PROTECTION BASELINE STUDY OF PALESTINE REFUGEES

TERMS OF REFERENCE

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance. UNRWA is the largest UN operation in the Middle East with more than 30,000 staff. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.

CONSULTANTS

PROTECTION BASELINE STUDY OF PALESTINE REFUGEES

BACKGROUND

In 2016, UNRWA will start its next Medium Term Strategy (MTS) 2016-21. Strategic outcome 1 of the MTS is entitled ‘Refugees’ rights under international law are protected and promoted’. UNRWA currently does not have a comprehensive assessment of the protection threats and risks confronting Palestine refugees across its five fields of operations, namely, Syria, Lebanon, West Bank, Jordan and Gaza. While significant analysis of protection issues exists in the Agency, this tends to be dispersed and there is not a consolidated assessment or an overall system for conducting protection risk assessments on a regular basis. The MTS, and the Strategic Plans (RPs) that are being developed to implement it at the field level, do include an overview of protection needs, however, this is quite cursory.

UNRWA, therefore, intends to commission a ‘Protection Baseline Study of Palestine Refugees’ before the start of the next MTS. The study is part of a protection project funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC). It will be used as a reference point to measure progress towards the implementation of the MTS and the changing external operating environment in which the Agency works. A follow-up study would be undertaken in 2021 in order to assess the change in the protection analysis documented and to monitor in a more systematic way patterns in protection issues. The study will complement a Human Development Study on Palestine refugees being produced by UNRWA in 2015.Generating quality data and its analysis will also help enhance UNRWA’s protection response by promoting evidence-based programming. UNRWA frequently refers to the unsustainability of the situation of Palestine refugee and the study would provide an opportunity to track trends in this regard.

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study will be to collate, synthesize and analyse information on the protection issues affecting Palestine refugees across UNRWA’s fields of operation that will be used as a baseline assessment to measure progress in the implementation of the Agency’s MTS 2016-21 and inform future programming and advocacy.

In addition to this overall purpose of the study, there will be a number of secondary objectives including:

· Providing key facts and figures that can be used in UNRWA’s protection advocacy;

· Establishing a framework for UNRWA to conduct regular protection assessments in its field operations.

· Providing a reference document on key protection issues for the purposes of developing specific and evidence-based interventions and programmes.

The principal audience of the final report will be UNRWA programme directors and field directors, as well as UNRWA protection staff.

Outputs

The expected outputs of the study that will be produced by the consultant (s) will be as follows:

• A research proposal/inception report (4-6 pages) setting out the research approach and methodology.
• Final report (40-60 pages) detailing the main findings of the study per protection issue and fields of operations.
• Recommendations for how UNRWA can more systematically conduct protection risk assessments.

The study is expected to take place in the second half of 2015. The exact timetable of activities will be agreed with the consultants.

Scope

The potential scope of the study is significant given the range of protection issues and contexts involved. It will be important that the parameters of the study are clear and achievable in order to arrive at a meaningful analysis. The precise scope of the study will therefore include:

· All UNRWA fields of operation, namely, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, West Bank and Gaza.

· Protection issues within development and humanitarian contexts, in coordination with the development of the UNRWA Human Development Study.

· A focus on the situation in 2015, with brief reference to trends from previous years.

· Key metrics and analysis rather than specific case studies.

· A brief overview of the legal framework of each of the issues will be provided.

· Perceptions of Palestine refugees are not expected to be part of the assessment, but secondary source information should be drawn upon.

· UNRWA response to the protection issues should not be addressed.

Key issues to be addressed

A detailed research plan will be developed by the selected consultants, however, it is expected that the study will address the following key issues:

What are the main protection threats and vulnerabilities faced by Palestine refugees in the following broad categories? What have been the main trends and patterns?

· Protection concerns linked to armed conflict and violence

o Physical violence, including civilian casualties

o Displacement

o Attacks on and access to schools and hospitals

o Destruction of property

o Sexual violence in conflict

o Effects of armed conflict on children, women and other vulnerable groups.

o Under-age recruitment and children in military detention

o Protection situation of Palestine Refugees from Syria

· Protection concerns in the context of occupation (in the case of West Bank and Gaza)

o Impact of security operations

o Freedom of movement

o Housing, land and property issues

· Legal status and international protection of Palestine refugees

o Lack of access to social services

o Employment and property

o Civil documentation

o Refoulement

o Married to non-Refugees (MNR)

o Restriction on movements

· Violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of at-risk groups including women, children, youth, elderly, persons with disabilities, etc.

o Gender-based violence (GBV)

o Child protection concerns

· Protection challenges within UNRWA programme service delivery

o Accessibility of service

o Registration

o Existence of community-based protection mechanisms

What are the threats specific to each of UNRWA’s five fields of operation including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, West Bank and Gaza?

