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JUSTICE
RAPID
RESPONSE
Institute for International Criminal Investigations
Dear Colleagues,
The purpose of this call for nominations is to cordially invite you to nominate experts for the Justice Rapid
Response (JRR) training course for forensic experts on international criminal investigations, with a special focus
on addressing cases of conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The course is held in
partnership with the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI), at the kind invitation of the
University of Cukurova. The course will be four and a half days in length and will be held from 27 April to 1
May 2015 in Adana, Turkey, on the occasion of the Symposium of the Eurasian Academy of Forensic Medicine
and Sciences (EAFM). The course is made possible thanks to the contributions of the governments of Canada
and Denmark, as well as in-kind contributions from University of Cukurova.
The goal of this training course is to increase the pool of experts that can be deployed rapidly to participate in
investigations into core international crimes in general, and into conflict-related sexual and gender-based crimes
more specifically. This international criminal investigations course is tailored for experienced forensic
professionals, mainly from the Middle East region, with a view to help prepare these professionals for
investigations involving multi-disciplinary, diverse investigative teams that can be deployed rapidly and report
within a short period of time.
Successful course participants will become eligible for certification to the JRR roster, in order to be available to
assist States, as well as the United Nations and other international institutions with the jurisdiction to carry out
investigations into such crimes. Please note that attendance at all sessions of the training course is a
requirement to be considered for certification to the JRR roster.
Deadline for nominations is 2 March 2015. We encourage nominations from forensic professionals as specified
in section II, with knowledge and/or experience in dealing with SGBV, and who are willing and could be made
available for mainly short-term international deployments at short notice. Please find below relevant information
on the JRR initiative, on the training course, and on the selection process.
Sincerely,
Andras Vamos-Goldman
Executive Director
Justice Rapid Response I – SECURING ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
Background on the JRR initiative – JRR is a multi-stakeholder facility established by States to improve the
ability of the international community to investigate genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and serious
human rights violations, with a view to enabling credible accountability and thus ending impunity for these
crimes. JRR provides a flexible, rapid and cost-effective means to access relevant, highly specialized investigative
expertise to assist with fact-finding, inquiries and investigations in situations where violations of international
criminal law and serious human rights violations may have occurred.
Purpose of the training – The purpose of the training course is to help prepare qualified, expert forensic
professionals to be an important part of multi-disciplinary, diverse investigative teams that can be deployed
rapidly. The focus of the training course will therefore be on the application of forensic science in international
criminal law investigations, as well as on the investigation of cases of conflict-related SGBV. Experts that
successfully complete the training are eligible to apply for certification to the JRR roster.
The JRR Roster – The professionals on the JRR roster span a diverse range of expertise. They include
investigators and prosecutors, interpreters, forensic pathologists, forensic anthropologists, psycho-social trauma
counselors, and witness protection specialists. These experts are available for rapid deployment to all members
of the international community. Deployments can include support to States (national courts and other
accountability mechanisms), as well as providing surge capacity to a variety of UN and international entities.
These include UN Women, the Team of Experts of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on
Sexual Violence in Conflict, the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR). The missions can range from assisting in human rights and international criminal
law investigations; to assisting commissions of inquiry and other fact-finding bodies; international and hybrid
courts; and other accountability mechanisms, such as truth commissions.
Current achievements – Since 2009, JRR, in partnership with the IICI, has held twenty-eight training courses,
in all regions of the world. To date, more than 480 experts from all over the world have been trained and
certified to the JRR roster. This roster is gender balanced and geographically diverse with experts drawn from all
regions of the world, and 40% coming from the global South. Experts from the JRR roster have already been
deployed to a number of international and national investigative bodies including Commissions of Inquiry
(COI) for Côte d’Ivoire, Libya, Syrian Arab Republic, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the UN’s
fact-finding mission to Central African Republic.
