Call For Nominations for the Fourth JRR Training Course, February 2012

The purpose of this communication is to invite you to nominate experts for the next Justice Rapid Response (JRR) Training Course, in view of certifying them to the JRR Roster. The training course will take place at the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC) in Semarang, Island of Java, Indonesia, from 13-24 February 2012. The purpose of the course is to provide criminal justice professionals training in rapidly responding to and carrying out investigation of international crimes (genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity). The deadline for nominations is 21 November 2011. 

Background

Justice Rapid Response (JRR) is an intergovernmental stand-by facility to deploy rapidly criminal justice professionals, once they are trained in international investigations, in situations where serious human rights and international criminal law violations may have occurred. JRR experts can be requested by States and international institutions with the jurisdiction to carry out such investigations. JRR, therefore, provides the international community with much needed practical support for the effective enforcement of international criminal justice, thus helping to make justice an integral part of conflict resolution and post-conflict peace-building. To qualify for inclusion on the JRR Roster, experts in a variety of fields are nominated by the State or institution for which they work to attend a JRR Training Course, designed to ensure that their technical expertise is matched by their knowledge of international investigations and deployment. For more information on JRR please see also the attached fact-sheet and FAQ documents.

You are invited to nominate active-duty criminal justice professionals who are willing and could be made available for short-term international deployment at short notice to participate in the upcoming JRR Training Course. Nominations will need to contain a complete application package (attached), which includes a Personal History Form of the candidate, and a Nomination Form from the nominating entity indicating their willingness to release the expert for short term deployment in the event that the entity decides to participate in any given mission.

Expertise sought

While JRR Training Courses continue to build the core expertise of criminal investigation and prosecution, it is important to broaden the scope of expertise available in the JRR Roster. Thus JRR would very much welcome nominations of candidates in one of the following areas of criminal justice.

- Military expertise – the skills needed include understanding of, and preferably experience in working with, international humanitarian law (law of war), military organizations, tactics, use of weapons and ordinance; knowledge of military law an asset;

- Sexual and gender-based violence – skills should include investigation and/or prosecution of sexual violence and related abuse especially, but not exclusively, in conflict situations;

- Interaction with victims and witnesses – skills should include knowledge of protection and security; witness support; vulnerable witnesses (such as children or sexual violence victims); interviewing techniques; and psycho-social support;

- Specialists in investigations – trained investigators, either with criminal investigation or human rights investigation expertise, with some international experience if possible;

- Forensic investigations – all areas of forensics but especially documentary investigations as well as financial forensic skills, ballistics, visual image and audio analysts;

- Police expertise – including especially knowledge of crime scene investigations, police organization and operations; crowd control; and weaponry and tactics;

- Human rights – skills should include monitoring; investigations; legal analysis; and reporting;

- Logistics and Security – field safety and security; risk analysis; and risk management.

 

In addition, nominations of international criminal law specialists and practitioners, such as prosecutions, defence, analysis, and policing, with experience with mass crimes and conflict settings are also welcome.

The course will be held in English. Applicants must, therefore, have adequate proficiency in English. Working knowledge of another language, especially French and Arabic, is an asset.

 

Course Modalities

As on previous courses, the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI) will conduct the training. The JRR Training Course will consist of ten days of training, including field simulations, with a maximum of 20-25 participants and up to 5 observers. While the cost of the course itself is free of charge, those nominating experts for the course are asked to cover the travel, and the room and board of their candidates. Should you wish to make such a nomination but would require support to cover these expenses, please indicate this in the nomination form, and if the nominated expert is selected for the course, JRR will make every effort to find a sponsor. Participant States with the ability to do so are encouraged to provide assistance for experts in this regard and are requested to inform the JRR Transitional Secretariat at Secretariat@justicerapidresponse.org.

 

Application process

Nominations should be sent by email to Secretariat@justicerapidresponse.org. The deadline for nominations is 21 November 2011. Course participants will be selected by the JRR Coordinating Group (Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Finland, Germany, Sierra Leone, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda) from among the nominees on the basis of the expertise identified for this course and the qualifications and experience of the nominees. The need to have a roster reflecting as broad a geographic representation as possible and gender balance will also be taken into consideration.

Details on previous JRR Training Courses, on which this course is being modeled, are available from: www.justicerapidresponse.org. Please find attached a fact sheet; FAQ sheet; and the nominations package containing the Nominations Form and Personal History Form.  For any additional information please contact the JRR Secretariat Manager, Ms. Katrin Weilhammer, at Secretariat@justicerapidresponse.org, (Phone: +41 31 322 87 27).

 

The deadline for nominations is 21 November 2011

Nominations can be sent by email to secretariat@justicerapidresponse.org 

 Details on previous JRR Training Courses, on which this course is being modelled, are available from:
http://www.justicerapidresponse.org/

 

The full application package consists of:

Call for nominations

Nomination Form, to be filled in by the nominating entity

Personal History Form, to be filled in by the nominated expert