The increasing presence of UN human rights staff across the globe, the detailed information that they collect, and the expanding number of human rights venues that their information is being fed into is rapidly changing the profession and perceptions of UN Human Rights Officers. One outcome of these changes is that Human Rights Officers, who report to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, are gaining greater potential for influencing how governments and non-governmental organizations respond to human rights abuses. Yet, at the same time, Human Rights Officers are not provided with a pre-deployment training program that prepares them for what they are about to experience when they start working in some of the most dangerous areas of the world. This article explains not only why pre-deployment monitoring training should be put in place as soon as possible, but it sketches out a training program that corresponds to the changing roles, responsibilities, and influence of Human Rights Officers and the implications that these changes have on their work. More specifically, this article proposes that training should focus on providing simulated real-life scenarios that aim to professionalize and, in some instances, standardize monitoring and advocacy methodologies and techniques.
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