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Annual report 2013NORDEM

1NORDEM – Annual report 2013

ContentsForeword 2

About NORDEM 4

NORDEM Missions in 2013 6

NORDEM long term assignments 8

Strengthening Institutional Capacity in Kosovo and the Western Balkans 9

Promoting Democratic Governance with the UNDP 12

Providing Democracy and Electoral Assistance with IDEA 16

The UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) 17

New partnership with UN Women 20

Continued support to the UN peace operation in DR Congo (MONUSCO) 21

Supporting the Permanent Delegation of Norway to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) 24

NORDEM secondments to the OSCE 25

NORDEM Election Observation 30

Capacity development and training 38

NORDEM hosted International Delegations to the Norwegian Parliamentary Elections 40

Recruitment and Roster Development 41

Strategic activities, outreach and networking 42

Research and Reporting 43

Celebrating 20 years of promoting human rights and democratisation 44

© Nordem 2014

Photo front page: Bryant Jones, Mongolia 2013Photo back: Photo to the left, Ken Opprann. Photo to the right, Christian B. Astrup

Design and production: Kristine Steen, 07 Media Oslo ASProject manager: Silje H. Wilhelmsen, Nordem

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ForewordFor a brief moment Nelson Mandela’s death in early December brought the world together to mourn the man who came to symbolize justice, equality and dignity His death came at the end of a year that saw a growing divide between East and West, North and South – even as civil liberties were challenged in all corners of the globe – and a year that proved yet again how fractious and fickle is the trajectory towards peace, freedom and equality 2013 saw a resurgence of violence in South Sudan, the horrors of the civil war in Syria compounded by the use of chemical weap-ons, the continued volatility of Eastern Congo and challenges to the fragile demo-cratic institutions in Kosovo and Ukraine In Kenya, Mali and Nepal elections took place in complex environments, while the elec-tions in the Caucasus demonstrated both the challenges and the rewards of inter-national election observation These were just some of the events that set the agenda for NORDEM, the Norwegian Resource Bank for Democracy and Human Rights, in 2013 NORDEM contributed experts to national governments and international partners to help foster good governance, democratic institutions, elections in line with international stand-ards, rule of law and respect for human rights In 2013, NORDEM marked its 20th anni-versary We celebrated by launching an anniversary report and by hosting a confer-ence that focused on our twin assign-ments: capacity building to promote democracy and human rights and inter-national election observation When NORDEM was established in 1993, the Cold War was over and the world was changing It was a time of hope for a

better future for millions of people who had been living under the yoke of dictatorship Hope that entrenched conflicts would be solved, that democracy would flourish, that human rights would be respected NORDEM was born of that hope In 2013, the global patterns of conflict were quite different from those of 1993 Nevertheless, the need for democracy-building, institution-building, good gover-nance and promotion of the rule of law and human rights remains as great as ever – in fact is steadily increasing In the anniversary report and at the conference, Børge Brende, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said as much And he confirmed that NORDEM remains a crucial instrument in Norwegian efforts to strengthen democratic values and promote respect for human rights Over the past 20 years, NORDEM has carried out more than 2000 assignments NORDEM’s expertise has been of great value to its partners, primarily the UN, the EU and the OSCE In 2013, NORDEM supplied 33 experts on long-term missions, with the UN (36%), the OSCE (30%) and the EU (15%) as our major partners We see a growing number of requests from the UN for experts on the rule of law and good governance, and last year we were able to provide the UN Mission to South Sudan with Judicial Affairs Advisers and the UNDP, in New York and the DR Congo, with experts in demo-cratic governance and rule of law, justice and security For the first time we provided a gender expert to UN Women to improve the human rights situation of Syrian women refugees NORDEM’s partnership with the OSCE continued undiminished, with special


attention to the OSCE Field Office in Tajik-istan and the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw A new secondment, a human rights special-ist, to Norway’s Permanent Delegation to the OSCE in Vienna was initiated in 2013, in aid of Norway’s chairing the Human Dimension Committee in 2014, under the Swiss OSCE chairmanship The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) is the main EU recipient of NORDEM long-term seconded personnel NORDEM has supported EULEX with qualified judges, prosecutors and legal officers since the mission was established in the aftermath of Kosovo’s independence in 2008 New deployments to EULEX in 2013 included two judges, one based in Mitro-vica in Northern-Kosovo, and one in the KPA Appeals Panel in Pristina NORDEM is Norway’s mechanism for providing election observers to interna-tional election observation missions and every year NORDEM observers contribute by observing and assessing elections throughout the world International election observation provides constructive input and recommendations on the electoral process in a country to all stakeholders, and can also help to build public confidence in electoral processes, promote civil and political rights, protect the viability and honesty of election admin-istration, increase transparency, and create confidence that can foster national recon-ciliation in post-conflict countries In 2013, NORDEM deployed 63 election observers and experts to a total of 18 election observation missions carried out by the OSCE, the EU and the Carter Center NORDEM was once again tasked by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with hosting

international delegations during the Norwegian parliamentary elections and in September 2013 NORDEM organized an extensive week-long study programme for electoral commissions from Zimbabwe, Iraq, Nigeria and Turkmenistan NORDEM’s mandate remains to contri-bute capacity that counts when and where it matters, within our areas of expertise We will continue to provide relevant and up-to-date training to our roster members and personnel on assignment, in order to deploy motivated, ambitious and skilled personnel to our partners – and ultimately support countries in transition Because as Mandela said «a good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination » We are grateful for the trust the Norwe-gian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our partners at home and abroad have placed in us for the past twenty years We thank the MFA, our partners and roster members for their support in 2013, and look forward to continue our cooperation in the future

Marianne Kvan, NORDEM Director

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About NORDEMNORDEM, the Norwegian Resource Bank for Democracy and Human Rights, is a civilian capacity provider specialised in human rights and demo cratisation It was established in 1993 at the initiative of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) with the purpose of enhancing the capacity of international organi-sations working to promote demo cracy and human rights, primarily by providing qualified personnel through recruitment, training and deployment NORDEM’s mandate includes human rights monitoring, rule of law, institution building, elections, good governance, and other related fields The NORDEM roster consists of approximately 250 individuals with skills and competencies relevant to this mandate Candidates from the roster are recruited to both short assignments and long term mis-sions and all personnel deployed by NORDEM are thoroughly followed up by the NORDEM secretariat before, during and after their assignment through briefings, reporting rou-tines and field visits

NORDEM is Norway’s seconding mechanism for election observers and deploys about 60 election observers and experts per year to approximately 20 missions around the world In addition, NORDEM develops tuition pro-grammes and also hosts various election man-agement body or parliamentary dele gations from countries mainly in political transition NORDEM members have extensive experience and knowledge in the field of election observa-tion and international standards regulating democratic elections

NORDEM has established partnerships with a number of international organizations The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) remain NORDEM’s most important partners NORDEM also inter-acts with international partners to ensure effective recruitment and training of civilian personnel As an experienced civilian capacity provider, NORDEM offers advice to countries that are currently in the process of establish-ing their own national rosters

(photo: NORDEM/Anne Sofie Molandsveen)


NORDEM provides introductory courses in human rights and democratisation related field work and also trains roster members and oth-ers in election observation methodology In order to enhance the capacity of personnel already on missions, NORDEM facilitates par-ticipation in specialised trainings offered by other institutions Furthermore, NORDEM con-tributes to research and the development of new methodology in the field of human rights and democratisation Among key publications is the NORDEM manual on Human Rights Monitoring, which is actively used by human rights monitors

NORDEM takes gender perspectives into account in its work and seeks not only to ensure a gender balanced recruitment to the roster and to missions, but also to integrate and pur-sue a gender perspective in all its training and capacity development activities, in line with the action plan of the Norwegian MFA on the imple-mentation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security

NORDEM is organised as a programme at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) at the University of Oslo It is fully financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs In 2012, a new framework agreement was signed with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The agreement entailed a strengthening of the sec-retariat and an increase in NORDEM’s activities in the field of democratisation In 2013, the NORDEM secretariat consisted of seven staff; four project coordinators, one personnel coor-dinator, one administrative and finance coordi-nator and the NORDEM Director

(photo: Nicolay Paus)

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Geneva

the Hague

Vienna

Warsaw

New York

Brussels

NORDEM Missions in 2013


Geneva

the Hague

Vienna

Warsaw

New York

Brussels

shows NORDEM assignments in 2013 shows completed NORDEM assignments

Needle shows headquarter (HQ) positions, completed HQ assignments, and HQ Assignments in 2013

DR CongoSouth SudanSouth AfricaNew Yorkthe HagueVienna

WarsawEgyptSyriaTajikistanAlbaniaKosovo

ArmeniaAzerbaijanFYROMGeorgiaHondurasJordan

KenyaMadagascarMaliMongoliaNepalPakistan

ParaguayZimbabwe

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NORDEM long term assignments In 2013, NORDEM had 33 experts on long term missions in the following receiving organizations:

• European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) • Kosovo Property Agency (KPA) • International Management Group (IMG) Kosovo • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) • Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)• United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS)• United Nations Stabilization Mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO) • European Commission• International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)• UN Women

Long term assignments by receiving organisation

OSCE 30 % EU 15 % UN 36 % Other 18 %


Strengthening Institutional Capacity in Kosovo and the Western Balkans

NORDEM has a long history of contri-bution to the Balkans and seconded the first personnel to the region in 1995 In 2013, NORDEM maintained a significant presence in Kosovo with a total of eight secondees in The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), The Kosovo Property Agency (KPA) and the International Management Group (IMG) Furthermore, NORDEM maintained one Senior Judicial Officer in the OSCE Office in Albania and one Programme Manager to the Directorate-General (DG) for Enlarge-ment of the European Commission based in Brussels who manages the EU’s involve-ment in the implementation of the Pro-gramme in the Western Balkans

Supporting the Justice Sector for European Integration The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) supports Kosovo on its path to a greater European integration in the rule of law area and aims to assist the authorities in reforming the justice sector in line with internationally recognized stand-ards NORDEM has supported EULEX with qualified judges, prosecutors and legal officers since the mission was established in the aftermath of Kosovo’s independence in 2008 New deployments to EULEX in 2013 included two judges; one based in Mitrovica in Northern-Kosovo, and one in the KPA Appeals Panel in Pristina One prosecutor working in the Prosecution Mobile Team completed her mission at the end of the year There were several security related incidents in Kosovo, some linked to

the local elections during fall In one inci-dent, a EULEX staff member was killed near Mitrovica, which has led to stricter security regulations in the North for EULEX person-nel During the year there was increasing consultation on the renewal of the EULEX mandate, which expires in June 2014

Resolving Conflict-related Claims on Private Property The Kosovo Property Agency (KPA) is man-dated to receive, register, and resolve claims for private immovable property resulting from the armed conflict that occurred between February 1998 and June 1999 In addition, KPA’s main functions are enforcement of legally final decisions and administration of abandoned properties Three legal officers were seconded to KPA in 2013, including two new deployments They supervised and coordinated the work of the national lawyers and assisted KPA in resolving the heavy caseload of unresolved property cases which still, more than 12 years after the end of the conflict, affect thousands of people in Kosovo The legal officers in KPA also dealt with cases of ille-gal re-occupation of properties and the lack of an effective compensation mecha-nism for right holders Addressing these issues is crucial both in terms of reconcilia-tion and for economic and democratic development in Kosovo

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DAG BRATHOLE Judge, Kosovo Property Agency Appeals Panel

What is the main focus of your work?To deliver just and well-reasoned judgments within reasonable time, while establishing and respecting a jurisprudence within the KPA Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court

What is your typical day at work like?The most important task is to write drafts and deliberate judgments With a panel of judges from five different nations, we also feel that it is important to establish good teamwork, which requires formal discussions and infor-mal interaction

What do you find most challenging in your assignment?Working in an international panel of judges, with case files in Serbian (mostly) and Albanian, with only part of the files translated, within UNMIK, modern Kosovar and former Yugoslavian legislation, and with English as a working language, is reasonably challenging Good language skills and significant experience as a judge are essential qualifications While the work is generally challenging, I feel that the team is working well, and that there are no specific challenges that stand out

Which achievements are you most satisfied with?To be part of a well-functioning court that is playing a small part in shaping Kosovo

(photo: Ken Opprann)


Providing support and capacity building to key democratic institutions in KosovoIn October 2012, one of NORDEM’s most experienced experts on Kosovo and the Western Balkans took up a new assignment with the International Management Group (IMG), an ad hoc technical group address-ing specific needs and infrastructure prob-lems in post-conflict countries During 2013, the secondee had a special respon-sibility for a project aiming at securing continued support, control and administra-tion of three key institutions; the Office of the Auditor General and his Chef de Cabinet, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo and the KPA Executive Director Through continued international presence, the aim of the program is to secure institutional memory and stability and assist a smooth transference to local ownership in 2014 The secondee was central in running the project efficiently, keeping close contact with the international appointees and their national counterparts and having the over-all responsibility of preparing donor reports

Siv Katrine Leirtrø (IMG) Pristina, Kosovo(photo: Ken Oppran)

Nina Grande, Prosecutor in EULEX Prosecution Mobile Team (photo: Ken Opprann)

Managing EU Funded Projects in the Western BalkansIn 2013, NORDEM continued the second-ment of one Programme Manager to the Directorate-General (DG) for Enlargement of the European Commission The pro-gramme Manager coordinated the work of the Western Balkans Investment Frame-work (WBIF) which supports socio-eco-nomic development and EU accession across the Western Balkans The pro-gramme manager also led the WBIF secre-tariat consisting of three sector experts (environment, energy and transport), one strategic analyst and various different sup-port functions The overall aim of the WBIF is to secure faster and more efficient pro-jects implementation to improve infra-structure in the Western Balkans within energy, transport, environment and social infrastructure The secretariat is involved with all aspect from project planning to implementation and monitoring/evaluation The secondee had a special responsibility for ensuring that investments were directed towards those projects with a genuine regional or national impact

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Promoting Democratic Governance with the UNDP

UN missions and field operations through a complementary and holistic approach One Crisis Governance Specialist supports UNDP country offices in various countries with technical support and programming upon request In 2013, the specialist worked on strengthening the capacity of local governments and parliaments, includ-ing on gender issues and political partici-pation of women in crisis-affected and frag-ile situations in countries such as Guinea Bissau, DR Congo, Burundi, and Tunisia

Judiciary Monitoring in South Kivu, DR CongoIn 2013, NORDEM extended the collabora-tion with UNDP to seconding a Rule of Law and Access to Justice Specialist to the UNDP sub-office in Bukavu in the Demo-cratic Republic of the Congo The pro-gramme specialist coordinated the Access to Justice programme team in South Kivu and contributed to Judiciary Monitoring and coordination with partner Universities in Kivu The Specialist completed the mis-sion by the end of the year

NORDEM signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in November 2012 As a result, two NORDEM experts joined the Bureau for Crisis Preven-tion and Recovery (BCPR) at the UNDP headquarters in New York UNDP is on the ground in 177 countries throughout the world and amongst its priorities is to pro-mote democratic governance and help countries prevent and recover from crises The partnership has enabled NORDEM to broaden its scope of contributions to crisis recovery and democracy support

