justice and administrative services to refugees in Rwanda. But the recent influx of Burundian refugees has required an increase of legal support in order to strengthen child protection, fight against SGBV, ensure fair trial, and facilitate access to birth registration, especially in Mahama, Bugesera, Nyanza, and Kigali.
Legal Services for Access to Justice for Burundian Refugees Project (LS4AJ) is 4-month emergency project aiming at providing a safe, free and quick gateway to access to justice and other legal services for Burundian refugees, empowering the refugees to know and demand their rights, and building the capacity of administrative and justice actors on questions related to forced migration.
For an effective and efficient implementation of this project, the following personnel are needed:
- Project Manager (1 position)
- Lawyers On call for Service (4 positions)
- Accountant (1 position)
- Field Agents (4 positions)
- Driver (1 position)
Like any other human being, refugees are subjects of rights and obligations in their host country. Accordingly, they need full enjoyment of their rights as enshrined in national laws and international conventions as much as they must to be held accountable before competent organs when they do not fulfill their obligations.
Among those rights, it is worth mentioning right to access to justice, and other administrative services such as civil status office for birth registration. On the one hand, promiscuity in the camps, despair, and the high likelihood of indigence in a foreign country exposes refugees to child abuse, sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) or other common law crimes as either victims or perpetrators. As victims, justice must be done for refugees by bringing to justice the offenders. As suspects, refugees need to be assisted before competent administrative and judicial organs in order to make sure that they have a fair trial, and that - in case they are convicted – they are detained under strict respect of their fundamental rights.
On the other hand, birth registration is the foundation for the enjoyment of other fundamental rights as it is the legal recognition of the newborn as a member of the community. Indeed, the registration with the civil status office of the place where a newborn is born plays a crucial role in deciding on the newborn’s identity at birth and in the future, and – consequently – on the rights they are entitled to and the extent to which they can enjoy their basic rights such as right to a name and nationality, right to protection in the juvenile justice system, right to education, right to health, etc.
The majority of refugees in Rwanda live in camps with limited interaction with judicial and administrative organs able to provide them with quality services. Those who are in the proximity of these organs lack either the knowledge, the financial or legal capacity to successfully introduce their cases to the competent authorities. Most of them are limited by language barrier and/or knowledge of the complex Rwandan justice system. This state of affairs only worsens refugees’ already-fragile situation.
The Government of Rwanda in close collaboration with national and international organizations has been doing its utmost to provide access to justice and administrative services to refugees in Rwanda. But the recent influx of Burundian refugees has required an increase of legal support in order to strengthen child protection, fight against SGBV, ensure fair trial, and facilitate access to birth registration, especially in Mahama, Bugesera, Nyanza, and Kigali.
Legal Services for Access to Justice for Burundian Refugees Project (LS4AJ) is 4-month emergency project aiming at providing a safe, free and quick gateway to access to justice and other legal services for Burundian refugees, empowering the refugees to know and demand their rights, and building the capacity of administrative and justice actors on questions related to forced migration.
For an effective and efficient implementation of this project, the following personnel are needed:
- Project Manager (1 position)
- Lawyers On call for Service (4 positions)
- Accountant (1 position)
- Field Agents (4 positions)
- Driver (1 position)
How to apply? |
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Interested candidates are requested to send a motivation letter (not more than 750 words) with their detailed CV to jobs@iphr-ipdh.org with a copy to president@iphr-ipdh.org before 15 September 2015 at 15h00 Kigali time.
Incomplete applications or those received after this deadline will not be considered. The position for which the candidate is applying MUST appear in the object of the email (example: LS4AJ Lawyer - Mahama). Every applicant will be notified about the outcome of their application. Short-listed candidates will be requested to present the evidence of their qualifications on the day of interview. Selected candidates should be available to start working IMMEDIATELY. |
