National Consultants (2) on development of manual for lawyers on protection of PLHIV

Contract

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

Background

UN Women, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women has been created to accelerate up the process of meeting the needs of women and girls across the world. As a part of the UN reform agenda, it brings together resources and mandates which will subsequently have a lasting impact on the whole community. One of the significant parts of UN Women work in Tajikistan is addressing the HIV vulnerabilities of women and girls that requires work at many levels – from developing national policies to providing or facilitating support to local community groups. It requires strategies for supporting behavior change among men and social change to develop social, cultural, and legal environments that empower women.

UN Women identifies key opportunities for women leaving with HIV (WLWHIV) to engage and participate in events and dialogues where policy is determined at global, regional, and national levels. UN Women has longstanding experience in implementing projects to support women living with HIV, who struggle with stigma and discrimination. It must be noted that violence, stigma, and discrimination trigger a wide range of human rights abuses for which the great majority of women living with HIV have not sought justice. Women living with HIV face property disputes with in-laws, complicated by limited access to justice to uphold their rights.

UN Women plans to continue building capacities of the members of the Network of Advocates (established in 2021) on protection and promotion of the rights of women living with HIV to better protect their rights at national and international levels in the framework of implementation the Strategic Plan of the Network of Advocates on the Protection of the Rights of Women Living with HIV for the period 2021-2023.

In Tajikistan, there are certain legal barriers that make it difficult to implement preventive measures among the most vulnerable groups of the population. People living with HIV, as well as vulnerable and stigmatized groups, are in practice almost unable to benefit from the legal protection mechanisms provided for by law. Stigma and discrimination leading to human rights violations are the main barriers to access to justice for people living with HIV and key populations.

Lawyers play an important role in HIV prevention, including access to justice for people living with HIV, and their effective actions can stop further infringement of the rights of people living with HIV infection and significantly reduce legal obstacles to protecting the rights of this category of people. In this regard, it is proposed to develop a manual for lawyers (advocates) defending PLHIV (WLWHIV) on issues of human rights and HIV, prevention of violence against women and vulnerable groups of the population.

In this respect, UN Women intends to hire 2 National Consultants to work in collaboration and develop a manual for lawyers on defending PLHIV on the issue of human rights and HIV, preventing violence against women and vulnerable groups of the population.

I. Goals and objectives

The overall goal of the assignment is to develop a manual for lawyers on defending PLHIV on the issue of human rights and HIV, preventing violence against women and vulnerable groups of the population and conduct trainings for lawyers on gender issues, stigma and discrimination in relation to HIV and on information and legal security in Dushanbe, Bokhtar and Khujand of Tajikistan.

The manual to be developed in accordance with the requirements of international human rights standards, including the field of HIV/AIDS, and considering Tajikistan's obligations regarding respect for the rights of vulnerable groups.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Portfolio Coordinator, 2 Consultants will perform, but will not necessarily be limited to the following tasks:

• Preparation of the detailed work plan, including the methodology of work in close coordination with UN Women Programme Office in Tajikistan.
• Development of the manual for lawyers on defending people (women) living with HIV in Russian and Tajik languages.
• Conducting three (3) two-day trainings for lawyers on gender issues, stigma and discrimination in relation to HIV and on information and legal security in, including in Dushanbe (1 training), in Khujand, Sughd region (1 training) and in Bokhtar, Khatlon region (1 training).
• Preparation of detailed report on the results of trainings and submission of all supporting documents (including Manual, presentations, LoPs, photos, etc.) with further recommendations for final approval of UN Women.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Good knowledge of the training topic on medical aspects and ethical norms in the field of HIV counselling.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Possesses the ability to work independently, under pressure and meet deadlines;
• Good knowledge of technical area and conducting trainings.
• Good organizational skills and ability to pay close attention to detail;
• Experience in manual development, report writing and analyzing.
• Proven excellent communication and facilitation skills;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• University degree in gender equality, women’s studies, law, human rights, social studies, development studies or related field.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of relevant experience in promoting/advocating the human rights, including rights of Women living with HIV, conducting similar trainings on stigma and discrimination in relation to HIV;
• Knowledge and experience on development of manuals (particularly for lawyers) on protection of women rights (including WLHIV), training modules, publications, etc. is required.
• At least 3 years of experience in gender mainstreaming in policies, strategies and plans, especially in the context of people (women) living with HIV.
• Prior experience in the work environment of an international agency, NGOs, UN Agencies and state institutions is an advantage.

Knowledge of languages:

- Proficiency in written and oral Tajik, Russian and knowledge of English language is an advantage.