Building Crisis Resilient NationsOne Rule of Law, Justice and Security Specialist assists UNDP field offices in their efforts to strengthen the rule of law In 2013 much of the specialist’s focus was on supporting a Legal Aid Grants Fund estab-lishment in Afghanistan and supporting a Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform programme in Mali The specialist also sup-ported the UN Global Focal Point for Police, Justice and Corrections, aimed at enhanc-ing the rule of law component in

The next elections in Guinea Bissau are scheduled for May 2014, and I hope UNDP is capacitated to support the conditions for greater participation in the political process and moreover support the incumbent government to improve in their ranking for gender equity. Hanne Kristoffersen, UNDP


(photo: Nicolay Paus)

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HANNE KRISTOFFERSEN Crisis Governance Specialist, UNDP

What is the main focus of your work?The main focus of my work is to provide technical advice to UNDP Country Offices (CO) working in conflict-affected countries on local governance with a focus on strengthening the state-society relations to form a social contract I provide support to the country office on how to strengthen synergies between projects to reach greater outcomes, adjust ongoing projects as bottlenecks arises, strengthen their monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and reporting framework, identify gaps and help the country offices to fill those gaps If the country office needs technical assistance to fill this gap, or got financial resources to enhance local governance activities, they will request my support and I will travel to that country to develop a project or pro-gramme in cooperation with them, state authorities and other partners in that country

What is your typical day at work like?My typical day at work usually starts with a skype chat with one or more of the UNDP country offices that I am responsible to follow up on In 2013, these were: Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Guinea Bissau, Madagascar and Tunisia In addition to this, a whole lot of corporate infor-mation sharing and coordination meetings are taking place In addition, there are regular coordination meetings with other UN entities If I am on mission, a normal working day will look more or less like this: from 08:30 -18:00 a sequence of meetings with local authorities, traditional authori-ties, women’s associations, civil society groups, INGOs, Civil affairs Section of DPKO and other DPKO departments, OCHA and other UN agencies depending on the project Internal meetings with UNDP staff who works in the Governance pillar is running continuously throughout the length of the mission The deliverable of the mission is usually a project document, so most evenings are spent typing up the projects

What do you find most challenging in your assignment?The most challenging in my assignment is to balance my time and energy to where it is needed the most It is a constant battle between UN corporate business processes, assist UNDP Country Offices in a timely manner and remember that the day only has so many hours to do all this I have become really good at adapting to changing priorities, delegate tasks, work efficiently and adjust my schedule and time accordingly It is truly an intense and high-powered environment to work in

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Which achievements are you most satisfied with? I am very excited about the work we did in Guinea Bissau Guinea Bissau has suffered significant political turbulence with a series of Coup d’états since its independence, weakening state institutions and increasing estrange-ment between citizens and their state, hence a failing social contract, at all levels of governance

The programme I drafted for the country office has a strong focus on wom-en empowerment and inclusion with clear indicators to ensure change can be measured The next elections in Guinea Bissau are scheduled for May 2014, and I hope UNDP is capacitated to support the conditions for greater participation in the political process and moreover support the incumbent government to improve in their ranking for gender equity The strategy and assumption in the new programme is that, once the population sees the dividends of service delivery and economic development, it will engage more enthusiastically with the governance system

Hanne during a field mission in DR Congo (photo: private)

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Providing Democracy and Electoral Assistance with IDEA

political parties and gender In support of the IDEA-African Union partnership, the programme officer also provides capacity development and technical assistance to the African Union’s Democracy and Elec-toral Assistance Unit as well as supports the implementation of the IDEA Electoral Risk Management Tool in selected AU coun-tries Moreover, the expert engages with a number of Electoral Management Bodies in the region to trace lessons learned from reform processes NORDEM values highly the entry into cooperation with Interna-tional IDEA as this secondment falls in line with the very core of NORDEM’s mandate and our ambition to strengthen election engagement and expertise further

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) is an inter-governmental organisation with a mission to support the development of more sustain-able, effective and legitimate demo cracies worldwide Its Electoral Processes pro-gramme works across a range of areas to strengthen free, fair and credible electoral processes in countries around the world In line with the MFA agreement on enhancing support to democratic development, NOR-DEM established its first secondment to the organisation’s regional office in Africa in Pretoria, South Africa, in the fall of 2013 The programme officer seconded by NORDEM provides support to the office’s work in the fields of electoral processes,

(photo: Øystein Wiik)


The UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS)

The mandate of the legal advisors is to assist the authorities at the state level in South Sudan with establishing judicial insti-tutions and legal frameworks in accordance with international standards and rule of law principles The mandate focuses especially on reducing the number of long and arbi-trary detention The two judicial advisors monitored several prisons and detention centers and brought awareness of the reali-ties of prisoners to the Prosecutor Office and the Courts They advocated for change by conducting workshops and providing advice and training to national actors Through the establishment of a monthly Rule of Law forum, they facilitated improved communication between key stakeholders within the rule of law sector The legal advisers occasionally also fol-lowed up on relevant individual cases Their duty stations were not directly affected by the violence and unrest that erupted in December 2013 and both secondees were able to reassume their work for UNMISS in the beginning of January 2014

The task of re-establishing rule of law in transitional and post-conflict societies has increasingly become part of the multi-dimensional and holistic approach of inter-national policing and peacekeeping The Office of Rule of Law and Security Institu-tions (OROLSI) of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) is man-dated with coordinating the rule of law efforts within peace keeping missions and in 2012 NORDEM was asked to identify Government Provided Personnel (GPP) with extensive and transferable judicial know-ledge to support the judicial capacity of the authorities in South Sudan In the beginning of 2013, NORDEM seconded two legal advisors to UNMISS who were deployed to the Judicial Advisory Section (JAS) of UNMISS under the supervision of the UNMISS State Coordinator They were based in Kuajok in Warrap State and Aweil in Northern Bahr el-Gahzal State

The context of a peacekeeping mission provides no shortage of challenges when it comes to strengthening the delivery of justice. One issue is the need for increased legal awareness and capacity among the justice actors. Another is the lack of cooperation and communication between and within the different justice institutions.Magnus Forberg Andersen, UNMISS

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MAGNUS FORBERG ANDERSEN Legal Adviser, UNMISS What is the main focus of your work? The main focus of my work within UNMISS Justice Advisory Section is to strengthen the capacities of national justice actors, including judges, public prosecutor attorneys, police and prison authorities and customary chiefs, and to end prolonged and arbitrary detentions

What is your typical day at work like? As member of a small team I am involved in all steps of the work process, from adopting work plans and strategies, liaising with UN agencies, donors, local NGOs and justice partners, implementing workshops and projects to reporting and handling administrative issues This variety of tasks reflects also my working days A typical day – if any such exists out here on the savannah – may start with obtaining quotations from potential vendors for a Legal Aid workshop coming up next month After a quick lunch the next stop will be the local police station where I supply the police officers with copies of legal forms and legislation, and monitor the detention facilities Cases of prolonged and arbitrary detention are followed up with the Office of the Public Prosecutor Attorney through advice on legal matters and practical solutions On the way back to the UNMISS compound I drop off my national colleague at the radio station where we broadcast a monthly legal awareness radio program in coopera-tion with the local justice actors Finally, back in my office, numerous reports must be written, and as the sound of drums from the surrounding tukuls accompanies the sunset, the working day is still at dawn

What do you find most challenging in your assignment? The context of a peacekeeping mission provides no shortage of challenges when it comes to strengthening the delivery of justice One issue is the need for increased legal awareness and capacity among the justice actors Another is the lack of cooperation and communication between and within the different justice institutions Furthermore, our local partners are not equipped with the resources and infrastructure required to implement the national legislation, such as power generators, adequate detention facili-ties and means of transportation and communication Prison and police cells are overcrowded and the detainees are not provided with anything but basic health care

