National Consultant to Support the Preparation of the State of Palestine’s Replies to the List of Issues – CEDAW Committee

Background:

UN Women (UNW), 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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. 

UN Women’s triple mandate, along with its global network and deep policy and programming expertise, continues to endow the Entity with a unique capacity to: (i) support Member States to strengthen global norms and standards for gender equality and women’s empowerment, and mainstream gender perspectives in other thematic areas; (ii) promote coordination and coherence across the UN system to enhance accountability and results for gender equality and women’s empowerment; and (iii) undertake operational activities to support Member States, upon their request, in translating global norms and standards into legislation, policies and strategies at country level. 

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997 (as UNIFEM). In line with the national priorities, the work of UN Women for the period 2023-2025 is aligned with three of the Palestine United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework’s (UNSDCF) outcomes:

•     Palestinians have greater access to economic opportunities that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, including decent employment and livelihoods opportunities in an empowered private sector.

•     Palestinians, including the most vulnerable, have equal access to sustainable, inclusive, gender responsive and quality social services, social protection, and affordable utilities.

•     Palestinian governance institutions, processes, and mechanisms at all levels are more democratic, rights-based, inclusive, and accountable.

Its three-year Strategic Note supports the efforts to achieve measurable results in country in terms of four UN Women global Strategic Plan impacts (2022-2025): (SP Impact 1). Governance and participation in public life; (SP Impact 2). Women’s Economic Empowerment; (SP Impact 3). Ending Violence Against Women and Girls; SP Impact 4. Women peace and security, Humanitarian & Disaster Risk Reduction.

In line with the State of Palestine’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA), as the national machinery responsible for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment, is leading the preparation of the official national replies to the List of Issues issued by the CEDAW Committee.

This process is being undertaken through a coordinated national approach involving relevant governmental institutions, and in consultation with civil society organizations, including the national CEDAW coalition. The preparation of the replies comes at a critical juncture marked by the Israeli aggression in OPT, which has had profound humanitarian, economic, and social consequences, disproportionately affecting Palestinian women and girls, since October 2023. This context necessitates the development of a comprehensive and evidence-based response that reflects both national efforts and the structural challenges posed by the occupation.

UN Women have signed an MoU with MoWA to collaborate on key frameworks such as CDEAW, Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, UNSCR 1325 as well as in coordination of emergency and humanitarian responses that prioritize women’s safety, dignity and leadership.

Within this framework, and in line with the signed MoU between UN Women and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, UN Women seeks to engage a qualified national expert to provide technical support in facilitating a structured, participatory, and coherent process for the preparation of the national replies, in accordance with the CEDAW Committee’s guidelines and expectations, with the assignment to be carried out in close collaboration between UN Women and OHCHR.

Objective of Consultancy: 

The main objective of this consultancy is to support the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in developing a comprehensive, coherent, and evidence-based national document responding to the CEDAW List of Issues, ensuring alignment with the Committee’s reporting requirements while accurately reflecting the Palestinian context, including how the context of occupation and war has impacted the State of Palestine’s capacity to fulfill its obligations under CEDAW. 

The consultant will work under the overall guidance of the UN Women Deputy Special Representative and the direct supervision of UN Women Programme Specialist/Coordinator (Intergovernmental and Normative Engagement), in close coordination with MoWA Special Advisor, and in close collaboration with UN Women and OHCHR’s team  And will be supported by the UN Women EVAW Analyst for contract and payment matters. 

Description of Scope of Work and Responsibilities:  

The expert will be responsible for:

• Support the full cycle of preparation of the national replies through a structured and consultative approach. This will begin with a comprehensive review and analysis of all relevant documentation, including the CEDAW Convention, the Committee’s List of Issues addressed to the State of Palestine, previous State reports and concluding observations, as well as relevant national strategies and frameworks such as the National Cross-Sectoral Gender Equality Strategy (2025–2027), the National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325, and the National Strategy to Combat Violence against Women (2023–2030). 
• Review sectoral reports and data produced by governmental and non-governmental actors to ensure that the response is grounded in updated and credible evidence.
• Building on this review, the expert will design and develop a standardized data collection template to be used by relevant ministries and institutions. This tool should be aligned with the structure and requirements of the CEDAW Committee, enabling the systematic collection of qualitative and quantitative information, including progress made, challenges encountered, and relevant indicators.
• Facilitate national consultations with the official CEDAW national team formed by presidential decree, ensuring inclusive participation of all relevant stakeholders.
• Facilitate a consultation with member states and international organizations, ensuring reflecting their input and perspectives in the review process.
• Based on the collected input, the expert will undertake a thorough review, consolidation, and analysis of all contributions received from different stakeholders. The expert shall ensure consistency, avoid duplication, and harmonize the language and structure of the responses in line with UN reporting standards.
• Draft the national replies document in a clear, concise, and professional manner, ensuring that it is evidence-based, responsive to each question raised by the Committee, and reflective of both progress and existing gaps.  
• All consultations should be properly documented, and their outcomes systematically integrated into the drafting process.
• The document should incorporate a strong gender analysis throughout and explicitly highlight the impact of the Israeli occupation and ongoing aggression as structural constraints affecting the implementation of the Convention.

Methodology

The assignment will adopt a mixed methodological approach combining desk review, structured data collection, and participatory consultations. The process will be guided by the principles of inclusiveness, evidence-based analysis, and alignment with international reporting standards, particularly those of the CEDAW Committee.

Deliverables

The following are the main deliverables of the consultancy:

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy that requires field visits to various stakeholders including MOWA, government entities, CSOs among others.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• 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 Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Strong commitment to gender equality, women’s empowerment, women’s rights, and social justice issues.
• Strong understanding of the Palestinian legal, institutional, and political context.
• Ability to evaluate and integrate information from multiple sources.
• Demonstrate strong facilitation skills and experience in managing multi-stakeholder consultations.
• Ability to conduct in-depth studies and provide evidence-based conclusions on causes and solutions to gender equality challenges in specific societies and systems.
• Excellent research and analysis skills.
• Ability to maintain continuous communication with relevant stakeholders to ensure the quality and coherence of the outputs.
• Ability to meet deadlines and respond constructively to feedback. 

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, law, international development, or any related field is required. 
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. 

Experience: 

• A minimum of 7 years of professional work experience in working with international human rights mechanisms and treaty body reporting processes is required. 
• Experience working with CEDAW and related UN mechanisms is required. 
• Experience working on gender issues and women’s human rights with national government and civil society is desirable.
• Proven experience working on M&E related to gender issues and on national gender strategic frameworks is highly desirable
• Previous experience in drafting high-quality analytical and policy documents in both English and Arabic is required.
• Provide two samples of previous work, including assessments, evaluation or research papers relevant to the assignment to be attached as part of the application.

Languages: 

• Proficiency in Arabic is required. 
• Proficiency of English language is required.  

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.