Internship - Victims and Witnesses Section - Psychological Support Unit

Contract Duration

Interns are required to work full time for a period of six months (to be agreed to prior to commencement). Internship placements shall not be extended beyond six months.

Organisational Context

In accordance with article 43 paragraph 6 of the Rome Statute, the Victims and Witnesses Section  (VWS) shall provide protective measures and security arrangements, counselling and other appropriate assistance for witnesses and victims who appear before the Court and to others who are at risk on account of testimony given by such witnesses. The Section, placed within the Registry, may advise the Prosecutor and the Court on appropriate protective measures, security arrangements, counselling and assistance as referred to in article 43, paragraph 6.

The Section is responsible for ensuring that the witnesses appear in the court appropriately protected and supported, without suffering from any psychological or physical harm as a result of their involvement with the Court and as scheduled by the Chambers. Furthermore, the Section is responsible for the management of the ICC Protection Programme and may cooperate with States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in providing any of the protection and support measures stipulated by the Statute.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Conduct background research on a wide variety of matters to support the work of the Psychological Support Unit of the VWS
• Assist in drafting reports and analyses on assigned topics
• Assist in the implementation of the witness feedback project
• Draft minutes of meetings
• Assist with the informal translation of documents
• Conduct general administration tasks
• Any other task as entrusted by the Head of the Team or Chief of Section

The internship will take place entirely in the HQ and aims at supporting the Psychological Support Team in its tasks.

Required Qualifications

Education

In addition to the general eligibility requirements of the ICC’s Internship Programme, candidates must have a degree or be in the final stages of their studies in clinical or forensic psychology or related field. Candidates are expected to have a very good record of academic performance.

Work Experience:

Internship placements focus on candidates in the early stages of their professional careers therefore; practical experience is not an essential prerequisite for selection. However, relevant work experience or academic research in relation to handling victims of armed conflict, especially victims of sexual violence or former child soldiers, would be an asset.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to work with persons from a wide range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, including victims of sexual violence, children, the elderly and disabled persons; Experience in working with vulnerable persons is considered an asset.
• Good oral and written communication skills.
• Skills in drafting reports and conducting research.
• IT software/research skills are considered an asset.
• Adaptability to an international, multicultural and multilingual working environment.
• Ability to work effectively in a team as well as independently.
• A very good standard of computer literacy (especially Microsoft Office applications)
• Other important qualities are discretion and respect of confidentiality, a strong ethical attitude, reliability, intellectual rigor, precision, perseverance, honesty, creativity, co-operative spirit and integrity.

Languages:

Proficiency in one of the working languages of the Court, French or English, is required. Working knowledge of the other is highly desirable.

Other criteria:

In line with the ICC’s efforts to improve geographical representation among staff, nationals of the countries listed below are strongly encouraged to apply.

Non-represented or under-represented countries at the ICC as of 30 November 2019: Afghanistan, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Gabon, Germany, Grenada, Guyana, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Jordan, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, Namibia, Nauru, North Macedonia, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Republic of Korea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Seychelles, Slovakia, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zambia.

Remuneration

Please note that the ICC is not able to provide all participants in the Internship and Visiting Professional Programme with remuneration, nor is it possible to provide reimbursement for expenses incurred during the internship or visiting professional placement.

Applicants should therefore be able to support themselves for the duration of their internship or placement. 

Limited funding may, however, be available through the ICC’s Trust Fund for the Development of Interns and Visiting Professionals, which receives donations from States Parties and other donors to fund nationals of States Parties from developing regions. These donations are equally divided between the four Organs of the Court.

If funding is available, the Human Resources Section shall assess a candidate’s eligibility in accordance with the terms of reference of the Trust Fund as agreed by the donors. 

In order to be eligible, the applicant must, among other criteria, be a national from a country that is a State Party to the Rome Statue and appears on the United Nations Statistics Division’s list of developing regions.

Candidates eligible for funding shall receive detailed information and further instructions after the selection process is finalized. Stipends will always be agreed at the time of offering the internship. No funding will be provided at a later stage.