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In addition there is a lack of legal professionals which impedes both the fair trial rights of the citizens as well as the extension of state authority; at cur-rent in my area of deployment, which covers an area similar to Belgium and accommodate ca one million inhabitants, three lawyers are practicing and on o question whether UNMISS and other UN agencies are given the neces-sary tools and means to support the national authorities as also our resources are limited Add to this the current security situation with violent conflict along political and ethnical lines displacing thousands of people, which inevitable diverts resources and efforts from nation building to secu-rity and humanitarian issues

Which achievements are you most satisfied with?Despite the challenges, I believe we have managed to make positive impact on the national justice capacities Through weekly monitoring and capacity building we have reduced the cases of prolonged and arbitrary detention in prisons and police stations We have extended the state authority and delivery of justice through establishment of a Mobile Court at county level We have supported the implementation of fair trial rights of defendants by facilitating contact and meetings between detainees pending trial and law-yers Furthermore, we have strengthened the legal awareness and knowl-edge among persons in conflict with the law, the general public and the justice actors through information meetings in prisons, radio programs and works shops

Magnus conducting a workshop (photo: private)

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NORDEM provided personnel to UN Women, the UN agency dedicated to gen-der equality and the empowerment of women, for the first time in 2013 Both assignments were related to the Syrian refugee crisis and dealt with human rights aspects of the situation and the assistance provided to the refugees One of the assignments was facilitated by the inter-governmental specialist roster Justice Rapid Response

Documenting human rights violations against Syrian refugeesA sexual and gender based violence expert was sent on an assignment through UN Women for the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria in order to document human rights violations against Syrian refugees living in Jordan The Syria Commission of Inquiry was established by the Human Rights Council on 23 August 2011, with the man-date to investigate all allegations of viola-tions of international human rights law committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011, to establish the facts and circumstances of these crimes and violations, and if possible to identify those responsible and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable for their actions The findings of the expert and the other members of the commission were pre-sented in a HYPERLINK “http://www ohchr org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoISyria/A-HRC-23-58_en pdf” report to the Human Rights Council (http://www ohchr org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCoun-cil/CoISyria/A-HRC-23-58_en pdf)

Integrating gender aspects in UN women’s programmes for Syrian refugeesIn 2013, a gender and human rights expert was seconded to the UN Women’s regional office in Cairo The expert ensured that gender and human rights aspects were integrated in UN Women’s programmatic interventions aimed at improving the human rights situation of Syrian women refugees in the region This involved assessing the human rights situation of women refugees in Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and other countries in the region and providing programmatic advice based on these assessments The gender expert also advocated for a greater inclusion of Syrian women and of gender aspects in the peace negotiations, and supported women activists in this context The secondee has provided technical input to capacity build-ing in human rights and negotiation skills and contributed to documents calling on the parties to the negotiation process to embrace gender equality and underline the importance of women’s human rights by opening space for more women at the Syrian negotiation table

New partnership with UN Women


Five NORDEM secondees strengthened MONUSCO’s work in the fields of stabilisa-tion, judicial protection and the fight against sexual violence The military advances of the armed group M23 in the Eastern DR Congo that culminated in the fall of Goma in November 2012 entailed a severe setback for many aspects of MONUSCO’s work and shaped the priorities for 2013 MONUSCO received a renewed and more robust man-date and an Intervention Brigade was deployed to support the national army in their fight against the armed group The M23 ended its rebellion in November 2013 This led other groups to disarm and created new needs and opportunities for stabilising areas previously held by rebels However, many armed groups remain active, and the security and human rights situation of the population and the many displaced persons remains precarious

Supporting stabilisation efforts in the Eastern DRC Two secondees in the Stabilisation Support Unit (SSU) contributed to the revised stabi-lisation strategy for the East, building on lessons learned from the previous phase The strategy will be the basis for program-matic and strategic interventions aimed at strengthening state institutions, improving governmental services to the population and strengthen the dialogue between the population and state actors in key areas The secondees worked closely with the authorities and the population in these areas in order to provide a good basis for stabilisation activities One secondee to the same unit was responsible for the reestab-lishment of two Joint Monitoring Teams in South and North Kivu and their overall

coordination and integration with other elements of MONUSCO The teams monitor and strengthen the capacity of local state actors (police, local administration, courts, and prisons) and facilitate dialogue with the population Preventing and responding to Sexual ViolenceOne secondee in the Sexual Violence in Conflict Unit in Bukavu, in South Kivu, the area most affected by sexual violence in DRC, strengthened the authorities’ capacity and coordinated international efforts to prevent and respond to sexual violence The secondee was instrumental in improv-ing the data collection and analysis of sexual violence cases, in ensuring that there was a standard quality for the assis-tance offered to survivors and to implement measures of prevention, such as sensitiza-tion and special MONUSCO patrols

Providing protection for victims, witnesses and judicial personnelA judicial protection expert was seconded to the Joint Human Rights Office and pro-vided protection to victims and witnesses in selected high profile court cases Protec-tion measures are implemented in coop-eration with an extensive network of actors ranging from international organisations to civil society representatives in the commu-nities of the victims and witnesses The practice developing during these cases is creating precedent for other court cases and an increased awareness of the need for judicial protection The expert also advo-cated for the inclusion of judicial protection in the general practice, guidelines and legal framework and trained practitioners

Continued support to the UN peace operation in DR Congo (MONUSCO)

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DALHIA EL-BATTAT Programme Officer, MONUSCO

What is the main focus of your work?I am working as a programme officer for the Stabilization Support Unit with-in the United Nation Mission for Stabilization in DR Congo The main focus of my work is the operationalization of the International Strategy for Security and Stabilisation in 3 provinces: North Kivu, South Kivu, and Province Orientale The strategy revision focuses on the identification of root causes of conflicts and their dynamics

What is your typical day at work like?No day is like another Working for a regional office where you have to han-dle multiple demands coming from the senior hierarchy of the mission and in the same time manage your own work can be quite challenging some-times A typical day starts with trying to handle the different demands com-ing from MONUSCO and International partners with whom we are working Then as we work as a team, in close collaboration with our team leader, we get briefed on the latest developments (security/mission priorities/etc ) and try to prioritize urgent needs

Dalhia on a field mission in Ituri province(photo: private)

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Usually a bit before noon, I start going through my actual work plan Nowadays it is mostly related to the drafting of a methodology for the oper-ationalization of the strategy, preparing with provincial coordinators the needs assessment missions and brainstorming on the coordination mecha-nisms for the programming I also spent lots of my time on field missions, especially in Province Orientale where I used to work as a Provincial Coordinator, to work with international partners on programme development

What do you find most challenging in your assignment?At the regional Stabilisation Office, the most challenging point would defi-nitely be the lack of resources and the amount of work Since the new focus of the mission is now on Stabilisation, the so called “Islands of Stability” and the reconfiguration of the mission towards Stabilization, our Unit will be taking over different tasks from Civilian sections like Civil Affairs Sections, DDR, Correction Unit, etc We are also supposed to manage an internal USD 15 million fund that MONUSCO has made available for Community Violence Reduction in line with the stabilisation strategy We also have to coordinate a Stabilization Task Force with all relevant sections working on stabilisation while we have very little resources at the Regional HQ Furthermore, donors and the international community are pressuring us to deliver quick programmes that they will fund, while our approach is based on an in-depth conflict scanning at the provincial level for the definition of Stabilisation Provincial Strategies before going through the programming I would summarize those challenges as firstly a lack of sufficient resources, secondly the new reconfiguration of MONUSCO towards Stabilisation and thirdly the need to deliver “quick” programs

