International Consultant-to develop a policy paper on the role and contribution of young women in peace processes in Africa

Consultant Human Rights

Overview

Develop a policy paper on young women’s participation in peace processes in Africa

You have:

• An advanced degree in Law, Political science, Gender studies, Peace and Security or related field with a minimum of four years relevant experience.
• First-level university degree in combination with four additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• At least 5 years of progressive experience in national, sub-regional and regional policy research and advocacy initiatives on women, peace and security, governance and other relevant GEWE issues.
• Strong knowledge of policy issues related to international Law, Governance, Peace and Security and Gender.
• Proficiency in English is required. Knowledge of French will constitute an advantage.

Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International Consultant contracts.

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination and violence 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.

The African Union (AU) has committed to advance the Youth, Peace and Security agenda through the adoption of various legal and policy instruments including the AU Constitutive Act (2000); AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) Protocol; The African Youth Charter and its implementation roadmap the African Youth Decade and African Youth Decade Plan of Action (DPoA); African Governance Architecture; The Youth for Peace Africa(Y4P) Program; 1 Million by 2021 Initiative etc. The PSC at its 807th meeting in November 2018 convened the first open session on Youth, Peace and Security, wherein it called on Member States to develop national action plans and remove all structural barriers to youth participation in peace and security. The AU has also enhanced opportunities for participation and equal access to decision-making table to African youth in the development, implementation and monitoring of Youth Peace and Security (YPS) and the broader peace and security agenda including through the Continental Framework on Youth, Peace and Security and its 10-Year Implementation Plan.

In 2015, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2250 on youth, peace and security , which recognizes the contributions of young people to peacebuilding efforts and broadens the call for the inclusion of youth in planning, programme design, policy development, and decision-making processes for conflict prevention, resolution, and recovery.

Gender and age are important elements of the YPS and Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda respectively. The particular challenges facing young women peacebuilders who fall in the overlap,

and sometimes gap, of the two agendas, was noted by the 2020 report of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on YPS. The report also noted the exclusion of young women exacerbates the potential violence they face. Paying attention to the heterogenous experiences of young people strengthens the potential to respond to the structural issues that cause differentiated violence and insecurity for women, young women, and young men.

Normative frameworks have been used as advocacy tools to enhance progress in young women’s participation in peace processes in Africa. Ample instances exist indicating the adoption of the National Action Plan (NAP) for the implementation of the United Nations Resolution on Women, Peace, and Security (UNSCR 1325) that led to an increase in youth participation in various advocacy efforts and the appointment of more young women as parliamentarians and leaders in various Ministries.

However, the progress is slow. Most initiatives targeting youth tend to benefit more young men than women due to different factors which vary from country to country. While young women play active roles in youth movements in their respective countries, women are often overlooked and are largely seen as passive victims. This approach is short-sighted and ignores the diverse and complex roles and experiences of young women in conflict-affected contexts. Similarly, young women tend to be excluded from initiatives aimed at engaging young leadership and participation in conflict prevention and resolution, as they may be considered too young, underqualified or even unfit to occupy roles given to their male counterparts.

In this regard, Africa’s regional Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) stakeholder consultative processes, recognised the uneven and slow progress made to advance young women’s role in governance, peace and security processes. Subsequently, Member States have committed to take actions to enhance meaningful engagement and participation of young women in political processes and decision making at national, regional, and continental levels.

Ab****out the proposed initiative

Against this background, UN Women in collaboration with AU and other key partners has embarked on series of advocacy related activities that, among others, aim to influence the continental commemoration of the International Youth Day on 12 August 2021. To inform these efforts and the broader advocacy at different levels, UN Women proposes to conduct a rapid assessment of the state of young women’s participation in peace and security processes, continental commitments, challenges and key recommendations to enhance young women’s role in creating lasting peace in Africa. The information will be synthesized into a policy paper that will serve as an advocacy tool for use by policy makers, practitioners, youth and GEWE advocates, CSOs and other stakeholders.

The policy paper will constitute a desk review of available literature, observations from the discussions and outcomes of a proposed continental policy dialogue that will take place on 12 August 2021 as well as review of existing policies and practices. The key objective of the initiativeis to create knowledge and understanding on young women’s role and contributions to peace processes in Africa and recommend concrete strategies for addressing existing barriers at different levels in the continent.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will be required to undertake the following tasks:

• Conduct a desk review on the state of young women’s participation in peaceprocesses in Africa, the challenges, opportunities and recommendations
• Map and provide an overview of normative regional frameworks on young women in peace and security
• Consolidate the relevant issues and key recommendations identified during the policy dialogue platform and accompanying social media platforms that will serve as an input to the policy brief

• Develop a comprehensive policy paper for dissemination among key stakeholders.

  Deliverable

The consultant shall submit a policy brief with a maximum of 15-20 pages in length focusing on young women’s participation in peace and security process in Africa in line with the requirements of the TOR and UN Women publication guidelines.

Competencies

Professionalism:

Demonstrate a solid professional competence and expert knowledge in the area of communication, gender, politics or peace and security

Teamwork:

Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

*Organizational Awareness:***

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

Be able to communicate easily and effectively, using various communication channels.

Functional Competencies:

- Extensive knowledge of the global and Africa regional women, peace and security agenda, as well as related regional priorities in Africa.

- Excellent writing and communication skills.

- Good knowledge of the African Union.

*Other Relevant Skills***

The consultant will be required to be computer literate, have excellent writing, analytical and communicative skills and be flexible in terms of working hours.

Required Skills and Experience

Educational qualifications

• An advanced degree in Law, Political science, Gender studies, Peace and Security or related field with a minimum of four years relevant experience.
• First-level university degree in combination with four additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Professional experience

• At least 5 years of progressive experience in national, sub-regional and regional policy research and advocacy initiatives on women, peace and security, governance and other relevant GEWE issues.
• Strong knowledge of policy issues related to international Law, Governance, Peace and Security and Gender.

La****n****g****u****a****g****e Requirement

• Proficiency in English is required. Knowledge of French will constitute an advantage.
• Please note that applications without a completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
• UNWomen Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment.

UNWOMEN 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.

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Potential interview questions

Added 5 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org