Training on human rights at international borders: Exploring new technologies, their risks and opportunities

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is inviting applications for a training course for human rights defenders working at international borders in South-Eastern Europe.

Open to human rights defenders operating in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia. OSCE field operations staff members based in the above-mentioned region are also eligible to apply.

What

The objective of the three-day training course is to enable human rights defenders working in South-Eastern Europe to comprehend border technologies' human rights implications and to enhance their capacity in collecting and verifying information through various means, including new technologies, for effective human rights monitoring at borders.

Topics addressed during the training will include: What are the new technologies used in border control and migration management? How to assess and monitor the human rights implications of the use of these technologies at borders? How can human rights defenders effectively monitor and report about harmful border practices as pushbacks? What is the psycho-social impact of the use of new technologies on people on the move and on human rights defenders? How can human rights defenders use various methods to better collect and verify information at borders, including by using new technologies?

How

The training is based on interactive learning methods and requires full-time presence and a high level of active participation by all trainees. Applicants should take into account that if their application is accepted, they will not be able to carry out their other work-related activities during the training sessions. The course is conducted in English by experienced trainers with proven gender and cultural sensitivity. Training materials, travel costs and accommodation are covered by ODIHR. 

Who

Twenty-five participants will be selected in a competitive process according to the following criteria:

• Working in one of the following OSCE participating States: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia. Applicants operating in Kosovo* are also eligible to apply. Citizenship of the applicant is not decisive;
• Proven experience and high motivation to carry out human rights-related activities in the migration and refugee context;
• Priority will be given to applicants with proven experience of monitoring pushback practices and other human rights violations at borders;
• Experience with monitoring and/or analysing human rights implications of technologies used in border and migration management (surveillance, biometrics, automated decision-making, at borders, in refugee camps and/or in immigration detention) is an advantage;
• Willingness to use various methods, including new technologies, to collect and verify information for human right monitoring at borders;
• Relevance of the training for applicants’ current and potential future human rights activities in the region and readiness to put the obtained knowledge into practice;
• Ability to actively participate in English;
• Availability to attend the training for its full duration and readiness to set aside other work activities during the three days;
• Priority will be given to members of civil society organizations, grassroots activists and the media (usually one person per organization), who will demonstrate the capacity to share the knowledge obtained during the training with colleagues;
• Staff members working in OSCE field operations based in the above-mentioned region and meeting the other selection criteria are also eligible to apply. They will be selected in the same competitive process as the other applicants.

ODIHR recognizes as a human rights defender any person promoting and striving for the realization of human rights regardless of profession, age or other status. Human rights defenders carry out their human rights activities individually or jointly with others, as part of an informal group or as a non-governmental organization, and act in a voluntary capacity or professionally. The key characteristic that defines human rights defenders is not who they are, but what they do and the principles they stand for.

Please note that in 2025 ODIHR will open another call for this training specifically dedicated to applicants working for National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI).

Application deadline

Applicants should fill in this application form and upload their CV (PDF or DOC) by 15 September 2024. ODIHR will strive to ensure a geographical and gender balance among participants. Only successful candidates will be informed about the outcome of the selection process, by 24 September 2024.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the training content or the selection procedure, please contact lola.girard@odihr.pl and veronica.grazzi@odihr.pl.

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*All references to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text should be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244.