Legal Information Officer - Lebanon Programme

Legal Action Worldwide (LAW) is a unique non-profit network and think tank of lawyers which provides creative legal assistance in fragile and conflict-affected areas and places national lawyers at the forefront of legal change. LAW uses advocacy, research, legal empowerment and strategies to bring about this change. LAW’s thematic focuses include: Addressing Sexual and Gender based Violence; Accountability; Natural Resource Exploitation/displacement; and Transitional Justice. LAW’s Advisory Council and Board are comprised of senior international lawyers who advise LAW on the development of innovative casework and legal strategies. LAW’s ground-breaking work has received international media coverage, including in the New York Times, the Times of London, the Guardian, Al-Jazeera, France24, Voice of America, Huffington Post and Foreign Policy.

Dealing with the Past Lebanon’s 15-year civil war waged from 1975 until 1990, which involved a range of local and international actors, two parallel occupations by Israel and Syria, and a string of high-profile assassinations. According to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), 75% of Lebanese citizens have personally lived through armed conflict with 96% of citizens having been affected in some way, whether personally or through the wider consequences of armed conflict. Lebanon’s civil war led to the deaths of over 100,000 civilians and the disappearance of approximately 17,000. A general amnesty law that was introduced in 1991 precluded the legal prosecution of war crimes and created discriminatory and unequal legal protections based on status. Women have been severely impacted by periods of conflict in Lebanon. The 2006 International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which Lebanon has signed but not yet ratified, identifies both the disappeared as well as their family as victims of enforced disappearance.

Women make up the minority of the disappeared but are disproportionately affected as most family members of the disappeared, who suffer socioeconomic and psychological disadvantages following the loss of a male family member who is often the main source of income. Wives and children of the disappeared cannot ‘forgive and forget’ and the life-long nature of this violation is well-established. Gender-sensitive approaches to transitional justice are thus needed. The project is funded by UN Women and will focus on women victims and survivors from the civil war until current time. The project will offer psychosocial support, legal assistance and avenues for storytelling to empower and enable survivors to express their experiences and to address their legal and psychosocial needs. 

LAW will design and implement tailored capacity-building programmes for legal assistance NGOs, paralegals and lawyers on psychological and legal requirements of evidence gathering with survivors of gender-based crimes. LAW seeks an enthusiastic/ dynamic Legal Information Officer to support the Lebanon Programme. S/he must be able to work individually and remotely as well as be able to coordinate and work closely within a team.

Reports to: Project Lawyer

Duration: End of August 2021

Location: Beirut, Lebanon, with internal travels

Hours: Full-time / 40 Hours per week

Functions/Key Deliverables Expected:

The Legal Information Officer has the following responsibilities:

▪ Provide free legal information and awareness to the eligibility and intake criteria of the

programme;

▪ Overall responsibility of the outreach work;

▪ Participate in regular trainings and workshops related to project activities;

• Provide free legal information and awareness to survivors of conflict related sexual

violence, gender based violence and other injustice since the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil

War.

• Conduct outreach and awareness sessions for survivors of CRSV, gender based violence

and other injustices committed during the civil war until now;

• Attend training and capacity building events as requested by the Programme Manager;

• Attend regular meetings with supervising lawyers to report on progress, observations and

lessons learned.

• Write regular activity reports and other reporting as required and agreed with Project

Lawyer;

• Ensure data and files are up to date and in accordance with LAW standards including

attendance sheets, consent forms, expense reports and other documents required for the

implementation of the activities;

• Coordinate with the procurement/logistics departments for the office supplies, fill purchase

requests, and ensure the correct documentation is submitted to the Finance department;

• Other tasks as assigned by the line manager.

Experience, Skills and Qualifications Required:

• Either completed or currently completing a Bachelor degree in Law;

• Excellent written and spoken Arabic;

• Previous experience providing legal assistance and awareness;

Desired:

• Excellent written and spoken English

• Previous work with humanitarian/development NGO

• Previous experience with survivors of SGBV; Previous experience working with the

police and/or a good relationship with the police stations

• Knowledge and experience of criminal law, procedure, and/or human rights law;

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Travel within the country will be required.

Deadline for applications: 31 August 2020

Start date: September 2020

How to Apply:

Please email a CV and statement of interest in English on or before 31st of August

2020 to: Recruitment@legalactionworldwide.org.

The subject of the application should read ‘Dealing with the Past – Legal Information

Officer’.

• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews.

• LAW is an equal opportunity employer.

• Women are particularly encouraged to apply.