CONSULTATIONS WITH CHILDREN AFFECTED BY ARMED CONFLICT
Terms of Reference
- Introduction
Save the Children (SC) is the world’s leading independent organization for children. As part of the organisation’s contribution towards ensuring every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation, Save the Children has been working with armed forces in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) since 1998 and with the African Union (AU) for the last ten years to promote the rights of children in conflict, post-conflict and protracted political emergency situations. With support from SIDA, Save the Children has worked towards strengthening Child Protection in African Union Peace Support Operations since 2013.
The engagement has borne results that include:
- The development and adoption of a harmonized and standardized curriculum and standards on child protection and child rights;
- The development of a training management system (AMANI) providing a platform for learning and sharing information with key stakeholders in Peace Support Operations (PSO) through knowledge learning events and symposiums.
Save the Children in collaboration with partners continues to augment efforts that protect girls and boys in conflict settings. These interventions aim at strengthening the capacity of the Peace Support Operations actors in Africa to deliver their protection mandate and ensure girls and boys affected by armed conflicts and protracted political disputes enjoy their rights.
Our work focuses on four key objectives:
1 To enhance the commitment and capacity to prevent and respond to violence against girls and boys within the AU Peace and Security Department (AU PSD), East Africa Standby Force, ECOWAS Standby Force, and Member States. 2 To institute and monitor a functional accountability framework on child protection within the AU Peace and Security Department, East Africa Standby Force, ECOWAS Standby Force and troop contributing countries. 3 To increase knowledge, evidence and collective understanding on child rights and child protection issues within Peace Support Operations. 4 To improve participation among girls and boys affected by armed conflict to contribute to decisions and processes of the AU, Regional Mechanisms/Bodies and Member States.
To achieve this, Save the Children collaborates with stakeholders within the AU, Regional Bodies and Regional Mechanisms in East and West Africa, and National Armed Forces.
- Context
The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) entered into force in 1999. This was after AU Member States took an unambiguous stance on the applicability of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to children in Africa on various socio-economic, cultural and developmental diversities.
Like the UNCRC, the ACRWC defines the full spectrum of children’s civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and the obligations of duty bearers to uphold those rights; the principal duty bearer being the State. The Charter makes it possible for girls and boys to assert their rights through domestic judicial or administrative proceedings. The Charter’s articles are applicable in all contexts including situations of conflict. Article 22 of the Charter is specific to conflicts in stating that no child should participate in armed conflict. The Charter establishes ACERWC as the body responsible for monitoring its implementation and ensuring the protection of the rights contained in it. On the definition of a child, the UNCRC defines a child as every human being below the age of 18 years ‘unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier'[1], where the law referred to in the CRC includes international treaties and domestic legislations specific to children. The ACRWC defines a child more concisely as ‘every human being below the age of 18 years’.[2] This has a significant difference when discussing the age of conscription or engagement in armed forces.
Despite this framework, girls and boys caught in conflict on the continent continue to be subject to rights violations including violence that is both incidental and targeted. As highlighted in the Study on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children in Africa commissioned by the ACERWC[3], girls and boys living in conflict contexts are more likely to be separated from their families, sexually assaulted, subject to early marriage, maimed, killed, recruited by force, or die early as a result of disease or malnutrition. At the same time, they are less likely to attend school. Girls and boys not only have to live with the physical and psychological scars from their experience but often with social alienation particularly those who have been associated with armed groups or those who have survived sexual violence. Conflict often has different effects on girls and boys. For example, boys are often more vulnerable to recruitment as combatants by armed groups whilst girls are often more vulnerable to sexual violence.
Despite widespread condemnation and mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable, such grave violations of children’s rights continue. In the annex to the UN Secretary General’s report 2014 on Children and Armed Conflict[4] listing parties responsible for grave violations against children, armed groups on the continent are overrepresented. 15 of the 28 groups listed are located in Africa, 5 of which are national armed forces.
There is growing intolerance globally and on the continent against acts of violence committed against children in conflict situations and in particular against violence committed by peacekeepers. The UN Secretary General is vociferous in his condemnation and he is exploring ways to end impunity through, for example, naming and shaming countries that fail to take action[5]. His dismissal of the Head of the UN Mission in the Central African Republic following repeated allegations of violations by peacekeepers sends a clear signal. In 2015, the UN Security Council demonstrated its continued engagement on the issue by adopting Resolution 2225[6]. The resolution requests the Secretary General to include in the annexes to his report on children and armed conflict those parties to armed conflict that engage in contravention of applicable international law, in patterns of abduction of children in situations of armed conflict. In line with the priorities of this Swedish funded project, it also calls for mandatory pre-deployment training of peacekeepers on child protection and sexual violence. This will need high-level political commitment that is driven by evidence from grassroots action, which this project would endeavour to undertake.
