Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programs and services needed to implement these standards.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG), especially domestic violence, continues to be a widespread social problem and a serious violation of fundamental human rights. This type of violence is still seen and tolerated as a “socially acceptable behavior” and is justified by traditional and patriarchal conceptions of the role and status of women in society. The issues of protecting women against any manifestation of violence figure prominently in the development plans of the countries and UN Women ECA RO would like to support governments and civil society organizations through its field offices and in addressing number of gaps in legislation and government policies as well as in the areas of service provision, long term support to the victims of gender based violence and prevention, particularly focusing on early intervention and the active inclusion of boys and men. In this regard, UN Women’s partner providing pro-bono legal service  conducted an analysis of compliance of the legal framework of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan with the provisions and norms of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence.

The purpose of this consultancy is to engage a EVAW/women’s human rights expert to review the analysis, ensure human rights and gender equality standards/perspectives are included and provide recommendations to governments on how to improve their efforts to harmonize their legislation on domestic violence with the legal areas covered by Istanbul Convention (social protection and assistance to survivors of domestic violence, security, health care, judiciary, social assistance, judiciary, safe houses and other).  It is also important to analyse how the national legal framework on EVAW corresponds with CEDAW and its General Recommendations N19 and 35.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Programme Specialist of the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia and in close collaboration with programme team, the International Legal Analysis Consultant will be responsible for the below:

• Review the pre-developed analysis of gaps of national legal frameworks of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in regard of the international standards and norms introduced by the Istanbul Convention;
• Elaborate a detailed workplan for the assignment;
• Provide inputs regarding the links and gaps within the national legal frameworks in relation to CEDAW and its General Recommendations on EVAW N 19 and 35; 
• Formulate conclusions and recommendations regarding the changes and amendments to the national legal frameworks to make them compliant with the Istanbul Convention  and CEDAW;
• Undertake discussions with the relevant partners to validate findings of the analysis and the suggested recommendations to governments to address the identified gaps; and
• Finalize the analysis, based on findings of the discussions, and submit the final report for each country.

  Expected deliverables

  Deliverables	Timeframe	Amount of payment
  Workplan for the assignment	Within 3 days after the contract signed	10%
  Draft consolidated analysis of the harmonization of the legal framework and the Istanbul Convention and CEDAW	By the end October	50%
  Final report for two countries	By the end November	40%

   

  Notes:

• All written deliverables will be submitted in English
• Consultancy is home-based.

• Duration and remuneration

   

  UN Women will fund the costs of the consultancy work and maintain overall oversight and monitoring of the consultancy work. The duration of the consultancy will be for two months (October-November) 2020.

  Payments will be made upon evaluation of the satisfactory performance from the direct supervisor upon the approval of the deliverables.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies:

• Background knowledge of status of legislation in ECA region including CEDAW and relevant human rights instruments;
• Proven intellectual and practical capacity to understand and interpret different texts and provide a sound synthesis and analysis;
• Ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner;
• Ability to use critical thinking, conceptualize ideas, and articulate relevant subject matter clearly and concisely
• High level logical and methodical organizational skills;
• Excellent oral and written skills in English

Knowledge Management and Learning:

• Seeks and applies knowledge, information and best practices from a variety of sources;
• Demonstrates a strong capacity for innovation and creativity in providing strategic policy advice and direction.

Judgment/Decision-Making:

• Mature judgment and initiative.
• Proven ability to provide strategic direction to the project implementation process.
• Excellent oral and written skills in English

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in law, international relationships, international development, political science, gender/women's studies, or a related field is required
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in producing legal analysis, preferably for international organisations or NGOs.
• Proven knowledge and experience in human rights, and gender and equality in the ECA region, particularly in the focus countries, with a focus on international human rights obligations (CEDAW and Istanbul Convention) – at least 5 years
• Demonstrated experience in policy related consultations on GEWE
• Previous experience working/consulting for UN and international projects/programmes
• Excellent written skills (in English) and ability to meet deadlines
• Experience in UN system is an asset

Languages:

Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

Knowledge of Russian is an asset

Other skills:

• Good computer skills in Windows environment, knowledge of internet communications and command of MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Power Point)

Application process

The application should include:

• Personal History Form (P-11 form) - including experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted

• Cover letter outlining the submitter’s qualifications and interest in the consultancy

• Financial Proposal:  Specify a monthly amount (daily rate should be included in the Offer) for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference and considering 20 days for every month expected as working days

Candidates should have the ability to quickly produce degree certificates and medical certification (of good health) should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy post.

Note: As specific travel will be confirmed with monthly review of work plan, any travel will be paid separately by UN Women.

Evaluation of applicants:

UN Women applies a fair and transparent selection process. Applicants will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications/skills and their financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive to and compliant with the ToR; and
• Having received the highest score out of below combined technical and financial criteria.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

• Short Letter of interest, including financial proposal in local currency (USD), indicating a total lump sum for the delivery as per above description.
• Completed UN Women Personal History (P11) form, that can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment
• UN Women applies fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals.