In response to the request of the Mexican Government, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNOHCHR) decided to support a project focusing on the search of missing persons in Mexico, which is a major national priority. UNFPA is the lead agent in this project and has contracted the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) for the contracting of international personnel to be involved in the project. Under its agreement with UNFPA, UNOHCHR will be co-responsible for the substantive coordination of this group of international experts.
The international experts contracted by UNOPS will be part of the Coordinating Group for the Implementation of the Special Mechanism for Forensic Identification (Mecanismo Extraordinario de Identificación Forense | MEIF).
Data show that disappearances are profoundly linked with gender based violence, and violence directed at children, adolescents and youth. It also tends to affect at the more vulnerable people, such as indigenous people and migrants, as well as human rights activists, environmentalists and those fighting organised crime in a disproportionate manner.
In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need people who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them with full conviction. For this project we are seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; people who are transparent and exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them.
About the MEIF
The Extraordinary Forensic Identification Mechanism (MEIF), officially created by the National Persons Searching System in December 2019, has as mandate the identification, notification and dignified restitution of more than 37,000 bodies with pending identification in Mexico. The MEIF will initially be integrated by a Coordinating Group composed of:
- 4 Forensic identification specialists;
- 1 Specialist in legal and judicial matters in forced disappearance;
- 1 Specialist in international technical cooperation and
- 1 Specialist in psychosocial approaches and family support.
The Coordinating group will have the following main functions:
- Elaborate the internal working guidelines of the MEIF, which will include its action procedures, including monitoring and evaluation mechanisms;
- Develop the MEIF work plan;
- Engage with relatives of the victims, their representatives, victims' groups, experts, activists, legislators and representatives of institutions, civil society organizations and the national and international public organisms necessary for the development, transmission and fulfillment of the mandate and functions of the MEIF;
- Ensure that the MEIF periodically has a strategic planning and evaluation exercise, with the participation of family members;
- Promote the MEIF's involvement against the national and international context with different political and governmental actors, international agencies, relatives of missing persons, their representatives, and civil society organisations, and
- Identify and periodically report on the main challenges of forensic identification in Mexico, based on the interventions and the information provided by family members and collectives.
About the position:
The legal and judicial specialist in matters of forced disappearance and by individuals in Mexico will be one of the seven members of the MEIF Coordinating Group, and as such contributes to the planning, organization and supervision of all MEIF activities. She/he will also generate the proposals for normative ordinances, in accordance with the current regulation, structuring and instrumentation in matters of disappearance and forensic identification for the fulfillment of the mandate of said mechanism.
Purpose of the post:
The person selected for the position will contribute to the generation of proposals for the necessary regulatory frameworks (guidelines, legal instruments, reform proposals, agreements, etc.) for the fulfillment of the functions of the MEIF and the strengthening of the institutional framework in matters of disappearance and forensic identification. She/he will promote the articulation between the different institutions related to the subject, as well as the establishment of pertinent coordination and collaboration agreements.
Reporting lines:
The person selected will operate under the general coordination of the UNFPA and UNOHCHR Representatives in Mexico and reports directly, to the UNOHCHR Human Rights Officer in Mexico and to the UNFPA National Officer in charge of the project.
Additionally, as part of the Coordinating Group and within the framework of the MEIF Creation Agreement5, she/he will prepare the reports for consideration of the National System for the Search of Missing Persons, in accordance with the mechanisms established within the MEIF.
Responsibilities:
- Contribute and actively participate in the planning, organization and supervision processes of MEIF activities, in coordination with the members of the Coordinating Group
- Propose actions for the legal implementation of the agreement SNBP / 001/2019 by which the MEIF is created in coordination with federal, state and municipal authorities.
- Identify the federal, state and municipal authorities, as well as key actors that will participate in the implementation of the MEIF and, where appropriate, propose working sessions to promote the operation of the MEIF in accordance with the work plan.
- Propose, facilitate and follow up on collaboration and coordination schemes, technical content and guidelines with the competent authorities (Office of the General Attorney of the Republic, Local Prosecutors and Prosecutor's Offices, Medical Services or Forensic Institutes, among others) for the operation of the MEIF in accordance with its mandate.
- Develop the proposals for the internal guidelines and legal instruments that will guide the actions of the MEIF, in accordance with its mandate established in the Creation Agreement.
- Develop proposals for legislative and regulatory reforms in forensic matters for the consideration of the National System for the Search of Missing Persons
Qualifications and Experience:
- Law Degree, followed by a Master's or Doctorate studies in Law, Human Rights, Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology or related areas.
- Specialties in Criminalistics and Sciences with forensic application will be valued.
- Demonstrable and recognizable experience at national or international level of at least 7 years in exercising the profession of law, and in particular, verifiable experience in the creation and/ or reforming of regulatory frameworks, and institutions of prosecution and administration of justice, or at least 10 years of experience in the case of not having completed postgraduate studies.
- Demonstrable and recognizable experience in processes to combat impunity, as well as support and access to justice for victims of serious human rights violations.
- Demonstrable and recognizable experience in the construction of public policies on related issues.
- Demonstrable and recognizable experience in participatory processes with decision makers, government counterparts, the private sector and civil society.
- Knowledge of the Mexican normative framework - criminal law, criminal procedural law (in particular elements related to the preservation of the chain of custody), constitutional, human rights, among others - and the normative framework of the inter- American system and the universal human rights system.
- Knowledge of the context and regulatory framework regarding the disappearance of persons in Mexico.
- Knowledge of the victims’ rights and of the investigation and prosecution of cases of enforced disappearances and by individuals.
- Knowledge of the Mexican public administration, and of the competencies and obligations of the various institutions of the different levels of government.
- Capacity for inter-institutional coordination and the generation of work synergies with multiple actors at different levels of government, as well as with family members of missing persons, representatives and organizations of civil society.
- Capacity for inter-institutional coordination and working synergies with victims, groups of family members of missing persons, civil society organizations, legal representatives, authorities at different levels of government and international organizations;
- Strong analytical skills to organize ideas, structure texts and presentations, and write legal instruments, make public policy proposals, working papers and work reports.
- Sensitivity to communicate the legal aspects of forensic processes with dignified treatment to family members.
- Be a person of recognizable commitment to the respect and guarantee of human rights.
- Respect to and dignified treatment of the victims;
- Capability to coordinate, dialogue and take decisions under pressure in complex scenarios
- Professional ethics.
Languages:
Fluency in Spanish, verbal and written. Fluency in English verbal and written desirable.
More information (in Spanish):