Which achievements are you most satisfied with?During my deployment within the Stabilisation Support Unit, both as a Provincial Coordinator in Province Orientale and then as a Programme Officer for the Regional Office, I feel that my greatest achievements have been: Firstly to contribute to the revision of the International Strategy for Security and Stabilisation and the in-depth conflict scanning we conducted at the scale of a country like DRC as the basis for our future programming Secondly, to have contributed to revitalising the coordination mechanisms in Province Orientale, especially relationships with local authorities and international partners Thirdly, to have worked with donors to renew inter-est on the Province Orientale and especially Mambasa where a 5 million USD programme should be developed in the coming months

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In November 2013, NORDEM seconded one human rights adviser to the Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OSCE in Vien-na The secondee supported the OSCE Ambassador and the delegation with prep-arations for the chairmanship of the Human Dimension Committee (HDC) in 2014 As chair of the HDC, the Norwegian delegation contributes to the advancement and imple-mentation of the OSCE’s Human Dimension commitments related to democratic

development, human rights, and funda-mental freedoms in the OSCE region The human rights adviser provides the dele-gation with expert inputs on human rights issues and generally supports the dele-gation with planning and implementation of various events, preparing general and issue-specific reports and statements for the Ambassador, as well as establishing and maintaining good relations with the other OSCE delegates in the Committee

Supporting the Permanent Delegation of Norway to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)

Neving Rudskjær, Political Officer, the OCSE Office in Tajikistan(photo: NORDEM/ Silje H. Wilhelmsen)


With 57 States from Europe, Central Asia and North America, the OSCE is the world’s largest security-oriented regional organisation It has a comprehensive and cross-cutting approach to security that encompasses the politico-military, economic and environmental and human dimensions of security The OSCE is among the main receiving organisations of NORDEM personnel to long term missions and in 2013, NORDEM had ten second-ments to the organisation; four to field mis-sions in Tajikistan and Albania and five at headquarter level In addition, NORDEM seconded one Junior Professional Officer (JPO) to the OSCE JPO programme

Strengthening the OSCE’s Early Warning CapabilitiesThe OSCE has identified a need to develop a more systematic, comprehensive and cross-dimensional early warning capacity to enhance the organisation’s capability to prevent and respond to current and emerg-ing crisis situations and to ensure appropri-ate and effective policy responses to emerging conflicts Until May 2013, one analyst was seconded by NORDEM to the Conflict Prevention Centre (CPC) in Vienna to assist in the OSCE’s work with crisis man-agement and early warning capacities In addition to giving expert advice in the pro-cess of strengthening OSCE guidelines in this field, the analyst also contributed in the training of early warning focal points in the field missions

Supporting the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM)The task of the HCNM is to provide early warning and early action with regard to tensions involving national minority issues which have the potential to develop into a conflict within the OSCE area The HCNM also looks at and addresses the root causes of such tension NORDEM has seconded Norwegian personnel to HCNM since Knut Vollebæk was appointed High Commis-sioner in 2007 In 2013, two NORDEM secondees supported the work of HCNM at the headquarter in the Hague, one as Vollebæk’s secretary and the other as Vollebæk’s personal Adviser In August 2013, Vollebæk completed his assignment as High Commissioner, thus the NORDEM secondments to the office came to an end

Continued support to the OSCE Office in TajikistanUntil February 2013, NORDEM seconded the Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan During his NORDEM assignment, the Head of Office developed a constructive partner-ship with the host country’s authorities, which still today enables the OSCE Office in Tajikistan to maintain its large presence and active implementation of its program-matic activities in the country The OSCE in Tajikistan has an important function, not only in terms of supporting internal demo-cratic and economic development and security, but also in helping the host govern ment addressing challenges related to developments in its neighbouring coun-tries, especially with regard to border issues

NORDEM secondments to the OSCE

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In 2013, NORDEM continued the second-mentof the Head of the second dimension,the Environmental and Economic Depart-ment The department works on strength-ening environmental legislation, reducing corruption and improving governance, and implementing cross-border trade and trans-boundary water co-operation pro-grammes particularly at the Tajik – Afghan border The NORDEM secondee has man-aged the largest second dimension unit in any OSCE field mission, and has been cen-tral in strengthening methodologiesand approaches to second dimensionprogrammatic work In October 2013, a new NORDEM assignment in Tajikistan was established with the secondment of one Political Officer The Political Officer is the focal point for political reporting and anal-ysis in the mission and provides expert inputs, briefings and advice to the senior management and ambassador in the mis-sion as well as to the OSCE headquarter in Vienna

The OSCE Junior Professional Officer ProgrammeIn 2013, NORDEM seconded one Junior Professional Officer (JPO) to the OSCE JPO-programme The JPO spent the first three months of the programme in the OSCE Headquarter in Vienna working in the Trans-national Threats Department before he left for Kyrgyzstan in July to assist the OSCE Centre in Bishkek with implementing its Police Reform Programme (PRP) The OSCE’s nine month JPO Programme provides young graduates with an opportunity to gain OSCE Secretariat and field experience The first three-month period is being spent in the Secretariat in Vienna, and the following six months in an OSCE field operation or in one of the other OSCE institutions

Torbjørn Bjorvatn (centre) and his Economic and Environmental team in the OSCE Office in Tajikistan (photo: NORDEM/ Silje H. Wilhelmsen)


Promoting Justice Sector Reform with the OSCE in AlbaniaIn pursuing its overall goal of promoting the rule of law and human rights, the OSCE Presence in Albania supports its host gov-ernment in consolidating democratic insti-tutions in conformity with OSCE principles, standards and commitments In 2013, NORDEM continued the secondment of one Senior Judicial Officer to the OSCE Office in Albania The judicial officer, in addition to carrying out legal analysis and providing overall support to the office’s rule of law unit, has managed a major civil trial moni-toring project The project has resulted in a comprehensive assessment of the civil justice system in Albania and outlines a set of concrete recommendations that Alba-nian authorities are now in the process of implementing The findings and recommen-dations are presented in the OSCE report “Towards Justice” (http://www osce org/albania/100388) After nearly four years of NORDEM support to this secondment, the judicial officer completed his assignment in Albania by the end of 2013

Implementing the OSCE Human DimensionThe OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) supports par-ticipating States in meeting their OSCE commitments in the human dimension NORDEM had two secondments to the ODIHR Office in Warsaw in 2013; one human rights officer and one special advis-er to the Director The Special Adviser is one of the Director’s closest advisers and, in addition to being involved in the daily management and co-ordination of the office, assists the Director with political analysis and advice, prepares statements, reports, and speeches, follows the Director on field missions, as well as represents the Office in internal and external forums and networks The Human Rights Officer works in the ODIHR Human Rights Department and is focal point for gender and security In 2013, the human rights officer focused particularly on human rights training and capacity building in the military and police sector

Judicial Officer Jo Faafeng and his colleague outside the court in Tirana, Albania (photo: NORDEM/ Silje H. Wilhelmsen)

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JAN HAUKÅS Special Adviser, ODIHR

What is the main focus of your work?The main focus of my work is to ensure that the ODIHR Director has all the necessary support to effectively deliver on the mandate given by the 57 OSCE participating States Put simply, its cabinet work This includes front office services, communicating the Director’s guidance and decisions to ODIHR’s departments, and clearing their input and products for the Director’s consideration and decision in return It also involves serving as a focal point for external communication and coordination with other parts of the OSCE, delegations of the participating States, other international organ-izations and so on

What is your typical day at work like?It’s tempting to say that the most typical day at work is typically atypical Hardly a day passes similar to the previous one So it’s certainly never boring But if to list some of the tasks that take most of the time during the course of a year, I would say the coordination of the Director’s travel, events and official correspondence; editing and clearance of a large number of reports, and; the maintenance of a large communication network of colleagues, interlocutors and contacts An autonomous expert institution within the OSCE, which is not a career organization, our staff is undoubtedly our greatest asset ODIHR attaches utmost importance to its recruitment policy and processes I therefore spend also a lot of my time on recruitment boards for senior staff, as the Director’s representative, in selecting the best new talents

