Field Assistant – Jaffna

For two decades, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has been helping make the world safer from drugs, organized crime, corruption and terrorism. We are committed to achieving health, security and justice for all by tackling these threats and promoting peace and sustainable well-being as deterrents to them.

Because the scale of these problems is often too great for states to confront alone, UNODC offers practical assistance and encourages transnational approaches to action. We do this in all regions of the world through our global programmes and network of field offices.

The Office is committed to supporting Member States in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at its core. The 2030 Agenda clearly recognizes that the rule of law and fair, effective and humane justice systems, as well as health-oriented responses to drug use, are both enablers for and part of sustainable development.

The UNODC Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP) supports member states to respond to challenges affecting maritime domain. The mission of the UNODC GMCP is to improve the capabilities of member states through the improvement of the entire criminal justice systems to prevent, interdict, investigate, and prosecute maritime crime, through a sound rule of law framework and effective international cooperation.  The Programme focuses on each element of the criminal justice chain, including prevention, deterrence, detection/interdiction, investigation, prosecution, adjudication, detention, and regional cooperation. In doing so, GMCP develops, inter alia, targeted assessments and operational analyses, and supports capacity building and infrastructure development for relevant agencies.

Recently, UNODC GMCP has emphasized the critical need for a deeper understanding of trafficking in persons within the fisheries sector of the Eastern Indian Ocean as well as the opportunities to combat these crimes in the region. Trafficking in person in the fisheries sector not only jeopardizes vulnerable populations, women and girls, often disproportionately affected, face unique vulnerabilities in this sector, contributing to gender-specific exploitation patterns. Therefore, addressing these crimes requires a gender-sensitive approach to protect and empower all individuals, ensuring interventions are inclusive and effective.

To this end, UNODC GMCP has initiated an operational analysis on trafficking in persons (TiP) in the fisheries sector within the South Asian littoral States. This assignment aims to support the data collection for this analysis focusing on identifying potential patterns of TiP within the fisheries sector, with particular attention to its gender dimensions and related dynamics. The objective is to deepen the understanding of the range of vulnerability factors and forms of exploitation impacting individuals in this sector.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the UNODC GMCP IOE Programme Support Officer for Sri Lanka, and overall direction of Regional Programme Coordinator of UNODC GMCP-IOE team, The Community UN Volunteer is expected to perform the following tasks:

Engage with and interview fishing communities to gather data on labor practices, the role of women, and any potential trafficking indicators in distant-water fleets at sea.

Ensure accurate recording of interviews, using the questionnaires developed by UNODC GMCP. This would help the UNVs in collecting information on the local challenges in the fisheries sector (focusing on economic conditions, recruitment practices, labour conditions and other vulnerabilities potentially leading to TiP), as well as the such as exposure to gender-based violence, including harassment and abuse).

Collaborate with Labor inspectors and conduct interviews with them to understand their role in monitoring labor conditions and preventing exploitation and gather information on the frequency and effectiveness of inspections in fisheries and fish-processing areas.

Document any local practices that could be linked to trafficking at sea, such as the exploitation through recruitment, sexual exploitation or gender-based violence.

Provide feedback on the challenges faced during field interviews and any key trends observed.

Work closely with local organizations to ensure that information is shared in a culturally sensitive manner.

Participate in debriefing sessions to discuss findings and assist in compiling data for the final study report.