TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR A CONTEXTUAL, POLICY AND LEGISLATIVE REVIEW ON CHILDREN AND GIRLS RIGHTS UNDER THE DEVOLVED GOVERNMENTS IN KENYA
Background of the assignment
The Constitution of Kenya 2010 is emphatic that the sovereign power of the people is exercised at both the national and county levels. This system of government has been hailed as a mechanism for bringing government closer to citizens in order to enhance local service delivery and local participation, local ownership, sustainability to achieve lasting impacts. Indeed the Constitution lists among the objects of devolution as to give powers of self-governance to the people and enhance the participation of the people in the exercise of the powers of the State and in making decisions affecting them and to protect and promote the interests and rights of minorities and marginalised communities. However, despite the Constitutional framework for devolution in Kenya, the realisation of the promise of devolution depends on the concerted actions of critical stakeholders in the policy, legislative and implementation process at both the national and county levels. Children, the Kenya’s future, must find their rightful place in the complex devolution matrix. Even more significantly, devolved governments in the country need to put in place legislative, policy and enforcement mechanisms to support girls, who have borne the brunt of double discrimination based on age and sex over the years.
Critically, the Government of Kenya has signed up to deliver the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This includes the commitment to respect, protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability or other status. The need to facilitate the effective translation of regional and sub-regional sustainable development policies into concrete action at the national and county level, in the spirit of leaving no behind cannot be overemphasized. Admittedly, none of the Sustainable Development Goals can be fully met without addressing the root causes of the marginalisation and exclusion of children, unfortunately most often girls.
The new Plan International Global Strategy (2017-2022) premised on the purpose that “We strive for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls” has placed significant emphasis on the need to gender transformative policies and legislations to advance the rights of children and equality for girls. We seek to ‘‘work with communities to spur positive action by local leaders. And we seek to influence international and national laws, policies and budgets to advance children’s rights and equality for girls’’. We not only work with partners to ensure governments establish and enforce laws that advance girls’ and young people’s civil and political rights but also ensuring governments invest in the political empowerment of young people, especially girls. In Kenya, Plan International’s areas of focus include child protection, education, health, youth and resilience programming.
Scope of Work
The overall objective of the consultancy is to prepare an up-to-date, analytical and comprehensive report on the contextual, legislative, policy and institutional environment on child rights in Kenya, with a particular focus on Plan International’s key thematic areas and the system of devolved government in the country.
Specifically the assignment seeks to provide:
A review of Kenya’s international and regional human rights commitments on children and girls rights;
An analysis of relevant existing legislative, policy and institutional frameworks at both the national and county levels;
An analysis of key government duty bearers at both the national and county levels tasked with drafting, overseeing, implementing and enforcing children and girls rights statutes, policies including key collaborations and partnerships relevant to the identified thematic areas;
A review of ongoing initiatives, approaches and strategies and actual engagements by state actors at both levels of government that Plan International can leverage on.
A consolidation of recommendations from past State and non-state initiatives on children and girls rights with the aim of developing up to date advocacy and influencing strategies.
The Methodology
The main approach to the assignment will be a desk review of the relevant documents and strategies will be conducted impacting on children and girls at the national and county levels. Additionally Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) will also form part of the methods of collecting information to help in developing concrete recommendations. The Key informant interviewees will be proposed by the consultant and ratified by Plan International.
Deliverables
This assignment will have the following deliverables:
Inception report: Outlining the consultant’s plan of action, methodology and timelines for conducting the exercise for requisite approval;
Zero draft report: For review by Plan International to provide feedback before finalization of the report;
Draft final report: Incorporating the feedback and input received from Plan International;
Finalized detailed shadow report: Containing comprehensive substantive reviews and concrete recommendations.
The format and template of presentation of the final report shall be discussed between Plan International and the consultant.
Management of the Consultancy and Timeframes
Plan International Kenya’s Policy and Advocacy Advisor is responsible for the overall management of the assignment. Thematic technical specialists at Plan International shall also provide a specialist eye throughout the execution of this assignment. The consultant(s) will be responsible for the planning and execution. Plan International will also avail to the consultant(s) all relevant institutional documents and/or resources as necessary.
It is expected that the assignment will be concluded in not more than 25 working days from the date of signing the contract.
Ownership
The products of this assignment shall remain the property of Plan International and its authorized partners and shall be treated as confidential by the consultant(s) at all times. They shall only be made available to Plan International and no other third party whatsoever, in any form, without the prior written approval of and properly authorised employee of Plan International.
Child and youth safeguarding Policy
It is the responsibility of the consultant to demonstrate commitment to strictly adhere to Plan’s Child Protection Policy. The consultant also has responsibility to ensure that any persons hired, engaged or consulted during this process are made familiar with the policy and commit to abide by it during the execution of this work.
Consultants’ Qualifications
A university degree in social sciences, law or any relevant field;
Concrete evidence and experience undertaking similar work is a must;
High level legal and policy expertise with evidence of experience in girls and women rights advocacy;
Proven experience in producing analytical reports in the area of gender equality, girls and women’s right;
Knowledge of the devolution context in Kenya;
Knowledge of international and regional conventions and treaties regarding children and girls rights.
Proposal Requirements
In bidding for this work, the consultant(s) will submit:
Letter of interest containing the statement of candidate’s experience;
Detailed and current CV(s);
Technical proposal that will explain how the objectives and expected outcomes of the consultancy will be delivered together with the proposed methodology;
A Work plan clearly indicating the activity schedule.
Financial proposal providing overall costs of the assignment.
Note: The financial proposal should be submitted separately from the technical proposal.
