Translation/Transliteration of Text from Sinhala to English
Organizational Context
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) works to strengthen international human rights mechanisms, enhance equality, combat impunity, and integrate human rights into development. The OHCHR's mandate in Sri Lanka, reinforced by Human Rights Council resolutions, focuses on preserving and analysing evidence of violations to advance accountability and support judicial processes. This involves collecting, consolidating, and preserving information related to gross human rights violations and serious international humanitarian law breaches.
Job Purpose
This assignment supports OHCHR's efforts in Sri Lanka by providing essential translation and transliteration services. The volunteer will translate Sinhala-language documents related to human rights into English, ensuring accuracy and adherence to OHCHR standards. This role is crucial for collecting, analysing, and preserving evidence of human rights violations, contributing directly to accountability processes and victim advocacy. The volunteer will gain insight into how language support aids human rights documentation and analysis, while also enhancing their own translation skills and knowledge of human rights terminology within a UN context.
Responsibilities
The Online Volunteer will translate and transliterate selected Sinhala-language documents related to human rights into English. Key duties include reviewing documents to identify and extract relevant information, ensuring translations are accurate, faithful to the original, concise, and consistent with OHCHR formatting and terminology. The volunteer will also conduct quality assurance reviews of other translations as requested, communicate regularly with the project lead, and promptly report any issues. Strict confidentiality and adherence to UN information security and data protection policies are paramount. The role supports OHCHR's mandate to collect, analyse, and preserve evidence for accountability processes in Sri Lanka.
Work Experience
Prior experience in managing confidential materials is essential. While not strictly required, familiarity with technical terms related to human rights and previous translation experience are considered advantageous. The role requires native proficiency in Sinhala and fluency in English.
Skills
Native proficiency in Sinhala and fluent English are required. Knowledge of Tamil is desirable. The volunteer must be able to ensure accuracy, faithfulness, conciseness, and consistency in translations. Strong communication skills and the ability to handle information with strict confidentiality are essential. Familiarity with human rights terminology is advantageous.