· Agency-wide versus context-specific protection issues

· Reasons for variation between different contexts

Are there available metrics, data and statistics for each of the protection threats and what are the main gaps?

· Presentation of available facts and figures for 2015 and comparison to previous years where possible

How do the laws, legislation and policies of host countries and the occupying power in the case of West Bank and Gaza impact on the protection issues identified? What are the issues related to working with the host government to respond to protection concerns?

What are the main causes of the protection issues identified and what is the assessment of these?

How should UNRWA frame the typology of protection issues faced by Palestine refugees and what would be a suitable framework to monitor trends of these issues in the coming years?

Methodology

A detailed methodology will be proposed by the selected consultants to conduct the study, however, it is envisaged that it will comprise primarily of a desk review of relevant documents and interviews with key UNRWA staff and other key actors/partners in the region. The following main elements would be included:

· A review of relevant secondary source external reports (UN, NGO, civil society, research institute, etc.)

· Analysis of relevant UNRWA planning documents – MTS, field and HQ plans, project proposals, evaluations, etc.

· Review of information on UNRWA’s existing protection indicators

· Review of UNRWA’s submissions to the international human rights system (treaty bodies, Universal Periodic Review, Special Procedures, etc.)

· Reference to UNRWA’s advocacy documents.

· Consultation workshops with UNRWA headquarters in Amman and Jerusalem, with UNRWA staff and external partners.

· Semi-structured interviews with key UNRWA staff at headquarters and selected field offices

· Establish and consult with research institutes and experts working on Palestine refugee protection issues in the region

It is not expected that the study will involve wide field-based research and assessments in specific field locations.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

UNRWA is looking to commission a team of two consultants with prior experience of undertaking protection assessments in humanitarian and development contexts. The team of consultants should include one senior consultant with at least 8 years relevant experience and a second with at least 5 years relevant experience.

Consultant 1

· Advanced university degree from an accredited educational institution in human rights, international development, or other related field;

• At least 8 years of experience in conflict and post conflict humanitarian protection and human rights experience
• Prior experience of carrying out protection assessments and studies.
• Protection programming experience in complex emergencies and post conflict settings

· Solid research and analysis experience;

• Ability to synthesize significant amounts of information on protection issues.

· Excellent analytical, communication, and writing skills including experience in drafting reports Experience in liaising with different counterparts, facilitating consultations, meetings and workshops.

Consultant 2

· Advanced university degree from an accredited educational institution in human rights, international development, or other related field;

• At least 5 years of experience in conflict and post conflict humanitarian protection and human rights experience
• Prior experience of carrying out protection assessments and studies.
• Protection programming experience in complex emergencies and post conflict settings

· Solid research and analysis experience;

• Ability to synthesize significant amounts of information on protection issues.

· Excellent analytical, communication, and writing skills including experience in drafting reports Experience in liaising with different counterparts, facilitating consultations, meetings and workshops.

Additional Information

The Senior Protection Coordinator will be overall responsible within UNRWA for coordinating and managing the production of the study. To help guide the process a Steering Group will be established including the Department of Planning, Department of Legal Affairs, Gender Unit, Spokesperson and the Field Protection Coordinators from each field office. The Steering Group will be involved in the selection of the experts to conduct the study, the consultation process within the Agency and the review of the draft document.

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

The study is expected to take 40-50 working days (for each consultant) and take place in the second half of 2015. The exact timetable of activities will be agreed with the consultants. The consultants will be expected to work from their current location with travel to UNRWA headquarters and offices as required. The remuneration for this consultancy will be fixed depending on the qualifications and experience of the candidate.

APPLICATION PROCESS

The team of consultants should submit their application demonstrating clearly the knowledge and experience required to meet the consultancy requirements via consultancy@unrwa.orgclearly indicating the title of this consultancy ‘Protection Baseline Study’in the subject line of the message. The deadline for the submission of applications is 31/07/2015(late applications will not be considered). The joint application should include:

• Cover letter including a brief outline of the methodology and work plan for conducting the study;
• CVs demonstrating clearly the knowledge and experience required to meet the consultancy requirements;
• Indication of availability
• Proposed budget and fees

UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from qualified and experienced female candidates. Due to a large number of applications, only qualified applicants under serious consideration will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking environment.

HOW TO APPLY:

The team of consultants should submit their application demonstrating clearly the knowledge and experience required to meet the consultancy requirements via consultancy@unrwa.orgclearly indicating the title of this consultancy ‘Protection Baseline Study’in the subject line of the message. The deadline for the submission of applications is 31/07/2015(late applications will not be considered). The joint application should include:

• Cover letter including a brief outline of the methodology and work plan for conducting the study;
• CVs demonstrating clearly the knowledge and experience required to meet the consultancy requirements;
• Indication of availability
• Proposed budget and fees