The AU is taking the issue seriously with the appointment of a Special Representative to the AU Chair of the Commission for Women, Children and Armed Conflict to drive the agenda within the AU. The AU Peace and Security Council, PSC, has to date held five open sessions focusing on children associated with armed conflicts. It is cooperating with the ACERWC to make Member States more accountable for their implementation of the African Children’s Charter.
African troops already form the bulk of the peace support troops currently engaged in the UN missions on the African continent and in one AU mandated mission (AMISOM in Somalia) and two AU authorised missions (the fight against the Lord’s Resistance Army in central Africa and Boko Haram in Nigeria and surrounding countries). By the weight of their numbers and their engagements, they clearly have a significant effect on the lives of girls and boys in the contexts in which they operate. As peacekeepers, they are mandated to protect children from violence in conformity with Security Council resolutions on children in armed conflict, country specific resolutions and the respective mandates. Ensuring that they have the necessary capacity and resources to implement this mandate effectively has a large potential impact on protecting children from violence in the continent’s ongoing and future conflicts.
- Background to the child participation component
It is encouraging that children and armed conflict are on the African political agenda and various mechanisms are in place to prevent and respond to violence against children affected by armed conflict. However, the reality is that the children whom they are designed to protect rarely inform these. Consequently, decisions, policies and processes that do not involve children in their design can have gaps. In worst cases, these policies can actually work against the best interests of the child, further exposing girls and boys to violations especially where they do not consider the intricate differences in dimensions of impact on girls and boys. Simply put, decisions, policies and process affecting children are more likely to be effective in their intent if children are involved in their design, implementation and monitoring.
Currently when children are engaged in processes it is often tokenistic without clear mechanisms for them to influence decisions, policy and practice. Such engagement is often not in line with best practice in ensuring that children are properly informed, that they are willing participants, and that the experience of different groups of children differentiated by for example sex, ability, age etc. are considered. Paternalistic attitudes and lack of knowledge on how to engage children effectively contribute to this.
Save the Children’s experience as a leader on child participation shows that girls and boys bring alternative perspectives to issues affecting them that have not been considered by adults. Their participation leads to better decision making, policies and practice that more effectively address their experience. This work aims at improving decision making policy and practice by strengthening the ability of peace support actors to engage children and strengthening the capacity of children to effectively engage. The work will focus on four main activities:
1 capacity building for CSOs in Mali and South Sudan on conducting children consultations; 2 conducting children consultations in collaboration with local CSOs in Mali and South Sudan; 3 sensitisation sessions with the ACERWC and PSC on best practices in child participation; and 4 conducting research with children on key topics affecting their wellbeing and livelihood, whose findings will be presented and discussed at the AU, ACERWC and other regional bodies.
- Objectives of the consultancy
The purpose of the consultancy is to carry out and develop communication and advocacy materials from consultations with children which will be conducted in Mali and South Sudan starting in November 2017. The first phase of the consultations will be conducted in Mali in November 2017, while the second phase will be conducted in South Sudan in early 2018.
The consultant will work with the project team and local CSOs to facilitate consultations with children so as to gather their views and opinions on issues affecting them from a lens of children affected by armed conflict. Through the use of various tools and methodologies, the consultant should be able to facilitate different groups of children varying by age, sex, ability, and other factors with ease and ensure maximum and effective participation of children and other stakeholders, as well as extract and analyse information from the consultation which can be used for advocacy and communications purposes.
The specific results are:
- Comprehensive and detailed views and opinions gathered from children and other stakeholders during the consultations through the use of various tools.
- Analysis of findings from the consultations.
- Key messages and views derived from the consultations to be used for advocacy and communication purposes by the project team and local CSOs
Key Tasks
- Attend a one-week training in Mali and South Sudan with local CSOs to discuss planning for the consultations – tools to be used, selection of participants, duration of the consultations among other matters.
- Travel to Mali and South Sudan (specific regions to be determined) with the project team and local CSOs in late November 2017 and early 2018.
- Facilitate the consultations with children in collaboration with the project team and local CSOs, through using various tools and methods to ensure maximum participation of children and other stakeholders.
- Document detailed views and opinions from the consultations capturing the key needs and desires of children.
- Analyse findings from the consultations.
- Extract key messages and views from the findings that can be used for advocacy and communication purposes.
