Background

The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is a significant document for the protection and promotion of human rights of women. Therefore, the Convention is often described as International Bill of Rights for Women. With the primary objective to eliminate discrimination against women and to ensure equality between men and women, the Convention, was adopted on the 18th of December 1979 by the General Assembly of the UN and entered into force from 3rd September 1981[1]. CEDAW was established and adopted to recognize, protect and preserve women’s human rights. Its main objective is to eliminate all kinds of discriminatory practices against women on the basis of gender. It seeks to achieve equality between both sexes in all aspects of life, be it private or public, through providing equal opportunity in, and access to, all the different areas and fields of a society. The Convention also recognizes the significance of women becoming active and productive participants in society, and aims at reflecting this recognition upon individuals, institutions and governments in the regions.

CEDAW is the most important treaty which establishes minimum universal standard of women's human rights to which all countries must abide by. The strength of the CEDAW lies in the fact that it provides a standard definition of equality and non-discrimination, which can serve as an analytical framework to address the persistent nature of inequality. States parties’ commitments and obligation upon signature and ratification of the Convention are as follows:

• To incorporate the principle of equality of men and women in their legal system, abolish all discriminatory laws and adopt appropriate ones prohibiting discrimination against women;
• To establish tribunals and other public institutions to ensure the effective protection of women against discrimination; and
• To ensure elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by persons, organizations or enterprises.

As all international Conventions create certain obligation to the state party, state parties of the CEDAW Convention are liable to implement the obligations under the CEDAW Convention. It requires the state parties to periodically submit the report on the implementation of the obligations under the Convention to the CEDAW Committee (under Article 18 of the Convention). The Committee, through reporting, assesses whether state party has fulfilled its obligation or not, analyze national laws, administrative rules, procedures and policies according to the standard set by the Convention and receive information relating to actual status of the implementation of each Article of the Convention. The state party of the Convention has to submit two types of reports i.e. Initial and Periodic reports within a year after its entry into force and then at least every four years thereafter or whenever the CEDAW Committee so requests. These reports include the progress made in legislative, judiciary, administrative and other activities undertaken for the implementation of the Convention. Following consideration of each State Party report, the CEDAW Committee formulates concluding comments which outline factors and difficulties affecting the implementation of the Convention for that State party - positive aspects, principal areas of concern and suggestions and recommendations to enhance implementation of the Convention.

Justification:

Nepal ratified CEDAW Convention without any reservation on 22 April, 1991 and Optional Protocol to CEDAW on 15 June 2007. After ratification of the Convention, Nepal submitted its Initial Report to the Committee in 1997. Nepal presented this Report during the 434th and 439th session of the Committee in January 1999. Similarly, Nepal submitted its Second and Third Periodic Reports (Combined) to the Committee in October 2002. This report was reviewed during the 630th and 631st session of the Committee. Likewise, Nepal submitted its Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports (Combined) to the Committee in July 2009. This report was previewed during the 989th and 990th session of the Committee on 20 July 2011. The CEDAW Committee in their  Concluding Observations on Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports (Combined) of Nepal requested the Government of Nepal (GON) to provide within two years, written information on the steps undertaken to implement the recommendations contained in paragraphs 26 and 36 of the full text of Concluding Observations On behalf of the GON, Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MOWCSW) submitted written information on 9 December 2013 mentioning no steps were undertaken to implement the recommendations in the absence of parliament. The Government is preparing the written information report and is also initiating the process to draft its next periodic report to the Committee. The MOWCSW is the nodal Ministry within the GON for monitoring the implementation of provisions related to the CEDAW and reporting on the same to the CEDAW Committee. The MOWCSW and UN Women signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2013 for a five year period where both the parties have agreed to collaborate to advance women’s rights and gender equality The MOU clearly highlights supporting CEDAW implementation and monitoring.  UN Women is committed to supporting the MOWCSW with technical expertise to draft its next periodic report to the CEDAW Committee. The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Joint Secretary of MOWCSW and the Deputy Representative of UN Women Nepal and in close coordination with the Governance and National Planning Unit of UN Women Nepal.

