National Consultant on Rights of the Child

National Consultant on Rights of the Child

Background

The Republic of Georgia ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in June 1994. Government responded the suggestion of the General Comment No. 5 of the Committee on the Rights of Child related to the “General measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child” on the development of general measures of implementation.

Recommendations made in 2008 by the Committee on the Rights of the Child  and measures adopted in the framework of the National Human Rights Action Plan , suggested the creation of a coordinating body in Georgia. In particular the committee suggested the creation of a special unit, given high-level authority reporting directly to the Prime Minister to contribute both to the overall purpose of ensuring an effective coordination across at all levels across the Government for all issues related to children rights.

The interagency Committee on the Implementation of Convention on the Rights of the Child (CICRC) was created by the Government  on 13th December 2016 as an overall coordination and monitoring mechanism related to child rights.

The CICRC composition is: Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs, Ministry of Education and Sciences, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Corrections, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Finances, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Public Defender Office, NGO representative(s) and UNICEF.

The committee supports, coordinates and monitors the implementation of local and international obligations concerning children’s rights. The Committee reports to the Interagency Council for Human Rights Strategy and Action Plan (ICHRSAP). The committee meets on a regular basis with the support of the secretariat of the ICHRSAP.

In 2016 Georgia submitted the fourth periodic report to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Alongside the State report, shadow reports were submitted by the Public Defender Office (PDO) and local NGOs. Following the review of the report during its 74th session, the CRC published concluding observations with specific recommendations .

The 2016 report of the Public Defender Office related to the situation of children’s rights underlined that measures undertaken to eliminate violence against children, extreme poverty or other violations of children’s rights remain insufficient.  PDO’s recommendations to Government included measures on the right to health and education; the right to be protected from all forms of violence and from poverty; related to child labor and to juvenile justice

Reforms guided by National Child Welfare Action Plans 2008-2011 and 2012-2015 and by Human Right Action Plans 2014-2015 and 2016-2017, are still ongoing and need to be strengthened and better monitored. Previous Human Rights Action Plans have incorporated a chapter on children rights covering the main activities plan and highlighting responsible state agencies. The implementation of the action plan has been evaluated by UNDP and will be available for review and analysis.

In order to ensure the success of the reforms, an inter-sectorial action plan should be developed in the framework of the new National Human Rights Action Plan (2018-2020).
This plan should aim at ensuring better coordination and stronger accountability at governmental level. This plan should also highlight State agency specific action points based on international and national recommendations.  

The objectives of this project are:

Assist the Government of Georgia to develop a specific Child Rights Chapter within the 2018-2020 National Human Rights Action Plan based on international recommendations and on a set of priorities identified and agreed with governmental agencies. Support the Interagency Commission on the Implementation of CRC and Children’s Rights in performing main tasks. 
 

Specific tasks:

• Consulting with stakeholders at central and municipal level to identify priority areas of the next HRAP in relation to child rights.
• Review reports on the implementation of the previous Child Rights and Human Right Action plans.
• Analyze recommendations deriving from the CRC committee, Public Defender and other international (e.g. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, European Union) and national (local NGOs and NGO coalitions) actors.
• Assess other sectoral action plans to avoid overlap and to ensure the interconnectivity between the HR and other action plans.
• Coordinate/facilitate the process of drafting of the child rights’ action plan as part of wider Human Rights Action Plan for 2018-2020 by the end of the assignment.
• Develop a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework for the action plan.

Deliverables
• Agency specific recommendations
• Concept paper with identified priorities of the agencies and interconnectivity between HR and other  action plans.
• Action plan (EN and GE) a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework
• Final report.

6. Required skills and qualification:
• Advanced university degree in Human Rights, Law, Social sciences or relevant field;
• At least 5 years of professional work experience in child’s rights and related fields at the national and/or international levels.
• Excellent knowledge of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, other international Human Rights instruments and mechanisms;
• Excellent knowledge of local policy, procedures, strategic documents and the reform on child rights
• Excellent analytical, negotiating, communication and advocacy skills;
• High interpersonal capabilities,  excellent team working skills with respect to diversities;
• Computer skills, including internet navigation, and various office applications;
• Fluency in Georgian and English;
• Ability to work through networking and with partnership.

7. Time duration:
30 days in 4 months 

8. Supervision:
The overall supervision will be provided by the UNICEF Child Protection Specialist. Day-to-day work will be provided by child protection officer. The consultant will coordinate work and liaise closely with the Human Rights Secretariat of the Administration of the Government.

Start Date: July 15