Key Deliverables
Expected deliverables will include communication and advocacy publications produced in English, French and local languages in Mali and South Sudan, targeted mainly at the AU, ACERWC and other regional bodies to highlight the voices of children affected by armed conflict, the key challenges they face in their daily lives and their most pertinent needs. The local CSOs will also use these materials for their own advocacy purposes at the national level.
Key deliverables will include:
1 A narrative report documenting the findings of the consultations. 2 Communication and advocacy publications such as photo albums, campaign digests, infographics.
1 Methodology, Outputs and Timeframe
Consultations in Mali – 6-9 November, 20 November-22 December:
Deliverables
No. of Working days
Develop an operational plan for the consultations in collaboration with local CSOs and the project team
4 (6-9 November)
Travel to Mali for consultations with children and other stakeholders – collation and documentation of findings
10 (20-29 November)
Analyse findings gathered during the consultations and write a narrative report on the findings
4 (5-8 December)
Develop communication and advocacy publications
10 (11-22 December)
Total Number of Days
28
Consultations in South Sudan – early 2018:
Deliverables
No. of Working days
Develop an operational plan for the consultations in collaboration with local CSOs and the project team
4
Travel to South Sudan for consultations with children and other stakeholders – collation and documentation of findings
10
Analyse findings gathered during the consultations and write a narrative report on the findings
4
Develop communication and advocacy publications
10
Total Number of Days
28
- Consultant profile
The consultant must demonstrate substantial knowledge and experience in child rights and child participatory approaches in armed conflict contexts. He/she must have experience in designing and conducting research and participatory processes in humanitarian settings.
The consultant will have experience in all aspects of carrying out research including planning research, outlining and writing reports, reviewing documents, facilitating focus group discussions and workshop-like events, analysing large amounts of material and data, and extracting key messages which can be used for communication and advocacy purposes.
This consultancy is open to individuals who possess the following requirements:
- Working experience in conducting consultations with children
- Capacity to gather and critically analyse information.
- Extensive knowledge of the political and humanitarian context in the Horn of Africa and West Africa (specific working experience in Mali and South Sudan an added advantage).
- Ability to travel within the Horn of Africa, West and Central Africa region.
- Demonstrated experience in carrying out research and/or similar assessments.
- Experience of participatory research methodologies.
- Experience of writing reports of similar assignments characterised by ease of readability across mixed audiences.
- Excellent writing skills in both English and French.
The consultant will be commissioned by the Regional and Multi-Country Programme Unit (RMCPU) which is based in the East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO), and will work with the project team to the successful completion of this assignment.
- Remuneration
Daily rates will be determined after discussions with the consultant. Save the Children ESARO will cover for the consultant’s air tickets on economy class to relevant field sites, accommodation on bed and breakfast plus airport transfers in the field. All other costs shall be borne directly by the consultant. Remuneration will be based on submission of deliverables. Payment will be made as par the agreed schedule. Taxation laws for Kenya will apply on the overall consultancy fee.
- Ethics, Safeguarding and Code of Conduct
As the consultant firm will be working on behalf of Save the Children, they will be required to sign and adhere to the Child Safeguarding Policy and ethical guidelines. Note that background checks will be undertaken on all applicants.
As regards the documentation, the title rights, copyrights and all other rights of whatever nature in any materials used or generated under the provisions of these services will exclusively be vested with Save the Children International East and Southern Africa Regional Office.
- Submitting expressions of interest
Interested individuals must submit a technical and financial proposal including:
- A cover letter introducing the consultant and how the skills and competencies above are met, with concrete examples as appropriate.
- An expression of interest including interpretation of the TOR, proposed methodology, time schedule and work plan for carrying out the consultancy.
- A CV detailing relevant skills and experience, including 3 contactable referees
- Reasonable budget breakdown and cost consideration commensurate to expected deliverables.
- Applicants should be available for immediate engagement (End of October)
Applications should be submitted to:
Save the Children East and Southern Africa Regional Office by 2nd November 2017
[1] Article 1, CRC
[2] Article 2, ACRWC.
[3] ACERWC (June 2015). Inception Report – A Study on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children in Africa commissioned by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
[4] UN Secretary General Report on ‘Children and Armed Conflict’. A/68/878-S /2014/339 of 15 May 2015.
[5] The Guardian (14 August 2015), Ban Ki-moon says sexual abuse in UN peacekeeping is ‘a cancer in our system’, online at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/14/ban-ki-moon-says-sexual-abu…
[6]UN SC Resolution 2225 available online at: http://watchlist.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/UNSC-2225-2015.pdf
How to apply:
Application Email: Please apply with a covering letter and up-to-date CV to: ‘[email protected]‘
More Information
- Job City Nairobi