Consultant - to support national project on diversion in Lebanon [International]

UNICEF Lebanon Office is seeking to hire an international consultant to support the national consultant/contractor in the research aiming at exploring the feasibility of promoting diversion, alternatives to pre-trial detention, alternative sanctions, and at reviewing modalities for the execution of imprisonment for children in conflict with the law in Lebanon; advocate for reforms; draft proposals for legislative reform; and make recommendations on the way forward.

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For every child, Fairness

How can you make a difference?

The international consultant is is expected to undertake the following specific tasks:

1. Support research conducted by a national expert:

The international consultant will accompany and advise the national consultant based on the ToRs for the national consultant.

a. Who shall identify and quality opportunities for diversion, alternatives to pre-trial detention, alternative sanctions and modalities for the execution of imprisonment as a sanction within the existing legal framework and practice (identify existing opportunities; analyse their utilization and implementation; collect experiences on ‘what works’; identify gaps, barriers and bottlenecks; identify lessons learnt by new practices to reduce the number of children deprived of liberty in the context of covid19)

b. Who shall identify and qualify possible ways forward with regard to diversion, alternatives to pre-trial detention, alternative sanctions and modalities for the execution of imprisonment as a sanction in case there is no law reform (how to increase utilization of existing opportunities, and how to implement this) and in case there is a law reform (which additional options could be introduced, and how to implement them).

The international expert shall guide the national expert through the research process and provide advice in particular with regard to the identification of possible new opportunities, the selection of which shall be oriented by the following criteria: the needs of children in Lebanon, feasibility, promising practices and lessons learned in Lebanon (e.g. mediation for adults), promising practices and lessons learnt in other countries with a comparable context/culture, promotion of reintegration and restorative justice objectives.

2. Advocacy

The international consultant shall meet relevant stakeholders (including high level decision makers, child judges and prosecutors) in order to advocate for the introduction of diversion for children in conflict with the law and for further promoting alternatives to deprivation of liberty at all stages of the child justice process, and discuss possibilities for legal reform in this regard.

3. Draft Reform Proposals

Guided by the outcome of the research and the discussions with / the recommendations of national stakeholders, the international consultant shall draft recommendations for law reform

a. Concerning the introduction of diversion at the level of prosecution/court (including definition of diversion; aim; scope of application; pre-conditions/safeguards; diversion options/programs; authorities, roles and procedures; role of lawyer; effect of diversion)
b. Concerning the reform of existing alternatives to deprivation of liberty, and the possible introduction of additional alternatives to pre-trial detention, of additional alternative sanctions and of new modalities for the execution of imprisonment as a sentence.

4. Recommendations on Way Forward

The international consultant shall draft recommendations
a. On other urgent reforms needs in the area of child justice as observed during the consultancy
b. On next steps in the child justice reform (strategy for way forward)

For the context of this project, the following terms are understood as such:

1. Diversion: measures for referring children away from the judicial system, at any time prior to or during the relevant proceedings, usually to programs or activities (e.g. warning, community work, victim-offender mediation, family group conferencing, community/life skills programs etc.), see Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No 24.

2. Alternatives to pre-trial detention: detention from the moment of the arrest to the stage of the disposition or sentence, including detention throughout the trial. Alternatives to pretrial detention may include measures like house arrest, supervision, reporting obligations and similar. For Lebanon, some options are found in Art 110, 111 CPC.

3. Alternative sanctions: See the list of available alternative sanctions (non-custodial sanctions) in Art 5 Law 422.

4: Modalities for the execution of imprisonment: like suspension, conditional sentence, early release…

Tasks Milestones Deliverables Timeline:

Tasks Milestones 1:
Virtual meetings with national consultant and UNICEF before, during and at end of the research

Timeline 1: 3 days (October – May)

Desk review

2 days (October)

Tasks Milestones2:
Review of inception report of national consultant/contractor
Deliverables 2:
Comments made to inception report
Timeline 2: 2 days (October)

Tasks Milestones 3:
Review and comment draft report of national consultant/contractor
Deliverables 3:
Comments made to research report
Timeline 3: 5 days (January)

Tasks Milestones 4:
Field trip 1:
- Together with national expert, hold a workshop to present findings of research
- Advocacy meetings

Deliverables 4:
Participation at workshop and advocacy meetings
Timeline 4: 7 days (February)

Tasks Milestones 5
Draft:
- Reform proposals based on results of research and on advocacy meetings
- Recommendations for way forward

Deliverables 5:
Draft report that includes reform proposals, and recommendations for way forward

Timeline 5: 22 days (March-April)

Tasks Milestones 6:
Field trip 2:
- Present and discuss draft proposal, debriefing, planning way forward

Deliverables 6 :
Availability to discuss research, outcome of advocacy meetings, and ways forward

Timeline 6: 4 days (May)

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:

- Minimum 20 years of professional work experience
- Degree in law, preferably with a focus on child law, family law and/or penal law
- Experience in the establishment of systems of child justice, particularly diversion and alternatives to imprisonment
- Experience in engaging in high-level advocacy with governments and State actors, through technical support and advocacy
- In-depth knowledge of the UN system, and international framework on diversion and alternatives to detention, as well as child justice

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 be expected to adhere to these standards and principles 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.

Remarks:

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.