Background

The ‘Support to Civil Registration Reform in Tajikistan’ project builds on the outcomes of the Functional Review of Civil Registration Offices initiated by UNDP Tajikistan in 2014 under the ongoing ‘Access to Justice in Tajikistan’ project funded by SDC. The project was designed based on extensive consultations with the state institutions at the national and local levels, UN Agencies, international and local NGOs, as well as the population.  The project is in line with the Judicial and Legal Reform Programme of the Government of Tajikistan (2015-2017) and directly contributes to implementation of the ongoing reform of civil registration offices (ZAGS).

The project is implemented by UNDP in close cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, but also working with other UN and Government agencies at different levels to make civil registry institutions and mechanisms more responsive to the population’s needs. Intended project outcomes include a more functional, responsive civil registration system accomplished by developing capacities among the relevant institutions and stakeholders by both simplifying and standardising registration processes. The project aims to refine capacity development approaches and create strategic partnerships with other institutions, such as the jamoat bodies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Ministry of Health and Social Protection, and the Ministry of Interior.  Fundamental to the project is its human rights based approach. It is designed to respond to both the supply and demand side of civil registration service provision enabling each side to substantively contribute to the implementation of the civil registration reform process.

Output 1 of the Support to Civil Registration System Reform project states: Legislative framework for civil registration is compliant with international best practices. Output 1 is focused on analysing, amending and harmonising the existing legislation relating to civil registration in Tajikistan in line with international standards. This output includes legislative analysis with recommendations, and support to the development of instructions (by-laws) for legislation implementation.

Tajikistan has like many other developing countries been dealing with the problem of intermarriage between close family members. During Soviet times marriage to close relatives (e.g. first cousins) was forbidden, but since independence there has been a detectable increase in this customary practice of family intermarriage with the resulting detrimental genetic health defects found in offspring. The government of Tajikistan has sought to restrict this customary practice of inter-family marriage, as a means to maintain wealth in the family by marrying within it. The government has established a number of measures to limit close family intermarriage, including mandatory pre-nuptial health checks.

Recent research has found that enforcing legislation itself is one of the core reasons for the non-registration of civil acts, including marriage. Difficult procedures, lengthy terms of registration, a long list of documents, which are not necessary for decision-making, and the absence of effective legal mechanisms, which could streamline the timely identification and registration of civil status acts are all detrimental to the system. The number of marriage registrations recorded in ZAGS and jamoats has been declining steadily over the past years. The current paper-based registration system does not allow for verification of recorded data outside specific administrative boundaries. It is therefore possible for example, to register the same civil act several times and to get married twice in different regions (oblasts).

With an absence of a unified, centralised database of civil acts, this poses a challenge for system integration and inter-institutional data sharing. It also presents inconsistencies in process when ZAGS and jamoat officials are registering marriages and must enforce the pre-marriage requirement for couples to undergo a health check in order to prevent intermarriage between close family members. The Ministry of Justice has recently developed a set of guidelines in the form of instructions in order to administer the pre-marriage health checks. These instructions were intended to equip ZAGS and jamoats with relevant competencies to deal with health services relating to pre-marriage checks and also protect them from misinterpreting the law.

Based on the 2016 UNDP legislative reform review of the Civil Registration System in Tajikistan, in which a number of separate recommendations were raised for the consideration of the Ministry of Justice, it was noted there was a need to work with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection in particular to examine the impact of the recent introduction of obligatory medical check-ups before marriage. Now that secondary legislation instructions have been developed by MoJ providing details on how this provision for a pre-marriage medical check should be administered in practical terms, this study seeks to examine the impact of these rules on the wider population, if pre-marriage checks serve the interests of the government, the wider community (through limiting the number of intermarriages between close family members), and the interests and rights of the individuals concerned. 

The first part of this consultancy is to examine the social policy of other countries with similar intermarriage challenges to Tajikistan, and describe the impact of those policies including pre-marriage health checks. It is too early to determine how pre-marriage checks and related secondary legislation instructions will assist the Republic of Tajikistan administration to limit intermarriage, but it is possible to examine legislation and social policies of other countries with similar socio-economic challenges of intermarriage between close family members and what impact if any they have had on addressing the wider socio-economic problem of intermarriage of close family members.

Presenting options for involvement of the health services on birth and death registration is the second part of this consultancy. Another issue which was raised by the legislative reform review of the civil registration system was the possible involvement of medical facilities to track more effectively birth and death registrations. This might be either in the form of medical staff taking responsibility for filing birth applications on behalf of parents, or medical facilities hosting civil registration officials at the health facilities who track births and deaths. This may not preclude parents themselves from continuing to register their new-borns as they current do.

The main deliverable in this second component (B.) is to develop a set of options for consideration by the relevant Ministries, in the form of draft legislative instructions or rules governing the specific functions of civil registration staff and medical staff in registering deaths and births. Several options to manage birth and death registrations have been described in the 2016 comparative analysis of 5 post-soviet states in which the involvement of health staff and facilities are included in the registration process. Drafting such legal secondary legislation instructions will require the involvement of both the Ministries of Justice and of Health and Social Protection.

Duties and Responsibilities

Goals and objectives:

Therefore this consultancy intends to examine:

  • the impact of new legislation and instructions on pre-marriage medical checks on the population, what the practices there are in other countries in the region to control inter family marriage, including conducting pre-marriage medical checks and
  • develop clear legal instructions for government to take into account when deciding who is empowered to register the birth of children, or the death of a relative.  Thus, there is a need for the legal health consultant to work with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the Ministry of Justice to clarify roles and responsibilities for each stakeholder, be they couples intending to marry, medical practitioners empowered to declare the death of a person, parents of new borns, health professionals, birth attendants or midwives.

Duties and responsibilities:

  • The international legal health consultant shall assess the effects of social policy of other countries such as those included in the comparative analysis of civil registration systems of 5 countries, plus Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan on regulating inter-marriage between close family members. Options to be examined will include primary and secondary legislation banning or allowing the practice, other measures and social policies which regulate inter-marriage including pre-marriage health checks, and if those measures are effective in terms of limiting what government considers harmful marriage practices and customs.  This component will include participating in a study tour of one of the abovementioned countries.
  • The international legal health consultant will also consult closely with the Ministries of Justice, Health and Social Protection to develop instructions on conducting birth and death registrations, checks and monitoring procedures and who will be empowered to register the birth of new borns and the death of relatives.

For detailed information, please refer to annex 1- Terms of Reference of the below link. 

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standard;
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the UN;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability;
  • Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
  • Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional Competencies:

  • Professionalism;
  • Communication;
  • Teamwork;
  • Planning & Organization:
  • Accountability;
  • Knowledge and experience of the political, social and environmental factors and issues related to rule of law, access to justice, including civil registration in post Soviet context;
  • An independent, reliable, responsible self-motivator able work under pressure;
  • Excellent diplomatic skills to develop partnerships.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • University degree in law, public health or public service administration from an internationally recognised tertiary institution

Experience:

  • At least 10 years  of technical background in good governance, public administration, and/or local;
  • Past experience in leading institutional health assessments, reviews and/or surveys for public service;
  • Organizational experience ideally in civil registration or other areas of public administration;
  • Experience in and knowledge of the development context of Central Asian countries, especially Tajikistan government is a strong advantage;
  • Experience in working with international development partners (donors, UN agencies, etc.);
  • Knowledge of CIS context, preferably Central Asia region.

Language:

  • Fluency in Russian, a working knowledge of English and/or Tajik preferred.

Application Procedure:

Please follow the link to the Individual Consultant Procurement Notice:

http://www.undp.tj/va/upload/va/ICPN%20International%20legal%20health%20assessment.docx

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.