Consultant (Gender and Governance Expert)

Contract

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Result of Service

In the context of the above, the purpose of the assignment is to produce a statistical and analytical report on women in the judiciary in the MENA region with the objective of 1) Monitoring gender representation and having an overview of female representation within the judiciary in MENA countries; 2) Identifying enablers, challenges, and disparities that may exist for female judges; 3) Providing evidence-based conclusions and findings to advocate for gender equality and promote diversity in the judiciary, and to serve as a baseline for future activities. The report will also present concrete and actionable recommendations for policymakers, judicial institutions, women rights’ organizations to increase gender balance in the judiciary and to improve national policies and strategies in the region.

Work Location

Home-Based

Expected duration

20 May - 30 July 2024

Duties and Responsibilities

The mission of UNODC is to contribute to the achievement of global peace and security, human rights and development by making the world safer from crime, drugs, corruption, and terrorism, in line with UNODC Strategy 2021-2025. This Strategy for the next five years will equip UNODC to deliver effectively, efficiently and with accountability, elevating our support to Member States to build just, inclusive, and resilient societies that leave no one behind. UNODC activities in the Middle East and North Africa region are undertaken by UNODC Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA) under the framework of the Regional Framework for the Arab States (2023-2028), in alignment with the objectives set by UNODC Strategy 2021-2025. The Regional Framework articulates six focus areas for guiding UNODC-implemented programming at the regional and national levels: 1) A balanced approach to drug control; 2) Strengthening the response to organized crime; 3) Combating trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants (TIP/SOM); 4) Action against corruption and financial crime; 5) Preventing and countering terrorism and violence; and 6) Strengthening crime/violence prevention and criminal justice. UNODC ROMENA has identified six key accelerators which are being mainstreamed throughout UNODC programming in all the focus areas, with the objective of taking advantage of the opportunities in the region to unleash its potential in advancing towards the 2030 Sustainable Agenda. UNODC ROMENA has pinpointed ‘Women and girls’ as one of these accelerators, and is therefore committed to build on existing efforts and identify new opportunities to harness the potential of women and girls as partners and agents of change as well as enabling improved access to gender-sensitive justice, health, and protection services, in alignment with the UNOV/UNODC Strategy for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (2022-2026), which sets-out how the Office will support Member States to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. UNODC’s Global Judicial Integrity Network was launched in 2018, with the aim of assisting judiciaries across the globe in strengthening judicial integrity and preventing corruption in the justice sector, in line with article 11 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Gender-related judicial integrity issues, including unequal gender representation, have been among the priority areas for the Network’s efforts since its launch. In April 2021, the General Assembly adopted 10 March as the International Day of Women Judges 2021 with GA resolution 75/274 of 2021, which highlighted the work of the Global Judicial Integrity Network of UNODC to incorporate women’s representation issues into judicial systems. UNODC celebrated the first International Day of Women Judges on 10 March 2022. On this occasion, UNODC organized a high-level event to celebrate women and gender champions in the judiciary and law enforcement, where it launched the “Women in Justice/for Justice” initiative. This initiative also contributes to achieving SDG Target 16.7 which calls for ensuring responsive inclusive participatory and representative decision making in all levels, including the justice sector where to-date women are still acutely underrepresented. The issue of women’s equal access and participation in the public sphere is enshrined in the CEDAW Convention and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action as a fundamental right, moreover it responds to both the requirement and the contemporary urgency of an inclusive, peaceful, and sustainable world in direct relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Specifically, article 7 of the CEDAW Convention deals with women’s equal and inclusive representation in decision-making systems in political and public life, and Article 8 calls on all States Parties to take appropriate measures to ensure such access. UN-Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works on SDG 5 indicator 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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN-Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. Under the UN-Women Regional Office for the Arab States (ROAS) Regional Strategic Note (2022-2023), Outcome 7.1 - Arab States accelerate the implementation of global and regional gender norms and standards with quality comparable data particularly on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Cairo Declaration for Arab women – UN-Women, in partnership with ESCWA, UNDP and UNFPA created the Gender Justice and Equity Before the Law initiative which delivers a regional monitoring tool on the quantitative status of gender responsive legislation across 18 Arab States. The first regional dashboard of 18 countries was produced in 2019 covering 27 indicators across multiple sectors and was further expanded to 74 indicators in 2022. One indicator refers to judges i.e. ‘Do women and men enjoy equal rights and access to hold public and political office (legislature, executive, judiciary)?’. Responses from Member States provide a quantitative overview across the region on the progress/stagnation or regression in the number of female judges. Additionally, UN-Women has supported the League of Arab States to undertake a comprehensive review of the League of Arab States’ Cairo Declaration in 2023, which includes quantitative data and indicators on the number and percentage of women judges and on the evolution of women's participation in positions of power and decision-making, which will be of benefit to this assignment. UNODC’ and UN Women’s work respond to the UN principle of Leave No One Behind (LNOB) and algin with the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS) to ensure that their work is meaningfully inclusive. Furthermore, all UN-Women interventions are aligned to UN Women’s women and girls’ empowerment and disability strategy and all UNODC interventions align with the UNOV/UNODC Action Plan on Disability Inclusion. UNODC and UN-Women have now come together collaborate on an initiative that encompasses calls to action to advance women’s representation and leadership in the justice sector, to promote integrity and gender-responsive criminal justice, further build on the existing knowledge base to support responses and celebrate UNODC’s “Women in Justice/for Justice” leaders through awareness raising campaigns. The incumbent will work under the overall guidance of direct supervision of Regional Representative and the direct supervision of the Deputy Regional Representative of UNODC Regional Office in the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA) in Egypt. The consultant will perform his/her functions in cooperation with, and under the guidance and support of the UNODC ROMENA Gender Focal Point, as well as relevant staff at UNODC headquarters. UN-Women's Regional Governance and Political Advisor will be the lead focal point for this work for UN-Women, in close collaboration with the Arab States Regional Gender Statistician, under the direct supervision of the Deputy Regional Director. Furthermore, the incumbent will be assisted by a regional consultant, which will be recruited for the same contract dates and will support the completion/submission of the deliverables. To facilitate smooth coordination between the incumbent and UNODC and UN-Women, a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) comprising relevant UNODC and UN-Women staff will be formed to oversee the work of the Gender and Governance Expert and her/his assistant through regular meetings to provide feedback and approve the various deliverables.

Qualifications/special skills

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, international relations or related discipline is required. A first-level university degree in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. A minimum of ten(10) years of experience in the area of international law, criminal justice systems, rule of law or legal academia is required; Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills and ability to liaise and communicate effectively are required; Publications in the fields of criminal justice and international law is desirable. Experience working in the area of criminal justice in the MENA region is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another United Nations Secretariat language is an advantage.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.