Open Source Intelligence Support to Human Rights Monitoring

Under Resolution 2677 (2023), the Security Council determined that the situation in South Sudan continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the region. The Council extended the UNMISS mandate until 15 March 2024. It also emphasized that the Mission should continue advancing its three-year strategic vision defined in resolution 2567 (2021) to prevent a return to civil war, build durable peace and support inclusive, accountable governance as well as free, fair and peaceful elections in accordance with the Revitalized Peace Agreement. Under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, UNMISS is therefore authorized to use all necessary means to implement its mandate which includes: (a) Protection of civilians (b) Creating conditions conducive to the delivery of humanitarian assistance (c) Supporting the Implementation of the Revitalised Agreement and the Peace Process (d) Monitoring, investigating, and reporting on violations of humanitarian and human rights law The overall ceiling for uniformed personnel is maintained at 17,000 troops and 2,101 police, including 88 corrections officers. Please refer to https://unmiss.unmissions.org/mandate for more information.

The Human Rights Division of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan uses Open Source Intelligence to complement field-based human rights monitoring, strengthen early warning analysis, and support evidence-based reporting. Open source information from conflict event datasets, academic databases, and credible public platforms is systematically reviewed and integrated into internal analytical tools. The Online Volunteers will support the structured collection, verification, and organization of open source information to strengthen analysis and contribute to the preparation of the half-yearly human rights report. · Systematic compilation of relevant conflict and human rights-related incidents from designated open source databases on a bi-weekly basis. · Structured data entry into the Open Source Intelligence platform using agreed templates and classification standards. · Monthly summary notes highlighting trends, patterns, and emerging risks identified through open source data. · Consolidated analytical inputs for inclusion in the half-yearly human rights report. · Documentation of sources and metadata to ensure traceability and transparency.

Under the supervision of the Human Rights Division, the Online Volunteers will collect relevant data and information from established open source platforms, including ACLED, Uppsala Conflict Data Program datasets, academic conflict databases, and other credible public sources. The volunteers will review, extract, and organize relevant incidents and contextual information into the Division’s Open Source Intelligence platform in accordance with established classification and documentation standards. They will support basic data cleaning, cross-referencing, and consistency checks, and assist analytical teams in preparing inputs for the half-yearly human rights report.