Objective of the Assignment:

The purpose of the assignment is to support the MOWCSW to draft CEDAW the sixth periodic report detailing progress of the implementation of CEDAW commitments by the Government of Nepal. The specific objectives of this assignment are to:

• Assess progress on the implementation of CEDAW Committee’s concluding observations on fourth and fifth periodic reports (combined) of Nepal on CEDAW;
• Prepare a comprehensive CEDAW periodic report in line with the reporting guidelines set out by the CEDAW committee.

[1]A total of 187 countries, out of 194 countries, have ratified the treaty whereas 7 countries have not ratified the CEDAW, including United States of America, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and two small Pacific island nations- Palau and Tonga  

http://www.cedaw2011.org/index.php/about-cedaw/cedaw-by-the-numbers.

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Functions and Responsibilities:

The national consultant is expected to undertake, but not limited to the following tasks:

• Carry out a desk review on  relevant documents Orient line ministries on CEDAW committee concluding observation (2011);
• Liaise with the Nodal Officials in Ministries/Departments and collect disaggregated data/ information on implementation of laws and policies and areas of concern at the National and local level from respective Ministries/Departments  in relation to the CEDAW commitments and CEDAW committee recommendations;
• Draft specific questions to facilitate response from line ministries;
• Consult with various women’s and human rights organizations on the steps undertaken in line with the CEDAW commitments and CEDAW Committee Concluding Observations;
• Support MOWCSW to organize and facilitate consultations targeting key partners in order to gather key progress at the national level;
• Identify the gaps, challenges, lesson learned, and additional data required;
• Prepare a first draft of the CEDAW periodic report in light of the findings of the desk review and the consultations;
• Support MOWCSW to organize a consultative workshop with the government and relevant stakeholders to present the first draft of the report;
• Prepare a draft final report incorporating the inputs from the consultations, relevant stakeholders and experts  and submit to MOWCSW.

Methodology:

• Review of documents, data and information;
• Consultations/meetings;
• Interviews/focus group discussions among key stakeholders.

Key Deliverables:

The consultant will be responsible to deliver the following:

• Consultation/meeting minutes;
• A comprehensive draft sixth periodic report on CEDAW  implementation  for the period;
• Power point presentation on the report;
• Final comprehensive sixth periodic report in hard and soft copy in English and Nepali, which should follow the check-list provided by CEDAW committee (attached in annex-1). The length of report must be maximum 40 pages (A4 size paper, 1.5 line spacing and Times New Roman Font).

Monitoring and Reporting:

The consultant will be responsible to share progress updates and with the supervisors (Joint Secretary, MOWCSW and UN Women Deputy Representative) on a monthly basis.

A focal point in the MOWCSW will be nominated to facilitate co-ordination in the collection of data and information; interface between the consultant and the MOWCSW; and relevant line Ministries/Departments.

All the deliverables mentioned in section III are to be written in English, and the draft sixth periodic report on CEDAW  implementation in both Nepali and English  and submitted to the MOWCSW and UN Women in hard and soft copy in the due date, as per the following timeframe:

• Draft report and presentation to the Inter Ministerial Committee: by 31 December 2014.
• Final report to submit to the Secretary of the MOWCSW:  by 30 January 2015.

Schedule and Mode of Payment:

The payment schedule for the consultant will be as follows:

• Upon signing of the contract and submission of detailed work plan to UN Women- 20% of total contract amount;
• Upon submission of first draft report to the MoWCSW and UN Women, 60% of total contract amount; and
• Upon completion and approval of all deliverables by the MoWCSW and UN Women – 20% of the total contract.

The payment will be made by UN Women to the Consultant’s bank account as mentioned in the vendor form. 