What do you find most challenging in your assignment?ODIHR has five programmatic departments and about 150 expert and sup-port staff, implementing our work across the OSCE area under often politi-cally sensitive circumstances Given the volume of information to process and having to make judgment calls on short notice, there is little doubt that one of the main challenges is to avoid becoming a bottleneck in the system The nature of our work, including Sundays being the most common election day, means long hours, frequent traveling and many weekends away from home and family While never boring, the other side of that coin is that the unpredictability involved makes planning hard both professionally and privately And that’s probably the most challenging aspect of my assignment

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Which achievements are you most satisfied with?It’s difficult to talk about concrete achievements as a Special Adviser, and I see my role first and foremost as part of a collaborative effort in support-ing the Director in his decisions and work As most political/policy advisory roles, it largely comes down to identifying both opportunities and risks There are many ODIHR achievements I could have mentioned, during the two years I have been fortunate to be with this organisation However, as I reflected over the question and tried to set up a list of ODIHR’s greatest hits it struck me that I couldn’t think of any significant failures In a highly charged political environment and with the many challenges thrown our way, ODIHR’s greatest achievement in this period has in my view therefore been the absence of policy mistakes at critical junctions

Jan (to the right) with the ODIHR Director, Ambas-sador Janez Lenarčič (photo: private)

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NORDEM is Norway’s main mechanism for providing election observers to interna-tional election observation missions and every year NORDEM observers contribute in observing and assessing elections through-out the world International election obser-vation provides constructive input and rec-ommendations on the electoral process in a country to all stakeholders, and can also help to build public confidence in electoral processes, promote civil and political rights, protect the viability and honesty of election administration, increase transpar-ency, and create confidence that can foster national reconciliation in post-conflict countries In 2013, NORDEM deployed 61 election observers and experts to a total of 17 election observation missions carried out by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the EU and the Carter Center NORDEM deploys long term observers (LTOs) for a period of approximately two months and short term observers (STO) for one to two weeks

All NORDEM observers are trained in elec-tion observation methodology and are thoroughly briefed and de-briefed by coun-try experts and NORDEM staff before and after each mission The observers write reports from their missions that provide NORDEM and other interested partners such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with valuable input on and analysis of the elec-toral process and political context in the country in question Moreover, NORDEM’s two decades of experience from interna-tional election observation is increasingly regarded as a resource, also in election related activities in Norway NORDEM develops tuition programmes and also hosts various election management body or parliamentary delegations, mainly from countries in political transition

In 2013 NORDEM became a signatory to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation The Declaration was formally endorsed by representatives of 22 organizations at a ceremony hosted by the United Nations on 27 October 2005 Organizations that have endorsed the Dec-laration and the accompanying Code of Conduct pledge their commitment to assuring integrity and transparency in international election observation While NORDEM has consistently worked in accordance with the Declaration and used the documents as guiding principles in our work, we were pleased this year to be able to formalise our commitment

NORDEM Election Observation


NORDEM Election Assignments in 2013

Land

Org

anis

atio

n

STO

LTO

Tota

l

Albania OSCE/ODIHR 1 1 2

Armenia OSCE/ODIHR 4 2 6

Azerbaijan OSCE/ODIHR 8 2 10

FYROM OSCE/ODIHR 1 1

Georgia OSCE/ODIHR 4 2 6

Honduras EU 1 1 2

Jordan EU 1 1

KenyaEU 1 3

TCC 2 0

Kosovo EU 1 1 2

Madagascar EU 2 2

Mali EU 2 1 3

Mongolia OSCE/ODIHR 5 2 7

Nepal EU 1 1 2

Pakistan EU 2 2 4

Paraguay EU 2 2

Tajikistan OSCE/ODIHR 4 3 7

ZimbabweNorwegian Embassy

1 1

Total 39 22 61

ODIHR Election Observation Missions The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) conducts elec-tion observation missions and assessments in all OSCE participating states and their election observation methodology provides in-depth insight into all elements necessary for a democratic electoral process ODIHR emphasizes fundamental principles that are central to a democratic tradition How-ever, in recent times the Office has seen a number of worrying trends in some OSCE participating States that directly challenge these principles, such as misuse of state administrative resources by incumbents, media bias, and lack of sufficient will by state authorities to rectify identified short-comings The ODIHR is the main receiver of NORDEM election observers who each year provide valuable contributions to the work of the office in monitoring and enhancing democratic processes and development throughout the OSCE region

Election assignments by receiving organisation

OSCE/ODHIR 64 % EU 31 % TCC 3 % Other 2 %

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TRUDE S. JOHANSSON Long Term Observer (LTO) with the OSCE/ODIHR, Parliamentary elections in Mongolia, June 2013

What is the main focus of your work? The main focus of an LTOs work is divided into three parts and these three parts together, when done properly, will create the basis of the mission work as well as help gather the information necessary for the different statements and reports emerging from the mission

First; Developing and maintaining connections with electoral stakeholders, from the level of the voter up to leaders of political parties, electoral com-missions and security forces in the area you are deployed to In the case of Mongolia, which was a first ever mission, this literarily meant starting from scratch, in order to locate the relevant persons in the first place

Second; Writing Weekly Reports as well as Incident and Rally Reports to the Core Team of the mission, in order for them to get the full picture of what goes on in the country Additional reporting on specific situations and issues is also typical, and makes it possible to follow up on and monitor specific trends emerging throughout the electoral process

Third; Preparing for the arrival and deployment of Short Term Observers (STOs) This will entail both preparing briefing material for the STOs them-selves (including maps and other information about polling stations, as well as information about the political situation in the deployment area), but also preparing the different stakeholders for the STOs arrival, and making sure that all involved are sufficiently informed about the STOs role in the days around Election Day, acquiring the necessary permissions for the STOs to observe the Election Day process and planning the STO movements dur-ing the deployment period

What is a typical day on mission like?A typical day at work differs to an extent from country to country, but will most essentially involve confirming meetings with stakeholders, being in touch with the election commission members in the area as well as political parties for resent updates, following up on specific requests from the Core Team, observing rallies and other political meetings and spending time in the afternoon writing up reports on the former In most missions a fairly large amount of travel and flexibility will be required When deployed in areas together with other teams, a certain amount of time is usually also set off in the evening to share information and discuss further cooperation Being an LTO is not a 9-5 job, which makes every day special and interesting

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What do you find most challenging in your assignment?As an LTO there is always a different uncertainty in how you will get along with your partner, whether you have the same style of working, adaptability to different and unexpected situations and meeting mentality In most cas-es this works out fine, and I must say that I have personally been very lucky with all my LTO partners, but being able to show both flexibility and an amount of lenience is certainly necessary in order to both be a successful LTO an in order to enjoy and learn from the experience In Mongolia specifi-cally I will say that the fact that the mission started completely from scratch was the biggest challenge, especially when it came to actually get-ting contact details for essential stakeholders as well as finding qualified interpreters and drivers for a large number of STOs

Which achievements are you most satisfied with?Being part of a successful mission where you feel you have really contrib-uted to the different statements and reports as well as been an asset to the Core Team is always a satisfying achievement in itself, but personally I always find my most satisfying achievements being maintaining a good and close relationship and communication with different stakeholders as well as making sure that all possible preparations are in order for the STOs and being told by the STOs that there really was nothing that they were missing in order to do their work

Trude outside a polling station, Mongolia June 2013(photo: private)

