UNDP Jobs - 49232- Develop Curriculum on Justiciabilty of Economic, S

Develop Curriculum on Justiciabilty of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for the Judicial Studies Institute (JSI) Uganda

Location :

Kampala, UGANDA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

12-Sep-2014

Application Deadline :

08-Sep-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

20 days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

20 days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

While Uganda acceded to the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural rights 26 years ago, the realisation and enforcement of economic social and cultural rights (ESCRs) remains low. An estimated seven million Ugandans still live in chronic poverty with deprivation of basic ESCRs. Inequality between urban and rural areas as well as significant regional disparities remains, with the central and western regions showing better development indicators than northern and Karamoja sub regions. The high maternal mortality rates in the country, compared to other countries on the continent with the same level of development, shows that the requisite service delivery by duty-bearers and effective accountability mechanisms are weak. The most vulnerable population especially women and girls, persons with disabilities and the elderly continue to suffer the greatest impact in terms of the realization of their ESCRs, with limited or inadequate protection mechanisms for these rights.

While administrative and policy measures have been taken to advance ESCRs through the development planning processes amidst challenges, ESCRs are not recognized as fully-fledged enforceable human rights. The indeterminate status of ESCRs derives from the fact that most of these rights are not expressly stated in the Constitution’s bill of rights although they are mentioned as part of policy guidelines in the “National Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy.” Given this status-quo, the Courts of law have a significant role in affirming the enforceability of ESC rights through their progressive interpretation of existing constitutional, policy and other pertinent legal provisions. In practice however, civil society organizations have brought violations of ESCRs to Court but the courts have not fully utilised applicable human rights norms and precedents in support of the thematic issue.

Rationale of the Consultancy

Effective realization of ESCRs calls for effective demand of these rights as legitimate claims where they are either violated or not provided. There are available opportunities in the domestic and international realms through which ESCRs can be claimed but these have neither been meaningfully utilized nor comprehensively applied in Uganda for several reasons.

The Government of Uganda is a State party to various international and regional human rights instruments which oblige the protection and enforcement of ESC Rights. In addition, the national Constitution of Uganda, under Chapter Four lists various human rights which includes, albeit to a limited extent, ESCRs. The section on “National Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy” (NODPSP) incorporates key provisions related to ESCRs without necessarily acknowledging them as rights. This has given them an indeterminate status in terms of how rights holders could demand them as rights and how duty bearers should be obliged to enforce them.

While Article 8A in the Constitutional Amendment (2005) tries to give a legal effect to the NODPSP , the absence of implementing legislation is still a challenge. Article 45 of the Constitution addresses this matter by stating that “the rights, duties, declarations and guarantees relating to fundamental and other human rights and freedoms specifically mentioned in Chapter Four shall not be regarded as excluding others not specifically mentioned.” Despite these entry points and the opportunities available in the applicable international law, effective and comprehensive legal enforcement of ESCRs by judges and practitioners has been weak. There are indeed some cases pending before the Constitutional and the Supreme Court to determine the degree of justiciability of the NODPSP. There are also various regional and international jurisprudences that could be harnessed for effective enforcement of ESCRs.

Skilful litigation of ESCRs requires that Judges and other practitioners appreciate both available opportunities in the domestic and international human rights law and are committed to apply them. Until now however, the Ugandan judiciary has not established a knowledge-sharing platform to familiarize itself with ESCR-related developments of international law and jurisprudence. While there is a limited exposure of key players to enforceability of ESCRs, which is also a reflection of the general societal and elitist perception of ESCRs, the JSI curriculum does not address enforcement of ESCRs nor human rights comprehensively. Developing a curriculum on justiciability of ESCRs to be integrated in the JSI core curriculum is therefore a critical contribution in this regard. JSI with support from OHCHR plans to develop a curriculum on economic, social and cultural rights and non-discrimination highlighting key standards and best practices.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work

Under the overall leadership and supervision of OHCHR assisted by the Judicial Studies Institute Focal Point, the consultant will be recruited by OHCHR and will perform the following tasks:

Prepare an inception report which will include the action plan and draft outline of the proposed ESCR curriculum;
Conduct background research and review on the enabling domestic legal framework and the existing national ESCR jurisprudence to establish a context and provide an accurate perspective on the status of justiciability of ESCRs in Uganda. This includes meeting with relevant senior members of the Judiciary and other legal personnel;
Conduct a comparative analysis on the justiciability of ESCRs in other commonwealth countries, in particular in Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and India. This includes analysing the legal frameworks that underlie ESCRs in those countries as well as the resulting jurisprudence;
Identify relevant international law standards and principles, as well as best practises and lessons learnt from other countries on the justiciability of ESCRs, including on appropriate judicial remedies.

