National Consultant to Strengthen the Capacity of Public Prosecutors in Impact Litigation / Home Based

Background/Context

UN Women (UNW), grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. 

UN Women’s triple mandate, along with its global network and deep policy and programming expertise, continues to endow the Entity with a unique capacity to: (i) support Member States to strengthen global norms and standards for gender equality and women’s empowerment, and mainstream gender perspectives in other thematic areas; (ii) promote coordination and coherence across the UN system to enhance accountability and results for gender equality and women’s empowerment; and (iii) undertake operational activities to support Member States, upon their request, in translating global norms and standards into legislation, policies and strategies at country level. 

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997 (as UNIFEM). In line with the national priorities, the work of UN Women for the period 2023-2025 is aligned with three of the Palestine United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework’s (UNSDCF) outcomes:

•            Palestinians have greater access to economic opportunities that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, including decent employment and livelihoods opportunities in an empowered private sector.

•            Palestinians, including the most vulnerable, have equal access to sustainable, inclusive, gender responsive and quality social services, social protection, and affordable utilities.

•            Palestinian governance institutions, processes, and mechanisms at all levels are more democratic, rights-based, inclusive, and accountable.

Its three-year Strategic Note supports the efforts to achieve measurable results in country in terms of four UN Women global Strategic Plan impacts (2022-2025): (SP Impact 1). Governance and participation in public life; (SP Impact 2). Women’s Economic Empowerment; (SP Impact 3). Ending Violence Against Women and Girls and; SP Impact 4. Women peace and security, Humanitarian & Disaster Risk Reduction. 

In line with the Palestinian Government’s commitment to combat  Violence Against Women (VAW) as set in the National Strategy to Combat VAW, and in full partnership  with the protection, security and justice sectors’ actors, including the Palestinian Civil Police (PCP), the Public Prosecution (PP), the High Judicial Council (HJC), the Supreme Judge Department (SJD) and the Ministry of Social development (MoSD),UN Women,  under its joint rule of law programme "Sawasya III,"  is supporting the Justice and Security institutions to mainstream gender into their procedures and policies, and develop and provide  gender responsive services to women victims and survivors of violence, through providing institutional capacity building and policy level interventions  amongst others. 

Acknowledging the crucial role of prosecutors in promoting women’s access to justice; ensuring protection for women survivors of violence, and  enforcing accountability for perpetrators, UN  Women and through collaboration with the Attorney General's Office (AGO) developed a Strategic Litigation Guideline on Cases of Women Victims and Survivors of Violence, with particular focus on sexual and physical abuse cases, to guide and empower  public prosecutors  handling  these cases to effectively litigate, present and defend cases of  women survivors of violence, and contribute towards introducing and developing progressive and responsive legal policies and practices during the court proceedings. 

Capitalizing on these efforts,  UN Women plans to conduct a capacity-building training for prosecutors litigating cases of violence against women, including Family Protection Prosecutors, on the developed Guideline, to strengthen  their capacity and empower them to  effectively litigate  VAW cases, including ensuring successful convictions; developing gender-responsive pleadings, and challenging prevailing legal practices and discourses in Palestinian courts. 

Against this background, UN Women as part of its joint rule of law programme- “Sawasya III”- plans to recruit an experienced legal consultant/trainer to develop and deliver a training programme for prosecutors who investigate and litigate VAW cases, including Family Protection Prosecutors. 

The Objectives of the Assignment:

The main objective of the assignment is to strengthen the knowledge and capacity of public prosecutors handling cases of violence against women, enabling them to effectively litigate, represent and defend VAW cases in court.

Specific Objectives: 

          The assignment has two main specific objectives, including the following points: 

1. To develop a training material on the effective application of the developed Strategic Litigation Guideline
2. To deliver a 4 days capacity building training for prosecutors handling cases of violence against women, with a particular focus on cases of sexual and physical violence. 

Specific focus in the training will be on the following aspects:

• Understanding the Strategic Litigation Guideline, its alignment with international human rights and fair trial standards, and the VAW Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Developing and applying effective litigation strategies in cases of violence against women, particularly sexual and physical violence cases that face prosecution challenges and/ or gender-related misconceptions during the trial.
• Promoting a gender-responsive approach in court proceedings, including developing fair legal pleadings consistent with human rights discourse and principles, international standards, and the Palestinian Basic Law.

The consultant will be reporting to Sawasya III Rule of Law and Protection Specialist and will be supported by the Prosecution Analyst, in addition to the Finance Associate who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Developing the inception report: 

• Meet with UN Women and partners’ focal points to discuss the assignment and its objectives. 
• Develop and share the inception report, including the methodology, the deliverables and time frame with UN Women for review and approval. 

Developing and delivering a capacity-building training on the Strategic Litigation Guideline: 

• Review of the Strategic Litigation Guideline. 
• Develop a training plan, related materials and pre and post assessments and share with UN Women for review and approval.
• Conduct a 4-day capacity building training on the application and use of the Strategic Litigation Guideline.  
• Ensure a participatory approach and interactive methods, throughout all phases of the training. 

Reporting on the assignment: 

Prepare a final narrative report on the assignment, including a description of the methodology, key results, challenges and recommendations, along with relevant annexes, including the training materials, participants lists and other supporting documents.

Deliverables:

The consultancy has two main deliverables: 

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based assignment, with required travel to AGO in Ramallah and other locations if needed. The consultant will coordinate closely with UN Women and AGO throughout the assignment.

Competencies

Core Values: 

• Respect for Diversity 
• Integrity 
• Professionalism 

Core Competencies: 

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues 
• Accountability 
• Creative Problem Solving 
• Effective Communication 
• Inclusive Collaboration 
• Stakeholder Engagement 
• Leading by Example 

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:   https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values 

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES: 

• Very strong background on gender, violence against women (VAW), and women’s access to justice.
• Experienced lawyer with a proven track record of pleading before courts.
• Strong expertise in impact litigation and responsive prosecution of VAW cases.
• Ability to manage time and meet tight deadlines.
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.
• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback.
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure.
• Proven networking, organizational and communication skills.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• A master’s degree in law, international human rights law (IHRL), or gender studies is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 3years of professional working experience in litigation impacting human rights cases, including women’s rights, is required.
• Professional experience in gender equality, inclusion, violence against women and women’s right.
• Experience in designing and delivering capacity-building training.
• Experience in strategic litigation is highly desirable.
• Experience with the justice institutions, particularly in Palestine is desirable.
• Experience with UN or international organizations is desirable. 
• A sample of previously developed training material or relevant analytical work (e.g. training programme, manuals and guidelines) in areas relevant to this assignment must be attached as part of your application.

Languages:

• Fluency in Arabic is required.
• Working Knowledge of English is desirable.