Individual Consultancy for a Maldivian National to provide Technical support for the rollout of the Juvenile Justice Act and the Child Rights Protection Act

UNICEF Maldives is seeking a local consultant to provide Technical support for the rollout of the Juvenile Justice Act and the Child Rights Protection Act.

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TOR/2020/03  ADVERT

Background & Purpose:

In line with the Government's commitment to protecting all children and ensuring that the details of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child are adequately reflected in national legislation, a new Child Rights Protection Bill was formulated and ratified on 20th November 2019 as Law Number 19/2019 (Child Rights Protection Act). The new law contains provisions that protect the child from all physical and mental harm, torture, neglect, negligence, cruelty, abuse, sexual violence, raises the minimum age of marriage, and defines a more robust protection system to enable the state to provide full protection to all children.

Similarly, legislation concerning minors in conflict with the law was a key missing piece in the Maldivian criminal justice legislation. After more than a decade of attempting to codify it, Law Number 18/2019 (Juvenile Justice Act) was also enacted on 20th November 2019. The new Juvenile Justice Act sets out provisions on the best interest of the child in conflict with the law, raising the minimum age of criminal liability, setting new minimum standards for juvenile detention, juvenile court provision, and promotion of diversion mechanisms such as rehabilitation and reintegration. The Act purports to create a completely distinct justice system for minors in conflict with the law.

With the enactment of these two key pieces of legislation, the first step has been made. Both Acts also define a clear timeline for implementation, which the Government is set to meet. For this to happen, a coordinated and well-prepared implementation plan will be required.

Purpose:

The Attorney General's office has reached out to UNICEF to support the required planning and coordination to make sure the implementation of the two laws goes smoothly and thereby enabling the Government to meet the required timelines.

The main objectives of the proposed consultancy:

The objective of the consultancy is to assist the Attorney General's Office in supporting the various Government Agencies in rolling out the Child Rights Protection Act and the Juvenile Justice Act in line with the required timelines.

What is the basic project objective to which the consultancy is related:

Strengthening institutional capacity to implement the CRP Act and the JJ Act.

Duty station: Male', Maldives.

The consultant(s) will be placed within the team at Attorney General's Office. The consultant(s) will directly work with the team identified by the stakeholder Agencies and be supported by UNICEF.

Travel: Travel to the field is expected and will be identified jointly with the AG office.

Supervisor : Attorney General's Office and Mohamed Naeem, Programme Specialist, UNICEF MCO.

Major deliverables for the consultancy:

Phase I

Under Phase I of the roll-out, the Government requires an extensive roll-out plan of the Juvenile Justice Act and the Child Rights Protection Act ("the Acts"). A local consultant is to be appointed to lead the process of reviewing the two Acts and drafting the two roll-out plans, under the direct guidance of AGO, Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services (MOGFSS), Juvenile Justice Unit (JJU) and UNICEF and in coordination with the inter-sectoral implementation committee. The required deliverables include but are not necessarily limited to the following:

• Take the lead in conducting a desk review of the new Acts including a gap analysis of the current system, defining the governance mechanisms for the roll-out of the two Acts, and drafting of a TOR for a multi-sectoral committee overseeing the process; 
• Organize and conduct consultation meetings with relevant stakeholders including but not limited to relevant Government institutions, judiciary, lawyers and civil society organizations to seek their views and inputs for the roll-out plan;
• Support the AG office to prepare two distinct and costed roll-out plans for the Acts taking into consideration the desk review and gap analysis findings, as well as stakeholder inputs. The two roll-out plans should outline preparatory tasks necessary for Government and State agencies to implement the Acts, include pre- and in-service training requirements, a detailed timeline for each relevant stakeholder Agency for ensuring overall timely implementation, outline the oversight and coordination mechanisms, and include a targeted awareness campaign to inform all relevant staff and future staff about the changes in the laws, the general public, and key policy-makers as well as the Parliament about the important changes in the child protection system.

Phase II

Under Phase II of the roll-out, the consultant/s will be assisting the Government in implementing the tasks identified in the two roll-out plans, under the guidance of a multi-sectoral committee comprising of at least the AGO, MOGFSS, JJU, MPS, PGO and UNICEF.

The specific deliverables this phase include, (to be further detailed out during phase one) but are not necessarily limited to the following:

• Contextualize relevant best practice training materials to the Maldives context, and prepare specialized training materials for the various targeted Agencies; 
• Train a group of co-trainers to support the consultant in conducting trainings/orientations for relevant personnel identified in the Acts;
• Support the various Agencies and institutions in revising their pre- and in-service training manuals and guidelines to reflect the changes in the Acts;
• Formulate the necessary regulations and Guidelines as provided in the Acts to allow a timely and relevant roll-out of the Acts;
• Support the relevant Agencies and institutions in revising their organizational structures and establishment of new Departments/institutions as per the requirements under the Acts;
• Develop a targeted communication plan to support the Government in conducting a general awareness raising campaign for the public as well as for internal Government purposes;
• Implement tasks from the roll-out plans, as indicated and identified by the multi-sectoral coordinating committee.

Deliverables

PHASE 1

1. Report on the Desk Review, Gap Analysis, and Governance structure available.
2. Consultation reports to reflect discussions and inputs.
3. Roll-out Plans including detailed timelines for the CRP Act and the JJ Act including (i) the preparatory activities, (ii) general awareness sessions and (iii) possible impact of the state institutions with recommendation to manage them is available.

PHASE 2

4. Regulations, Guidelines and SOPs as identified in the Roll-out Plan.
5. Training and /or orientation of the relevant stakeholders as per the Roll-Out Plan.
6. Organizational Structure for the institutions outlined in the Acts is available and accepted by the relevant stakeholders.
7. General awareness sessions have been conducted to x number of people.
8. Consultancy Report is available and of adequate UNICEF quality standards.

Note: Soft and hard copies to be submitted to UNICEF. Payments will be disbursed against acceptance of products, and against accepted deliverables and on acknowledgement of the receipt of the deliverables.

Estimated duration of contract and deadline for submission of end-product: The total consultancy is estimated to be extended over 10 months.

Qualifications or specialized knowledge and/or experience required:

The consultancy can be taken up individually or as a team/institution. The individual or the team must have members with the following qualifications and /or specializations to be selected for the consultancy.

Academic qualifications:

• Advanced degree in Law

Knowledge, skills and experience:

• At least 5 years' experience working experience in the area of child rights
• Prior knowledge in developing plans for roll-out or implementation of new legislations either in the Maldives or elsewhere

Personal competencies:

• Ability to keep to tight timelines.
• Strong drive for results.
• Highly developed communication, networking and interpersonal skills
• Ability to working with teams of diverse capacities.

Language competencies:

• Proficiency in written and spoken English and Dhivehi

For every Child, you demonstrate¦

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results

View our competency framework at

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Deadline for Application: 10^th February 2020, 13:00 pm (Maldives Time)

Application Link: 

https://secure.dc7.pageuppeople.com/apply/671/gateway/Default.aspx?c=apply&sJobIDs=529451&SourceTypeID=796&sLanguage=en-us 

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.