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CONSULTANCY TO DRAFT COLLABORATION PLAN OF ACTION BETWEEN THE ACERWC AND RECs

The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (the Charter) was adopted at the 26th Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity in July 1990 and came into force on the November 29, 1999, after its ratification by 15 Member States, in accordance with its article 47. Article 32 of this Charter established the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC/the Committee) whose mandate is, among other things, to promote and protect the rights enshrined in the Charter.

According to Article 42(a) (iii) of the Charter, one of the functions of the ACERWC is to cooperate with other African, International and Regional Institutions and Organizations concerned with the promotion and protection of the rights and welfare of the child. One of the ways to do so is by engaging with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) which are playing an increasingly prominent role in safeguarding human and child rights in their region. They have developed and adopted sub-regional standard setting instruments with human rights ramifications, and set up monitoring bodies to ensure compliance with these sub-regional standards. It is thus essential to develop an Action Plan for cooperation between the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) through their liaison offices in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

By working with the REC’s, the Committee will be able to deepen its engagement with their Member States for the implementation of the rights enshrined in the Charter. In this regard the ACERWC, with the support of Save the Children Sweden, (through a project entitled “the Africa Children’s Charter Project”) will develop a plan of Action for collaboration with the RECs’ Headquarters through their Liaison Offices to the African Union in Addis Ababa. The collaboration Plan will be developed though a consultancy.

This Plan of Action will allow the Committee: •To have a formal framework of collaboration with the RECs. •To ensure that child rights are high on the political, social and economic agenda’s of REC’s ,
•To ensure a good coordination and prioritization of actions in favour of children at the regional level

Overall objective: The main objective of this consultancy is to draft collaboration Plan of Action between the ACERWC and the RECs through their Liaison Offices in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Specific Objectives: •To guide the Committee towards a fruitful collaboration with the RECs •To make proposals for child rights to be prioritized in RECs programmes •To propose actions or activities that the Committee could undertake in collaboration with the RECs for the promotion and protection of the rights of the Child
•To propose actions which have direct impact on children in Member States •To make proposals for better coordination and prioritization of actions in favour of children at the regional level

Expected Outcome: On the basis of the above-mentioned objectives, the Consultant will prepare a Plan of Action, with concrete proposals to guide the Committee on a fruitful collaboration with the RECs through their liaison offices.

Scope of Consultancy: To perform its task, the consultant will liaise with the Committee Members, the Representatives of RECs liaison offices to the African Union, the Department of Social Affairs of the AUC, the Representatives of CSO and any other person whose contribution might be necessary. He/she will also consult any document or legal instrument necessary for his task. As a result of these consultations, the consultant will present a draft plan of action that can guide the Committee on a fruitful collaboration with the RECs to promote and protect the rights of the child at regional level.

Reporting lines: The Consultant will work under the direct supervision and guidance of the Secretary of the ACERWC. However, during the course of work the consultant will be expected to liaise and consult directly with Save the Children Sweden for financial matters.

Working Environment: The Consultant will work at his/her duty station. E-mail communication will constitute a vital part of the work and will be considered as official communication. Transmission of document and draft to the Chairperson of the ACERWC and to the AUC Department of Social Affairs as well as progress report will be done via E-mail.

The Committee and the Department of Social Affairs will make their comments and inputs on the draft Plan of action within a period of 10 days. These comments will be forwarded to the consultant by the Secretariat of the Committee as soon as received.

Comments and inputs from RECs will be forwarded to the Secretariat which will submit them to the Committee for consideration and eventually forward to the consultant for incorporation.

The final Plan of action will be submitted to the Chairperson of the ACERWC, the Department of Social Affairs and to Save the Children Sweden in hard copy under cover of a signed letter. Accordingly, they will reply in writing with a signed letter in hard copy acknowledging receipt of the document .The electronic version of the final Plan of action will be forwarded to the Secretariat of the ACERWC.

At least one visit to the AUC and REC’s Laison Offices in Addis Ababa will be arranged accordingly.

Time frame:

The consultancy will be for a period not exceeding 15 (fifteen) working days commencing 14th May 2012.

Required professional qualifications and experience

The consultant must possess the following qualifications and experience:

Post graduate degree in education, human rights law or other related fields Experience in conduction multi-country multi state holders research. Research and or experience of working on or with inter-governmental bodies Extensive knowledge and experience of the African Union, African Human Rights System and the international Human Rights System is essential Excellent communication skills are a must Track record of delivering high quality documents within agreed timeframe

Remuneration:

The total budget available for the consultancy is seven thousand five hundred United States Dollars - US$500 per day x 15days = US$7500 (Seven thousand five hundred dollars): The terms of payment are as follows:

-30% - upon signing of contract; -70% - upon submission of a final accepted draft

Remuneration is based on submission of deliverables.

Save the Children Sweden will cover for the remuneration, the consultant’s air tickets on economy class to Addis Ababa, accommodation on bed and breakfast plus airport transfers in the field. All other costs shall be borne directly by the consultant.

Kenyan Taxation law will apply.

Documentation The title rights, copyrights and all other rights of whatever nature in any materials used or generated under the provisions of this consultancy will exclusively be vested with the Secretariat of the ACERWC.

How to apply:

The following should be included in the application:

•A Curriculum Vitae •A two page proposal on how they are going to carry out the consultancy •Company/individual profile including a minimum of three recent referees •Evidence of programmatic and technical expertise

Application should be submitted no later than 7th May 2012 to:

Ms Susan Wambui Mbugua Pan-African Child Rights Advocacy Advisor

E-mail susanm@ecaf.savethechildren.se
Copying: Mainac@africa-union.org and Beatrice.Arionget@plan-international.org

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, and the final decision reached no later than 11th May 2012.