Experts CT PHARE

About the IIJ

The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ), located in Malta, has a mission to deliver innovative and sustainable capacity-building through the implementation of counter-terrorism-related, rule of law-based good practices developed by the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) and other international and regional fora.

Since its inauguration in 2014, the IIJ has trained more than 7,000 criminal justice practitioners through its interactive capacity-building workshops – in Malta and abroad – that enhance the competencies of parliamentarians, judges, prosecutors, police, prison and other criminal justice practitioners to address terrorism and related transnational criminal activities within a rule of law framework. The IIJ delivers capacity-building training tailored to the needs of the regions it serves, including North, West and East Africa; the Middle East; and select engagement in the Balkans, and Central, South and Southeast Asia. For more information on the IIJ, please visit the IIJ’s website at http://www.theiij.org.

Moreover, the Council Conclusions on EU External Action on Preventing and Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism of June 2020 highlighted the need to strengthen the human rights-compliant criminal justice chain worldwide and noted the critical role played by the GCTF and its inspired institutions – including the IIJ – in promoting these objectives.

Therefore, at the end of 2022, in support of the Council Conlusions, the IIJ has launched the CT PHARE project – Platform for Human Rights Engagement, 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.

Consultancy Position

The IIJ is seeking applications from expert practitioners to support the delivery of CT PHARE. The project will particularly emphasise IIJ’s core remit  to equip criminal justice practitioners and justice sector stakeholders from targeted countries and regions from the MENA, Sahel and Littoral West Africa regions with the knowledge to identify existing gaps and vulnerabilities in their national/regional legal frameworks and counter-terrorism strategies, and the actionable competencies to address those identified gaps and vulnerabilities within a rule of law framework and in compliance with international standards and human rights.

The experts will develop and deliver trainings and awareness-raising activities bespoke to mapped contexts, that will enable practitioners to adopt appropriate laws and procedures and put into practice new rights-based approaches on the following topics:

• Oversight and accountability mechanisms

• Pre-trial detention and right to a fair trial

• Human rights protection in the context of militarised responses to terrorism  

Key tasks and deliverables

The the expert practitioners will work closely with the Project Lead and the Project Manager in charge of the implementation of CT PHARE.

The experts will be required to deliver both capacity building and awareness-raising activities for selected practitioners. The delivery should be in-person in Valletta, Malta and/or overseas in countries yet to be identified in the MENA, Sahel and Littoral West Africa regions for a duration of 3-5 days. Experts will be expected to be in Malta and/or overseas in advance in order to coordinate with the IIJ’s CT PHARE team.

During the activity, and in coordination with the IIJ’s CT PHARE team and other external consultants, the experts will facilitate discussions and exchange of good practices. They will also adapt, moderate and evaluate participants’ knowledge and skills, according to criteria pre-established by the IIJ. Finally, following the delivery of the capacity building awareness raising activities, the experts will be required to submit a post-activity report, using the IIJ’s template.

Consultant criteria and qualifications

• Experience of delivering capacity building and awareness-raising activities, on human rights- and terrorism-related.

• Experience in using interactive methods to enhance the learning experience and encourage the participants to share their own good practices, tools and challenges.

• Exerience of working internationally with counter-terrorism practitioners (judges, prosectuors and law enforcement), policimakers and civil society organisations, preferably human rights- and terrorism-related.

• Familiarity with the MENA, Sahel and Littoral West Africa regions, and previous interactions with these regions.

• Strong communication skills.

• Strong conceptual thinking and anaylitical skills.

• Energetic and adaptable in her/his approach with the ability to work individually and/or as part of a team.

• Efficient on observing deadlines and achieving results in accordance with qualitative and quantitative parameters.

Deadline for Applications

All interested applicants meeting the qualifiations above are invited to submit a cover letter and CV to the IIJ Executive Secretariat at hr@theiij.org by no later than 30 May 2023 with “CTPHARE_Expert” in the subject line.