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Election Observation Missions with the Carter Center The Carter Center, in partnership with Emory University, is a pioneer of election observation, monitoring more than 90 elections in Africa, Latin America, and Asia since 1989 and forging many of the tech-niques now common to the field After the initial cooperation with the centre in South Sudan involving long term election obser-vers monitoring the political and electoral process leading up to the referendum in 2011, the Carter Center has become an increasingly important partner for NORDEM In 2013, NORDEM provided two long term observers to the election obser-vation mission in Kenya One of the long terms observer was later the same year offered the position as Deputy Director for the Carter Center’s observation mission to Nepal due to her good performance in Kenya

Election Observation Missions with the European UnionThe EU views genuine elections as an essential basis for sustainable develop-ment and a functioning democracy as well as an important driver for peace, security and conflict prevention EU’s support to democratic electoral processes takes the form of electoral assistance projects and EU election observation missions of which NORDEM is a key partner

I have personally been very lucky with all my LTO partners, but being able to show both flexibility and an amount of lenience is certainly necessary in order to both be a successful LTO an in order to enjoy and learn from the experienceTrude S. Johansson, NORDEM Election Observer


(photo: Ken Opprann)

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FATIMA HAUGSTVEIT Short Term Observer (STO) with the EU, General elections in Paraguay, April 2013

What is the main focus of your work? As a short term observer (STO), the main focus is to concentrate the work on Election Day (ED) Before arriving I prepared myself by reading docu-ments about the pre-electoral atmosphere and the characteristics of the place of observation I arrived at my destination, the province of Misiones, one and a half day before ED Before the ED we have to get detailed informa-tion about the activities on ED by locating the polling stations, getting familiar with the forms and reporting instructions from the mission, having meetings with local electoral bodies and getting awareness about special considerations that could arise on election day

Fatima at work during elections in Peru, 2011 (photo: private)

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What is a typical day on mission like?On ED we have to observe the opening of polling tables, the development of voting during the day in different polling centers, the counting at the end of the day and the transmission of results In this mission I got the responsibil-ity of collecting and reporting continuously through the ED the observations from two other teams to the core team

What did you find most challenging in your assignment?The EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) received numerous credible witnesses about the intent to buy votes from the two major parties In the days before the elections, the EU EOM was able to directly observe these practices and the existence of seven “corralones”, where indigenous voters were locked into areas where they got food and money to buy their vote or to prevent them to vote My team got tips concerning a complaint regard-ing the distribution of goods the day before election day by one of the par-ties It was argued that this was an intent to influence and manipulate vot-ers The team went to the local court to find out The judge could tell that the drivers of two trucks and a bus had been arrested for the distribution of food by the government According to the judge, the party argued that the reason was to make a contribution to victims that the flood left two weeks earlier To investigate and get credible information about such cases, is a very challenging task for an STO on mission

Which achievements as an election observer are you most satisfied with?Every election observation mission is different and has its peculiarities Paraguay is a country with a large and very isolated indigenous population My specialty is the electoral register and in this field it is very interesting to see the degree of electoral inclusion given to the indigenous population Although my mandate as STO does not include this kind of observation, I’m always aware of this element and every real experience gives me more knowledge

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Working in international field missions demands specialized and up-to-date pro-fessional skills and competencies, as well as flexibility to adjust to challenging and multi-cultural working environments NORDEM aims to foster motivated, ambi-tious and skilled personnel by providing relevant and interactive training and brief-ings in election observation methodology and human rights and democratization based field work Additionally, NORDEM develops course outlines and conducts trainings and workshops for external part-ners on request In 2013, NORDEM partnered with the Al Jazeera network and the International Federation of Journalists, as well as the CIMIC Centre of Excellence (CCOE) on capacity strengthening courses NORDEM conducted a five-day training workshop for Al Jazeera journalists and reporters in Doha and the annual Basic Course in Human Rights and Democratization Based Field Work for roster members and partners at Hadeland In 2013, the annual three day Election Observation Training course was not conducted as there was no recruitment process of new election observers to the roster due to a sufficient pool of election observers Recruitment of new elections observers will be conducted in 2014

Basic Course in Human Rights and Democratization Based Field Work The annual basic course in human rights and democratization based field work for roster members and partner organization staff was held from 16 – 20 September 2013 The course provided members of the NORDEM roster and other selected partici-pants with basic knowledge about democ-ratization and human rights and how to relate this to practical work in field opera-tions The basic course is an interactive training and employs varied methodologies including lectures, group-work, case stud-ies, simulations and plenary discussions Active exchange of experiences is encour-aged through interactive teaching methods

International and national highly qualified and experienced instructors lectured at the course covering topics including; human rights field work and the legal framework, democracy and governance, rules of engagement and related challenges, UNSCR 1325 and gender mainstreaming, personal safety and security awareness stress, and trauma and critical incidents A total of 27 participants took part in the course in 2013; 19 NORDEM roster mem-bers and six external participants repre-senting the OSCE in Armenia, Kosovo and Tajikistan, the Folke Bernadotte Academy and the CIMIC Centre of Excellence (CCOE) Two participants from the military sector were also invited to bring in valuable expe-rience in civilian-military co-operation

Capacity development and training


Human Rights Training for Al Jazeera Journalists In 2012, NORDEM was tasked by the For-eign Ministry to develop and hold trainings for Al Jazeera journalists in human rights and international humanitarian law In 2013, NORDEM continued the cooperation with the Al Jazeera offices in Oslo and Doha and the training was held in Doha in March bringing together around 20 Al Jazeera journalists and reporters from different branches of the Al Jazeera network The training covered issues such as protection of journalists seen from human rights and humanitarian law perspectives, war crimes and international tribunals, transitional justice, and human rights and the UN system

The training provided by NORDEM and its partners contributes towards enhancing the knowledge and awareness of these important principles among journalists working in conflict and post-conflict envi-ronments It also gives an important plat-form for exchanging knowledge and experi-ence on how journalists can contribute not only to reveal human rights violations, but also to lay the foundation for reconciliation and durable peace

Participants at the NORDEM basic course(photo: NORDEM/ Pia Skjelstad Lahntaler)

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NORDEM was once again tasked by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with hosting international delegations during the Norwegian Parliamentary elections and in September NORDEM organized an exten-sive week-long study programme for elec-toral commissions from Zimbabwe, Iraq, Nigeria and Turkmenistan One of the core objectives of the programme was to enable the participants to make their own assess-ment of the Norwegian electoral process The participants were introduced to the common international standards for demo-cratic elections and standards for interna-tional election observation and to the Norwegian political and electoral system, including the self-regulative function of the media and a visit to the Norwegian Broad-casting Cooperation On election day, the delegations observed the voting at different polling stations in Oslo and the final count at the Oslo City Hall In addition to an in-depth study of the Norwegian electoral system, the study programme was an important arena for the different election commissions to meet and discuss the core principles of democratic elections A special emphasis was also given to the experience of being observed and how Norway responded to the recom-mendations of the international observers to the local elections in 2009 This exercise showed how a country can benefit from a view from the outside

NORDEM hosted International Delegations to the Norwegian Parliamentary Elections

Members of the electoral commission in Zimbabwe (photo: Ken Opprann)


Recruitment and Roster Development

types of expertise, and also to allow for a more frequent intake to the roster, all long term positions were advertised on the NORDEM web site and through other rel-evant channels in 2013 Whether recruited for a particular position through openly available vacancies or through the roster, all personnel are recruited through a thorough and competitive screening and interview process NORDEM also facilitates recruitment for various partners by provid-ing pre-screened candidates to positions that are not financed through NORDEM Over the years, NORDEM has achieved a good gender balance in recruitment and secondments to missions In 2013, 48 percent of the secondees to long term missions were men and 52 percent women As for election observation missions more women than men were sent on mission, which is partly due to specific language requirements to some missions and the tendency that more women than men acquire skills in languages such as French and Spanish In 2013, 61 percent of the observers on mission were women and 39 percent men

