UN WOMEN Jobs - 65953- International Consultant for Development of a Gend

International Consultant for Development of a Gender Responsive Justice Sector Strategy

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Cairo, EGYPT

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

14-May-2016

Application Deadline :

05-May-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

60 days (20 days in Egypt and 40 days homebased)

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

14 May to 15 November 2016

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

Access to fair justice is an essential component of the rule of law in every society. It is the means by which laws are enforced and the channel through which all persons who have been violated by the State or private (including corporate) persons are protected and provided appropriate remedies. Access to justice is central to the global development agenda and the effectiveness and priorities of the UN system. Between 2010 and 2015, the UN General Assembly issued over 800 resolutions on access to justice alone and of these over 90 per cent reflected the right of women to fair and effective justice mechanisms. This is bolstered by provisions on different aspects of access to justice in international human rights treaties, including the Convention on all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and furthermore by numerous concluding observations and recommendations from human rights bodies and the Universal Period Review in relation to access to justice broadly and women’s access to justice in particular.

Commitment to justice and an appreciation of its contribution to the development of societies culminated in a dedicated Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)— Goal 16 on “peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. The Synthesis Report of the UN Secretary-General on the Post-2015 sustainable development agenda identifies access to justice as one of the means of implementation of the entire SDG framework. Effective governance for sustainable development demands that public institutions in all countries and at all levels be inclusive, participatory and accountable to the people. Laws and institutions must protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. Justice actors such as the judiciary, police and prosecutorial services at all levels (national, sub national and community) and settings (formal, informal and semi-formal) are critical accountability mechanisms of support for the promotion and maintenance of the rule of law in all countries

In response to the recommendations of its global 2012 Progress Report, UN Women is implementing an inclusive justice programme for women in its areas of operation. The initiative is based on the understanding that women cannot be denied justice on any grounds including economic, social or health status, political background, geographic location, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. Inclusive justice also implies that measures such as legal aid, paralegal services, fee waivers and interpretation services must be available to all women and that opportunities must be sought to make rights based informal justice systems available to women where relevant. In line with the General Comments of the Committee on Economic and Social Rights, UN Women considers that gaps in physical, financial, linguistic accessibility and quality within the justice sector must be addressed. Concerns of limited cohesion, coordination and capacity within the justice sector also require attention. Moreover, data collection tends to be concentrated in the field of criminal law and less on the civil dimensions which are equally important for assessing women’s legal empowerment and for addressing many forms of discrimination.

The Government of Egypt has made significant advances in the field of women’s access to justice in the last two decades. The revised Constitution of 2014 guarantees equal opportunities for all citizens without discrimination (Article 9). It also espouses equality before the Law for all persons without discrimination based on religion, belief, sex, origin, race, color, language, disability, social class, political or geographic affiliation or any other reason (Article 53). Furthermore, women’s rights are stipulated in the new constitution to include various principles: equality, political rights, protection from all forms of discrimination and violence (Article 11 and 180). It also ensures equitable representation in political processes and decision-making roles in all fields (Article 11). Another important legislation was the electoral decree issued in June 2014 for parliamentary elections, which was revised to ensure at least 12% representation by women.

As a matter of policy, Egypt has adopted the definition of violence against women approved by the General Assembly in December 1993 in article 1 the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, namely, “Violence against women means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”. Furthermore, in a step towards fulfilling the state’s obligation to protect women, the Penal Code was amended in 2014 to define ‘sexual harassment’ and punish its perpetrators. In 2008, amendments to the Child Law raised the legal marriage age to 18 for both sexes and outlawed FGM. A number of governmental and nongovernmental research institutions in Egypt conduct studies, research, and surveys on violence against women, which have proven highly useful in efforts to counter violence against women in society.

In March 2016, the Government of Egypt in collaboration with UN Women hosted an international conference of experts as a platform for sharing global promising practices and continuing challenges facing women in their efforts to access effective, impartial and participatory justice mechanisms. The conference acknowledge progress in women’s participation across justice institutions e.g. judiciary, police, prosecutions; it recognized the important role of mentoring by both men and women in the professional development of female justice personnel and in the role played by professional associations.

To this end, UN Women is seeking an international consultant to work with the National Council for Women and the Ministry of Justice in the development of a justice sector strategy on women’s access to justice to consolidate the gains and to address current gaps in implementation of Egypt’s normative commitments, particularly as laid out in the CEDAW Committee’s General recommendation 33 on women’s access to justice (2015).

Duties and Responsibilities

In close consultation with national partners and under the supervision of UN Women, the assignment will be undertaken from 14 May 2016 to 15 November 2016 through the following outputs:

Inception report outlining methodology, sources and work plan;
A succinct situation analysis of women’s access to justice in Egypt to influence the content and direction of the strategy;
Review and consolidate recommendations on women’s access to justice from human rights treaty bodies and the UPR;
Produce a set of clear targets and indicators that address gender-related structural barriers, including women’s participation as justice actors at all levels;
Based on these indicators, undertake gender audits of already existing policies and use the findings as a base line for all phases of implementation and monitoring of the proposed strategy;
Consolidate all the above and prioritize a set of agreed actions with clear time frames, baselines, targets and a budget;
Provide on-demand technical support and advice to the National Council for Women and the Women and Children’s Rights Sector at the Ministry of Justice;
Provision of on-demand capacity building support to government and CSOs on strengthening women’s access to justice in Egypt;
Draft project document for UN Women Egypt CO on second phase for strengtheniing women’s access to justice in Egypt.

Competencies

Core values and 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 promote ethics and integrity by creating organizational precedents.

Development and Innovation:

Take charge of self-development and support innovation and take initiative.

Communication:

Excellent communications skills; strong interpersonal skills
Ability to prepare succinct, evidence-based analytical reports.

Teamwork:

Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations, both within the UN system and externally;
Ability to work in a multicultural and multi-ethnic environment with respect for diversity.

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning

Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others.

Functional Competencies:

Substantive knowledge of and experience in women rights research and qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis and reporting; knowledge of gender equality in access to justice and relevant global and regional human rights frameworks including CEDAW.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Minimum of Master's degree in law, political science or related field in combination with Gender Studies.

Experience:

A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in programme work and policy research, focusing on policy and strategic planning in the area of women’s access to justice;
Experience with UN and interagency work highly desirable.
Experience with preparation of substantive reports on access to justice for women.

Languages:

Fluency in English is required;

Duration of the consultancy:

60 days: 20 days working from Egypt, 40 days working from home

Financial proposal:

Applicants are requested to submit their proposed lump sum offer inclusive of daily rates, travel allowance and travel ticket during their stay in Egypt.