Competencies

Core Values/Guiding Principles

Integrity:

• Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

• Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

• Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff;
• Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies

Ethics and Values:

• Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Development and Innovation:

• Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

Work in teams:

• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

• Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

• Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.

Conflict Management:

• Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

• Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

• Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies

• Excellent  knowledge of CEDAW and its  monitoring and reporting mechanisms;
• Good knowledge of violence against women, gender equality, human rights, rule of law, and other gender related issues.
• Strong familiarity with the national and international instruments on human rights, women’s rights and gender equality (BPfA, ICPD) and Nepal’s commitments to these instruments;
• Good knowledge of Government’s women empowerment programmes and its processes and systems;
• Proven ability to undertake assessments and prepare high level quality reports particularly state party reports for treaty bodies like CEDAW, CRC, UPR etc.;
• Proven ability to establish, build and sustain effective relationships with government agencies, development partners, civil society organizations and women’s rights and human rights organizations along with community level women groups;
• Proven expertise on research, report writing, presentation, and facilitation and documentation, especially for state party reporting.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in Law or related discipline.

Experiences: 

• At least 10 years of relevant work experience on gender and the relevant focus area of CEDAW at the national, regional and/or international level;
• Strong knowledge on the UN treaty bodies and its reporting system and previous experience in drafting official reports for government like periodic reports on CEDAW, BPfA, CSW and other state party reports for treaty bodies from Nepal.
• Experience in facilitating high level meetings and consultation workshops.
• Sound and extensive knowledge on the CEDAW, its periodic reports, concluding observations of CEDAW committee towards the periodic reports;
• Excellent research, writing, presentation, facilitation and documentation skills.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in both written and oral English and Nepali is required. 

Document Requirements:

Interested consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work (maximum of two pages);
• Provide a brief methodology on how they will conduct the work;
• Financial proposal indicating a total lump sum for the delivery of outputs as per above description. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (consultancy fee per number of anticipated working days, translation and editing, local and any other possible costs);
• Completed UN Women Personal History (P11) form that can be downloaded from http://www.unwomensouthasia.org/about-us/careers-2/.

Note:

Only applications that include financial proposal will be considered.

The consultant fee will be as per UN Nepal consultant fee guidelines taking into consideration the requirement of position’s education and experiences.

Assessment Method:  

The candidates will be evaluated in three stages: according to minimum qualification, technical and financial evaluation. 

Technical evaluation criteria (including minimum qualifications):

• Master’s degree in law or related discipline- (Max 10 points);
• Years of professional on gender and the relevant focus area of CEDAW at the national, regional and/or international level - (Max 15 points);
• Years of experience in drafting official reports for government like periodic reports for treaty bodies (Max 20 points); i.e. 1-2 years- 10; 3-5 years-15; and more than 5 years- 20 points;
• Experience in facilitating high level meetings and consultation workshops; (Max 10 points); i.e. 1-2 years- 6; 3-5 years-9; and more than 5 years- 10 points;
• Language skills (fluency in English) - (Max 15 points); i.e. quality of English language will be assessed based on the submitted reference materials.

Note:

Links or the PDF of supporting materials need to be send along with the proposal in email address:  jobs.np@unwomen.org.

Maximum total technical score amounts to 70 points. Only candidates who have passed over the mandatory criteria and have accumulated at least 49 points under the technical evaluation will qualify to the next round of the financial evaluation.

Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 30

• S - score received on financial evaluation;
• Fmin - the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round;
• F - Financial offer under the consideration.

Winning candidate

The Winning candidate will be the candidate, who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical scoring + financial scoring).

How to Apply:  

Interested Nepali citizens should apply for the vacancy, using the “Personal History Form - P 11” which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomensouthasia.org/about-us/careers-2/ with latest CV and other documents as mentioned above under section- “Documents Required”.

Application to this vacancy should be sent to jobs.np@unwomen.org.

In your email or application please clearly indicate the post and the VA number you are applying for.