UN Women, Consultant, COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF UN PROGRAMMING & FUNDING ON WOMEN'S ACCESS TO JUSTICE IN CONFLICT AND POST-CONFLICT CONTEXTS
Application deadline - April 30, 2012. Please submit CVs to nahla.valji(at)unwomen.org
crossposted from Transitional Justice Listserv and from the Peace and Collaborative Development Network, http://internationalpeaceandconflict.org
CONSULTANT Terms of Reference
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF UN PROGRAMMING & FUNDING ON WOMEN'S ACCESS TO JUSTICE IN CONFLICT AND POST-CONFLICT CONTEXTS
OBJECTIVES
UN Women, as a member entity of the UN Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group (RoLCRG), will be hiring a senior-level consultant to conduct a comprehensive review of all relevant UN entities' current programming and funding at both headquarters and field-level on women's access to justice in conflict and post-conflict settings. This review will expand on an initial mapping which had a limited focus on mapping engagement by RoLCRG entities at headquarters level in this area.
The purpose of the comprehensive review is to propose concrete measures for implementing post-conflict access to justice recommendations as outlined in key UN documents, including in particular:
i) UN Women's 2011 Report, Progress of the World's Women: In Pursuit of Justice;
ii) The 2011 Report of the Secretary-General on the rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies[S/2011/634]; and
iii) The 2010 Report of the Secretary-General on women's participation in peacebuilding [A/65/354-S/2010/466]
The review will also enable a better understanding of the scope and impact of UN programming in this area with a view to increasing such programming and funding. Additionally, the review will feed into the development of the draft of a guidance note on women's access to justice post-conflict
BACKGROUND
Access to justice and the equal application of the rule of law is a pre-requisite for the realization and protection of women's rights. Effective judicial and legal systems not only ensure the protection and advancement of women's rights, but can provide an enabling environment to address discriminatory practices which impede development. From a women's human rights and rule of law perspective, at no time is legal protection more necessary, or more fragile, than during and in the immediate aftermath of conflicts when women's experiences of insecurity and violations often continue unabated.
Countries emerging from armed conflicts or civil unrest are often characterized by weak or dysfunctional justice systems. The challenge of rebuilding institutional infrastructure, limited human and resource capacity, and unregulated security sector including the proliferation of non-state security actors and small arms, fragmented legal frameworks, widespread impunity and parallel legal systems make the restoration of the rule of law a formidable challenge. Ending impunity for sexual and gender-based violence and asserting women's access to the full range of rights, including their equal access to property, land and inheritance are some of the most challenging yet fundamental conditions for the restoration of the rule of law post-conflict.
In the past decade, there has been increased awareness in the UN system that women and girls are differentially impacted by conflict and its aftermath. This has informed greater attention in the development of rule of law interventions to measures that specifically address women's justice and security concerns. There have been numerous efforts to reform discriminatory legislation, draft gender-sensitive constitutions, overcome the social and institutional barriers to justice for women and end impunity for sexual and gender-based violence crimes. Important as these efforts have been, there remains limited coordination or overall guidance on good practices for securing women's access to justice post-conflict as well as limited information on the impacts of past efforts to date. The 2011 report of the Secretary-General on 'The rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post-conflict societies' [S/2011/634] emphasizes the need for a significant increase in funding for women's access to justice programmes; incorporating socio-economic rights violations; and promoting women's meaningful participation in transitional justice mechanisms. Achieving the implementation of these recommendations will require first a clear understanding of the UN's own initiatives in this area to inform guidance on coordination and increased efforts. This is similarly reinforced by the recommendations of the 2010 Secretary-General's report on 'Women's Participation in Peacebuilding' and UN Women's 2011 report 'Progress of the World's Women: In Pursuit of Justice'
SUMMARY OF DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
To contribute to taking forward the recommendations of the reports of the Secretary-General on the 'Rule of Law and Transitional Justice in conflict and post-conflict societies' (2011) and 'Women's Participation in Peacebuilding' (2010), as well as UN Women's report 'Progress on the Status of the World's Women', UN Women and UNDP, in consultation with OHCHR, will undertake a comprehensive review of all programming and funding in the UN system on women's access to justice conflict and post-conflict. The comprehensive review will outline recommendations on strengthening the UN's role and coordination in this area, include comparative data on the amount of resources spent on initiatives aimed at strengthening women's access to justice, including addressing specific obstacles, and contribute to informing UN Women's own programming on access to justice. In addition, draft guidance will be developed on women's access to justice in conflict and post-conflict situations.
SPECIFIC DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Under the supervision of UN Women's Programme Specialist, Rule of Law and Transitional Justice, the Senior Consultant will undertake the following tasks:
i) Mapping all relevant UN entities' current and planned programming at headquarters and field level on women's access to justice post-conflict, and
ii) Mapping all relevant UN entities' funding, at headquarters and field level, of initiatives targeting women's access to justice post-conflict.
With a view to:
Elaborating recommendations for strengthening UN coordination in this area;
Gathering comparative data on the amount of financial resources spent on initiatives specifically aimed at strengthening women's access to justice post-conflict (including addressing specific obstacles to access) in relation to overall rule of law and justice spending;
Elaborating recommendations to strengthen the UN's role in furthering gender-sensitive rule of law post-conflict; and
Informing UN Women's programming for women's access to justice as outlined in the recommendations of UN Women's Progress Report (2011).
iii) Develop a Draft Guidance Note on strengthening women's access to justice post-conflict, including through transitional justice mechanisms.
DELIVERABLES
Interview protocol and methodology for research to be developed in consultation with UN Women and RoLCRG partners
First draft report including a comprehensive matrix of the findings of the mapping exercises, as well as a narrative summary. The report shall include recommendations for strengthening UN coordination and programming, and provide an analysis of the funding in this area to date (due by day 20 of the consultancy).
Final report (5 working days)
Completed Draft Guidance Note as indicated above (10 working dates - non-consecutive and to be negotiated upon start of contract).
QUALIFICATIONS
Academic expertise: Advanced degree in law, relevant social sciences, political science/ international affairs, international development studies, gender/women's studies, human rights or a related field.
Technical expertise: Experience conducting research on issues of rule of law and transitional justice from a gendered perspective; familiarity with the UN, in particular rule of law and transitional justice programming; and proven writing skills.
Work experience: Minimum 10 years experience in the area of rule of law and transitional justice. Experience in programming and familiarity with the UN preferred. Excellent writing and communication skills.
Languages: Fluency in English is required. Other official UN languages would be an asset.
OTHER
Duty Station: Home based with possible travel for one week to New York
Commencement Date: May 15, 2012
Duration of Contract: 40 days
Type of Contract: SSA
