Evaluation of DIHR’s Human Rights Officer / Advisor Programme

The Human Rights Officer (HRO) Programme was initiated during the early 1990s and became part of the Framework Agreement between the Danish Center/Institute for Human Rights and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs/DANIDA, which came into effect in January 1997. The objective of the HRO was three fold:
i) to strengthen the Danish resource base in the human rights field by providing young graduates from law and the social sciences with practical experience of implementing human rights projects in the field. Upon their return, it was envisaged that they take up positions in existing Danish institutions such as DIHR where their experience could be put to good use because of the combination of theoretical and practical knowledge which they had acquired; and
ii) to assist in developing partnership and capacity development of partner institutions that receive the added assistance of an additional staff member who can in return contribute to their own institutional development; finally iii), the positions have also sometimes been used as a means of posting e.g. a Director in DIHR’s own programme or office to specific countries where the programme implementation has contained such an element . After the DIHR human rights programmes developed significantly, the additional distinction of the Human Rights Advisor (HRA) was created under the programme. The HRA was a position for persons with a higher level of prior experience and qualifications who was able to assist the partner institution, typically within the state sector, e.g. at a management level and with strategy development etc., in addition to being a useful extra member of staff.

In terms of their length and format, the postings were originally envisaged to last up to one year, with a relatively short introductory period at DIHR, followed by approximately ten months with the partner in the designated country. At the end of this period, the HRO would spend approximately one month at DIHR in order to finish a written assignment that was prepared during the posting. This assignment can be compared to a research project where the posting represents the fieldwork. However, over the years this particular element has been toned down, and it is now common to have the same person in a posting that extends up to 2-3 consecutive years.

Over the years more than 40 persons have occupied these positions, and since several of these postings have been extended, sometimes more than once, the number of posting “units” is significantly higher.

All postings have been advertised and candidates selected on the basis of their general level of qualifications and suitability for the individual context of the posting. The selection process is verified through interviews, i.e. in conformity with the principles governing the appointment of Danish public employees. Because the vacancies have usually been advertised only in Denmark, many successful candidates, although not all, have been Danish nationals. However, a few have also been hired via an international selection process and have been of other nationalities. This has usually taken place in the context of postings where language qualifications are of paramount importance and the skills not readily available in Denmark (e.g. high-level Spanish or French).

No systematic tracking has been made of where candidates have gone after being employed within the programme. However, it is clear that in a number of cases they have, in fact, been re-hired by DIHR or been recruited by e.g. the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This tends to confirm the theory that the programme strengthens the Danish resource base.