Two Discriminatory Law Consultants

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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.

The UN Women Multi Country Office for the Caribbean (MCO) covers 22 countries and territories in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean, which are part of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Strides towards gender equality in the countries covered by the MCO have resulted in gains for women and girls in the Caribbean, relating primarily to high education rates, and increases in employment rates, however critical gaps remain.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the agreed framework for international development, and it incorporates economic and environmental sustainability, as well as the aspiration of many countries for peaceful and inclusive societies. It is an ambitious vision with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the eradication of poverty, systematically tackling climate change and building peaceful, resilient, equitable and inclusive societies. While there is a more consistent call for sex disaggregation of data across many indicators, SDG Goal 5 focuses on gender equality, women’s rights and the empowerment of women and girls. All countries in the Caribbean have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Across the Caribbean region there have been significant achievements in eliminating discrimination embedded in laws and policies. For the most part, member states of CARICOM have enshrined the principles of gender equality and anti-discrimination in their constitutional obligations and sex is a prohibited basis of discrimination.

Yet gender inequality persists. Women continue to experience inequality in the labour market, with higher unemployment levels despite educational advancements; suffer pay inequity; are segmented in the lowest paying jobs; have very limited participation in elective parliamentary processes; carry the disproportionate burden of care for children and experience high levels of gender-based violence.

Gender disparities, even when not caused by exclusion or discriminatory treatment, can also be harmful for men and boys as dominant notions of masculinity can contribute to higher levels of educational under-achievement, vulnerability to involvement in the informal and illegal economy and criminal or counter-culture activity.

This persistence of gender inequality is often embedded in legislation, that is often not aligned with gender related issues. Substantively, in many Caribbean countries, expressions of inequality such as unequal pay, forms of labour exploitation, sexual harassment, rape within marriage, evidential rules related to sexual offences, lack of full autonomy and control of reproductive and sexual health matters remain inadequately addressed by legislation.

The limitations of existing laws, the narrow interpretation, and the lack of implementation of laws, policies and protocols were also noted as challenges in protecting the rights of women from violence.

The MCO Caribbean has as a Strategic Note Outcome i.e., CARICOM governments and civil society stakeholders have SIDS relevant and gender equality tools and skills to monitor and measure progress on global commitments under the normative framework.

The Output which will contribute to this outcome is Output 6.1.1The Capacity of CARICOM Governments and civil society representatives to engage actively in reporting and monitoring on the effective implementation of the SDGs, Beijing Platform for Action, and other global normative and policy frameworks.

Based on interest indicated from the National Gender Machineries and/or civil society organisations four discriminatory law reviews will be completed in The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. The reviews will contribute to implementing UN Women’s broader equality in the law strategy.

The four Discriminatory Law Reviews will outline for duty bearers where the gaps remain within their legislative frameworks, using the normative framework as the guide, including country specific CEDAW recommendations. The Reviews will also highlight how discriminatory laws are affecting country’s capacity to achieve sustainable development including COVID-19 recovery. The MCO will provide presentations of the findings to parliamentarians, and civil society organisations with recommendations for legislative reform.

Duties and Responsibilities

Working in close consultation with relevant Government agencies, the UN system and women’s groups, the consultants will undertake a comprehensive mapping of the legal landscape of the four countries for the purposes of capturing all forms of legal frameworks (the constitution, statutes, legislative instruments, executive orders, administrative regulations, case law and other relevant and related government legal frameworks). The legal texts in question must cover legislation that is specifically related to women and girls, as well as other fields and sectors.[1] Each legal text will be analysed to determine how their provisions impact upon the achievement of gender equality. The proposed desk review will be followed by a national consultation in September 2021. Technical support for this event will be provided by UN Women MCO Caribbean.

SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES

The consultants are expected to:

  1. Meeting with relevant stakeholders.
  2. Complete a report that includes:
  • The plural legal, political, social, economic and cultural context of their country of focus;
  • The country’s commitments to global, regional and sub regional frameworks which advance gender equality;
  • The extent to which these commitments have been translated into domestic law, identifiable gaps in the content of existing laws as well as implementation and the reasons for such gaps;
  • Guided by the provisions of CEDAW, The Beijing Platform for Action, Belem do Para, and relevant ILO Conventions[2], an analysis of other sectoral laws and how these impact on the achievement of gender equality;
  • An overview of the role that formal, courts have played in: (a) advancing gender equality; (b) reinforcing gender inequality or (c) both;
  • Assess whether and how the laws in question explicitly treat women and men or girls and boys differently and/or indirectly based on being facially neutral on its face but discriminatory in effect due to pre-existing inequalities that are not addressed by the apparently neutral measure.
  • Highlight COVID-19s impact if any in exacerbating or ameliorating discriminatory provisions;
  • An annex to the report, a table which encapsulates (1) the titles and dates of all the laws under investigation; (2) the sections which are explicitly or implicitly discriminatory; (3) gaps in the law; (4) the basis for arriving at these conclusions and (4) recommended actions to Parliament.

    1. Present draft report

    2. Finalise report

    3. Present report to key stakeholders

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The consultants will report to the Representative ensuring close coordination with the programme officers as it relates to the specific report.

[1] The sectors in question will be guided by the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

[2] Example: ILO Conventions also create relevant, binding commitments such as equal work for equal pay (Equal Remuneration Convention No. 100), non-discrimination in employment relationships (Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention No. 111), equality of opportunity and treatment of workers with families (Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention No. 156), maternity rights and protections (Maternity Protection Convention No. 183) and the protection of domestic workers (Domestic Workers Convention No.189)

Competencies

Core Values:

  • Integrity and Fairness
  • Professionalism
  • Respect for diversity

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:

http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf.

Functional Competencies

  • Advanced knowledge and expertise in graphic design
  • Creative flair and originality
  • Attention to detail
  • High level of motivation, ability to show initiative and work independently
  • Demonstrated ability to multitask under pressure and to meet strict deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

The consultants should meet the following criteria:

Education:

  • Advanced University degree in Law or Human Rights.

    OR

  • Bachelor's degree in Law or Human Rights can be substituted in lieu of Masters, with at least 5 years’ experience in the field of Law and/or Human Rights.

Experience:

  • At least 7 years’ research experience in gender and human rights.
  • At least 5 years’ experience working on issues related to women’s empowerment and gender equality.
  • Experience working with the UN, working in development or a humanitarian environment is desirable.
  • Experience working within the Caribbean context is essential.

Language:

  • Fluency in oral and written English is required.

LOCATION AND DURATION

  • The consultancies will be home-based with no travel required.
  • The consultants will be engaged for a maximum of forty (40) working days within the period 1 April 2021 – 30 September 2021.

REMUNERATION

  • The consultancy fee will be negotiated with each consultant before contracting. Each payment will be based on a predefined and formal agreement between UN Women and the consultant and will be disbursed based on satisfactory completion of agreed deliverables.
  • The remuneration for this contract type is an all-inclusive fee, the organization will not be liable for additional cost or benefits. Hence, it is the responsibility of the consultant to take out adequate medical insurance for the duration of the contract and it is recommendable that the policy includes coverage for COVID-19 related illness. The medical coverage should be international when the contract requires missions or international assignment.
  • If selected for this consultancy, proof of medical coverage should be presented within the first two months of the contract.

HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, AND COMMUNICATION

The consultants must be equipped with a fully functional laptop, which must run at least Windows 7. The consultants must be reasonably accessible by email and telephone (preferably mobile). The use of reliable, internet-based (Skype or equivalent) is required.

REFERENCES:

  • Minimum of three client references that include the name of the contact person, title and contact information.

OTHER:

  • Interviews may be conducted with the shortlisted applicants.
  • Each consultant contracted will be required to sign a statement of confidentiality and freedom from any conflict of interest with potential future contractors with respect to the TORs and work that they will be delivering.

DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED

  • Updated CV (no longer than 5 pages)
  • Updated and signed P11 Form.

Note:

Each application received will be considered for one consultancy.

Submissions to UNDP Jobs are limited to a maximum of 10 MB, virus-free or corrupted contents to avoid rejection, and no more than 1 email transmission.

All applications must be submitted through UNDP jobs. Please do not send applications to UN Women staff as they will not be accepted.

Added 3 years ago - Updated 3 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org