NORDEM works closely with the Norwegian MFA in order to assess which positions in international organisations are relevant to achieve Norwegian foreign policy objec-tives An excellent cooperation with the receiving organisations ensures that NOR-DEM is able to identify which competencies are needed During the last years, there has been a consistent demand for Russian speaking experts in political affairs, human rights or economic and environmental affairs, and French speaking coordinators/monitors, election experts and lawyers/judges These profiles were therefore the ones sought for the main intake to the NOR-DEM roster in 2013 A total of 10 new experts were admitted to the roster in 2013 There was no new recruitment of election observers Instead, NORDEM focused on building capacity among and provide field experience to the observers recruited the previous year As positions in international organisa-tions are increasingly specialised, it is difficult to have all relevant expertise avail-able in a roster at any time In order to be able to recruit personnel with particular

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Strategic activities, outreach and networking

Two NORDEM members have been admitted to the roster so far In 2013, one was sec-onded to two missions; through NORDEM and UN Women to the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria (see above under UN Wom-en) and to an extensive internal investiga-tion in an international organisation NOR-DEM will maintain the cooperation with this important roster throughout 2014

The UN’s Review of Civilian Capacities NORDEM has continued to be an active partner to the UN CivCap-team in charge of the review of civilian capacities aimed at improving the access to qualified civilian personnel for UN missions and agencies NORDEM provided inputs to draft guide-lines on the use of Government Provided Personnel for civilian positions, responded to requests launched on the civilian capac-ity platform CapMatch, and provided feed-back on the functionality and use of this tool In meetings and seminars related to civilian capacity gaps in the UN, NORDEM provided advice and information to new actors in the field of civilian capacity and contributed to discussions on how to increase civilian presence in the UN

Throughout 2013, NORDEM continued to foster cooperation with receiving organisa-tions as well as strategic partners and actors In addition to NORDEM’s engage-ment with those networks and partners mentioned below, NORDEM actively partici-pated in forums such as the yearly OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meet-ing, the OSCE Conference on Training and Recruitment, the EU Focal Point meetings on election observation, the Eight Annual Implementation Meeting of the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, and the AFDEM strategic plan-ning workshop Moreover, NORDEM con-ducted the following field visits to secon-dees and their receiving organizations; the OSCE in Albania, the KPA, IMG and EULEX in Kosovo, MONUSCO, UNMISS and UNDP in DRC and New York

Justice Rapid Response (JRR)JRR is an intergovernmental stand-by facility providing a flexible means to access relevant, specialized investigative expertise to rapidly assist with international or nationally-led fact-finding, inquiries and investigations into mass atrocity crimes The roster has grown significantly in the last couple of years both in terms of experts on the roster and in terms of assignments


Research and Reporting The seminar Implementing Rule of Law in Development Co-operation: Does It Work? was hosted by the International Country Programmes and NORDEM on 11 June 2013 The seminar offered a variety of viewpoints shedding light on the challenges and successes of past and present rule of law projects and approach-es and identified key areas of concern for the way ahead The seminar brought together rule of law experts and practition-ers presenting their views and experiences through lectures, interactive sessions and a panel discussion NORDEM secondee and judicial adviser in the OSCE in Albania was among the four main speakers and gave a presentation on improving civil process in the courts in Albania and the potentials of the Organization for Security and Co-opera-tion in Europe (OSCE) for justice sector reform NORDEM personnel on assignments in international field operations get up-to date and hands-on experience with applied human rights and democratisation work and are exposed to continuous learning throughout their missions NORDEM places great emphasis on sharing this unique insight with relevant stakeholders and partners through presentations and brief-ings in-house and in larger forums, by invit-ing staff on mission to trainings and semi-nars as well as by drawing on their experience to produce and share reports and policy briefs on relevant topics As such, NORDEM is an important contributor, not only to the development of strategies, methodology and best practices of field missions and implementing agencies, but also to research and academic efforts as well as national policy making

NORDEM has over the years published a range of reports and papers on selected topics In 2013, the project on Electoral Quotas and the Challenges of Democratic Transition in Conflict-Ridden Societies was further developed and will result in a NORDEM special report to be published in 2014 The report is part of the project Plural Democracy, Quotas and Minorities, financed by the MFA By looking at and comparing different modalities for power sharing and how they relate to local con-texts, the aim is to assess which and to what extent political mechanisms and state institutions can contribute to peace, democratisation and sustainable develop-ment in countries suffering from internal conflicts In 2013, NORDEM published a report on the Zimbabwe constitution process “The Constitutional History and the 2013 Referendum of Zimbabwe” by election expert Kåre Vollan Vollan has followed the electoral and constitutional processes in Zimbabwe since 2002, through NORDEM and as an advisor to the Norwegian Embassy in Harare The Constitutional Referendum of Zimbabwe on 16 March 2013 marked the end of a lengthy process to pass a new constitution The report pro-vides an overview of the electoral and con-stitutional history of Zimbabwe after inde-pendence, with a more in depth description of the developments in the period from 2008 to the referendum Vollan also assessed the first elections to be held after the new constitution was adopted and pre-sented his analysis in a report that will be published in 2014

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Celebrating 20 years of promoting human rights and democratisation

Human Rights, made the final remarks before people gathered for a reception and informal gathering

On the occasion, NORDEM also launched the NORDEM anniversary report, written by feature journalist Kristine Grønhaug, pro-viding insight into the establishment in 1993, NORDEM’s role and impact over the years, feature stories from current and past NORDEM missions and activities, and inter-views with key partners and NORDEM mem-bers NORDEM would like to thank all the contributors, guests and participants who made the event a memorable celebration of NORDEM’s 20 years of work in providing civilian capacity in human rights and democratisation world wide

NORDEM’s celebration of its 20th anniver-sary was held on Friday 22 November at Litteraturhuset in Oslo More than 100 guests, among them past and current NORDEM roster members and key national and international partners, participated in the event that reflected NORDEM’s work over the last 20 years The event was opened by NORDEM Director Marianne Kvan followed by a speech by Foreign Minister Børge Brende, an account of NORDEM’s 20 years history and highlights and two panel discussions “Transitioning to democracy International Institutional Support- Contribution or Curse” and “Inter-national Election observation – Does it lead to better elections?” Nils Butenschøn, Director at the Norwegian Centre for

Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende with the NORDEM anniversary report(photo: Christian B. Astrup)

This is NORDEMNORDEM, the Norwegian Resource Bank for Democracy-and Human Rights, is a civilian-capacity provider specialising in human rights and democrati-sation support.

NORDEM’s main objective is to enhance the capacity of inter-national organisations and national authorities to promote democracy and human rights.

NORDEM’s expertise includes good governance, democratic institutions, independence of the judiciary, judicial and legal reform, human rights, election observation and election assistance.

NORDEM recruits, trains and deploys qualified personnel to roughly 15 international orga-nisations and operations that work in the field of human rights and democratisation.

NORDEM aims towards gender balance in recruitment and deployment. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the UN and the EU are some of NORDEM’s main partners.

NORDEM manages a standby roster of approximately 250 experts who have completed more than 2,000 assignments since 1993.

NORDEM publishes special reports and manuals.

NORDEM’s annual courses on human rights, democratisation and election observation inte-grate both practical and acade-mic perspectives. NORDEM also develops and conducts specialised courses.

NORDEM supports several international mechanisms and collaborates with a number of organisations that provide civilian capacity. In addition, NORDEM offers advice, sup-ports the transfer of knowledge and experience and contributes to research.

NORDEM is fully financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is a pro-gramme at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights at the University of Oslo.

Contact NORDEM:NORDEM email: [email protected]

Follow us:NORDEM Twitter: @NORDEMCivCapNORDEM LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/nordem_civcapNORDEM web: www.jus.uio.no/smr/english/about/programmes/nordem