TOR FOR CONSULTANCY ON REVIEWING A STUDY ON THE MAPPING & ANALYSIS OF CSO RESTRICTIVE LAWS IN THE EAST & HORN OF AFRICA 253 views0 applications

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR A CONSULTANCY ON REVIEWING A STUDY ON THE MAPPING AND ANALYSIS OF CSO RESTRICTIVE LAWS IN THE EAST AND HORN OF AFRICA AND DEVELOPMENT OF COUNTRY SPECIFIC POLICY BRIEFS FOR ADVOCACY

INTRODUCTION

Save the Children is the world’s leading independent organization for children. Save the Children believes that every child deserves a future. Around the world, Save the Children gives children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. Save the Children East and Southern Africa, Regional Programme Unit (RPU) engages with regional and national processes in a bid to accelerate transformative change for children and youth within development and humanitarian contexts in East, Horn and Southern Africa. This is achieved through implementation of a portfolio of innovative Pan-African and multi-country programs that model effective programme approaches, which further seek to generate evidence for policy influencing, while replicating at scale evidenced-based programs and good practice models.

Africa Capacity Alliance (ACA), formerly the Regional AIDS Training Network (RATN), is a regional network of 37 nationally-based International NGOs, National and Local NGOs, Management Institutions and University Departments working to support human and institutional capacity development in the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region. ACA has strengthened human and institutional capacities in more than thirteen (13) countries across the Eastern and Southern African (ESA) Region with more than seventy five (75) projects, reaching some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities. Africa Capacity Alliance (ACA) has established strong evidence in working with organizations and individuals that address human rights, youth rights, children rights programming, advocacy and empowerment.

Horn of Africa Youth Network (HoAYN) is a regional network of youth serving organizations that is working to foster sustainable equitable youth-led development in the Horn of Africa Region, through evidence-based advocacy and expanding civic space in the countries where the network operates. The network is comprised of representatives from 7 countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Somaliland, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. HoAYN undertakes lobbying and advocacy activities to its member organizations in areas of Youth & Migration, Peace & Security, Economic Empowerment, and Elimination of Violence against Women & Girls, in collaboration with line ministries responsible for IGAD affairs, organs of the African Union Commission and the East African Community Secretariat.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY / MAPPING EXERCISE

The space for influencing good and accountable governance for children and youth rights is shrinking across the Horn of Africa region primarily for political reasons. National legislation in the different countries in the region have curtailed civil societies’ capacity to advocate for human rights. Instead, NGOs are directed to focus on service delivery to fill the gaps for government’s poor track record in investing on basic services delivery. Similarly, at the AU level access for CSOs at the AU Summits has increasingly narrowed making it sometimes a challenge to influence final decisions. Concurrently, CSOs in the HoA are facing challenges with coherence, coordination and strategic leadership needed to generate collective and structured impact on children and young peoples’ lives. Across the HoA, civil society organizations and networks working on child and youth rights are short of support to effectively organize and share learning and experiences across the region in order to advocate effectively vis-à-vis regional duty bearers like the African Union (AU) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

It is in this regard that Save the Children partnered with ACA and other regional youth and children rights’ focused organizations to commission a study for the mapping of restrictions to civil societies in advancing and promoting the rights of children and youth in the region.

In October 2019, SCI ESARO and partners under the DANIDA supported program organized a three (3) day write-shop for the aforementioned study, bringing together experts drawn from the different organizations to draft the initial report based on desktop analysis of secondary data. This process culminated in a draft report which will be the subject of review and finalization under this consultancy.

PURPOSE OF THE CONSULTANCY

The outcome of the write-shop was an assessment report on civil society restrictive laws in East and Horn of Africa. The consolidated assessment report is still in draft form and requires;

1. A comprehensive analysis, proof-reading for improvement in flow of content and sentence structure, typographical errors and grammatical errors.
2. Development of country specific policy briefs that will guide advocacy interventions towards CSO strengthening within the East and Horn of Africa’s countries; and at the AU and RECs level.

It is against this background that ACA seeks to hire a qualified consultant who will be tasked with extrapolating the information in the report to produce country-specific policy briefs to inform advocacy at the country level, and at the AU and the regional economic mechanisms.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY

The objectives of this assignment include:

1. A comprehensive review and finalization of the draft assessment report on CSOs restrictive laws in the East and Horn of Africa.
2. The development of country specific policy briefs for South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somaliland, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania based on the reviewed assessment report.

OUTPUTS/DELIVERABLES OF THE CONSULTANCY

1. A finalized comprehensive assessment report on CSOs restrictive laws in the East and Horn of Africa.
2. Country specific policy briefs for South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somaliland, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
3. Policy briefs for AU and RECs (EAC and IGAD) engagement.

COMPETENCIES AND QUALIFICATIONS

1. Master’s Degree in Law, International Relations/Development, Humanitarian Affairs, Public Policy and/or Governance, Developmental Sociology, or any related Social Sciences field.
2. Experience working with CSOs in the East and Horn of Africa.
3. Experience in policy advocacy within the East and Horn of Africa region.
4. Expertise in working with CSOs implementing child and youth rights programs in the East and Horn of Africa.
5. Possess a critical understanding of civil society space within the East and Horn of Africa.