Overall Objective of the consultancy

The main objective of the consultancy is to develop and elaborate a curriculum on ESCRs and non-discrimination based on international human rights standards and best practises for the Judicial Studies Institute.

Specific Objectives:

Under the direction of OHCHR in collaboration with JSI, the Consultant will be required to:

Establish the context and current state of justiciability of ESCRs in Uganda;
Identify best practises and international norms relating to the enforcement and justiciability of ESCRs;
Develop a Curriculum on the justiciability of ESCRs for the Judicial Studies Institute.

Deliverables:

An inception report with information generated from background research and meetings with relevant stakeholders from the judiciary completed;
Compilation of best practises and international norms relating to the enforcement and justiciability of ESCRs;
A curriculum on justiciability of ESCRs for the Judicial Studies Institute.

Consultancy Implementation Arrangements:
The consultant will:

Report to JSI FP and OHCHR Human Rights Officer - Legal;
Work from his/her office premises and where needed will be facilitated through the JSI FP and OHCHR legal Unit to gain access to relevant stakeholders for consultations;
Transport and related costs to fulfil the consultancy, including meeting with relevant stakeholders are covered in the total cost of the consultancy;
Consultancy activities will be conducted within Kampala.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Demonstrable expertise relating to the enforcement and justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights at the national, regional and international levels;
Vast knowledge of national, regional and international human rights instruments on ESCRs, and on principles and best practises relating to advocacy and enforceability of economic social and cultural rights;
Demonstrable competence and professionalism in working with judicial officers including those in the highest courts;
Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate novel legal theories and strategies to senior judicial officers in a clear persuasive manner;
Demonstrable experience in legal curriculum drafting and conducting of professional trainings for judicial and other legal personnel;
Proficiency and skill in legal curriculum development and delivery;
Proficiency and skill in dealing with senior judicial officers, in particular the ability to competently and convincingly advocate for novel strategies in adjudicating ESCRs;
Knowledge and skills in facilitating and resourcing legal trainings;
Excellent research, analytical and drafting skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or its equivalent) in international law, international human rights law, international comparative law, or a related area;
Specialisation in economic, social and cultural rights will be an added advantage;
A PhD is an added advantage.

Experience:

At least 7 years of substantial experience dealing with advocacy, enforcement and justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights in Uganda, East Africa and internationally especially in commonwealth countries;
Conducting extensive legal research, analysis and drafting of reports and legal publications on the legal framework, relevant jurisprudence and the justiciability of ESCRs;
Conducting comparative analysis, identification and sharing of international best practises and strategies on the enforcement and justiciability of ESCRs with senior judicial and other legal officers;
Attested experience in developing and delivering human rights and other legal curriculums or related instructional materials for judicial officers;
Facilitating expert meetings and technical trainings, as well as serving as a resource person, for senior judicial officers including those from the highest courts, at a regional and international level. Substantive experience in teaching and training legal professionals will be an added advantage;
Identifying and designing practical feasible strategies for adjudicating economic social and cultural rights where the legal framework is insufficient;
Previous experience in litigating or advising on litigation strategies for ESCRs in Uganda and thus practical knowledge of challenges facing litigants especially those relating to the enabling national legal framework or limitations in national precedence.

Language:

Fluency in oral and written English.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

Payment shall be by the lump sum modality in the following 1 instalment of 100%, after receipt and approval of the final delivery. These shall be all inclusive and the contract price is fixed regardless of changes in the cost components.

Evaluation Method and Criteria - Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation;
Technical Criteria weight; - 70%;
Financial Criteria weight; - 30%.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Technical Criteria – Maximum 70 points:
Criteria

Education - 15;
Experience - 30;
Competencies and Skills – 20;
Language - 5.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II);
Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

Technical proposal:

Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment

Financial proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided (Annex II).

For the mentioned Annexes / clarifications; please send an email to justine.naiga-bagonza@undp.org and copy Diana.nabbanja@undp.org .