Human rights advisers are deployed at the request of UN Resident Coordinators on behalf of the UNCTs. Advisers support and assist the Resident Coordinators, Heads of UN agencies and members of UNCTs to integrate human rights in their programming strategies and on its implementation as well as to build and strengthen national human rights capacities. Other functions include: advising and providing training to independent national human rights institutions and other stakeholders; advising State actors on the promotion and protection of human rights and other UN norms and standards; building networks with, and providing practical support to, civil society actors; providing operational support to human rights training and/or national capacity-building activities; promoting engagement with the international human rights mechanisms; and when applicable, advising on integrating human rights in humanitarian response and post-crisis recovery processes.
Human rights advisers are normally funded through extrabudgetary contributions. In some instances, cost-sharing agreements have been concluded with UNDP or relevant UNCTs and other UN entities at the country level.
Since 2013, new HRA deployments are carried out under the framework of the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) Human Rights Mainstreaming Mechanism (UNDG-HRM)* co-chaired by OHCHR and funded through a Multi-Donor Trust Fund to support the implementation of the 2012 UNDG strategy for the deployment of new human rights advisers.
By mid-2016 OHCHR had deployed 19 Advisers in Chad, Dominican Republic*, Jamaica*, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi*, Mozambique* Nigeria* ,Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines*, Rwanda, Sierra Leone*, Southern Caucasus (Tbilisi), Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, Thailand (UNDG Asia-Pacific, Bangkok)*, Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Details on the individual field presences can be found in the relevant sections of the Office Management Plan 2014-2017.