II – EXPERTISE SOUGHT FOR THE TRAINING COURSE
We are looking for candidates with expertise in at least one of the following areas, preferably with some
international experience:
•
Forensic pathology, including expertise in the documentation of torture and familiarity with the Istanbul
Protocol;
•
Forensic anthropology;
•
Clinical forensic medicine;
•
Forensic crime scene investigation and forensic crime scene management;
•
Ballistics and explosives;
•
Forensic video, audio and image analysis, including aerial image analysis;
•
Cyber investigations;
•
Document examination;
•
Financial forensics.
Requirements:
§
MA +5 years, BA +7 years of relevant experience in desired areas of expertise (see list above).
Other desired requirements:
§
Experience working in the context of international investigations;
§
Experience working in conflict situations;
§
Experience with sexual violence forensic investigations.
The course will be held in English, accordingly fluency in English is a requirement for participation. Working
knowledge of an official language of the United Nations, especially Arabic, French, and Russian, is an asset.
We would be grateful if you could ensure the distribution of this Call for Nominations to departments and
agencies within your government with the expertise listed above, e.g. police, public prosecution, national
forensic institutes, human rights units/public defender’s offices, the Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of
Defence, etc. Our aim is to ensure that the Call for Nominations reaches these experts and their direct
supervisors.
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III – COURSE STRUCTURE
Course structure – The training course for forensic experts on international criminal investigations, with a
special focus on addressing cases of conflict-related SGBV, will be conducted by IICI. The duration of the
course is four and a half days. The modules of the course include: the role of forensic experts in international
investigations missions; mission planning; an overview of JRR and the types of missions that can be expected
through JRR deployments; risk management and field security; the legal framework on genocide, war crimes,
and crimes against humanity; and sexual and gender-based violence.
Course costs – While the training course is itself free of charge, those nominating experts for the course are
asked to cover the travel, accommodation and meal expenses 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, we will make every effort to find a sponsor. N.B. In
exchange for the training, JRR requests the expert and his/her employer to favorably consider any
request for deployment so long as the mission involved is in line with the objectives of the expert and
the organization he/she works for.
IV – NOMINATION PROCESS
Nomination – You are invited to nominate relevant professionals with expertise and/or experience in the range
of disciplines listed in section II, who are willing and could be made available for short-term international
deployment (generally for up to 3 months). When an applicant completes the training, he/she will be considered
for certification to the JRR roster. This consideration is based on his/her demonstration of knowledge, skills,
and competencies during the training course, and the needs of the JRR roster. When a particular expert who has
been certified to the roster through this process is appropriate for a deployment, both the expert and his/her
employer will be consulted with a view to having the expert released for the mission. N.B. The final decision
on the availability for deployment always rests with the expert and his/her employer.
Nomination package – All application materials are attached and can also be downloaded from the JRR
website at: www.justicerapidresponse.org. An application will be complete and considered for selection once
JRR has received the following duly completed documents for each expert:
1) JRR Personal History From (PHF): completed by the expert (submitted in two formats: 1.
electronic/Excel; and, 2. hand-signed and scanned);
2) JRR Nomination Form: completed and hand-signed by the employer; this can be submitted by the
applicant or directly by the nominating entity;
3) Supervisor Recommendation Form: completed, signed and sent to JRR directly by the supervisor of
the expert.
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Nominations and all application materials should be sent by email to
training@justicerapidresponse.org
Please use the following subject line: “Turkey Training Application – [Name of applicant]”
Deadline for all submission of nomination materials: 2 March 2015
JRR will regretfully not be able to consider applications received after this date.
Selection criteria – There are 25 positions available. Course participants will be chosen on a competitive basis
amongst the nominations submitted through a consultative process between JRR and IICI. The selection will be
made on the basis of the expertise identified for this course, the needs of the JRR roster, and the qualifications
and experience of nominees. The need to have a roster reflecting as broad a geographic representation as
possible and gender balance will also be taken into consideration.
For any details on the course or any additional information please contact the JRR Secretariat at
training@justicerapidresponse.org (Geneva Office Phone: +41 22 544 29 05; New York Liaison Office Phone:
+1 212 980 0193).
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