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Job Description
I. Background and Justification
Within the wider scope of the Government of Suriname – United Nations UNDAF and Common Country Programme Action Plan (C-CPAP) 2008-2011, the Government of Suriname and UNICEF have the aim to realize children’s and women’s rights as outlined in the CRC, the CEDAW, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the Millennium Declaration.
The Situation Assessment and Analysis of Surinamese Children and Women (SitAn) is an important process that determines the country situation with respect to children’s and women’s rights and development potential or critical issues/elements thereof to increase understanding to identify necessary action on issues affecting their realization. The process is used to understand the causes of problems and to analyse the capacity of duty bearers at all levels in addressing the causes, including social and economic environment. The SitAn will also offer a comprehensive analysis of disparities (geographic, ethnic grouping, gender, etc), their immediate, underlying and root causes. It helps to identify the country’s capacities in each of these areas, as well as the capacity gaps at different levels, and the needed actions. A SitAn should be carried out or comprehensively updated every five years. In Suriname the last SitAn was conducted in 2001 and district level SitAns were conducted in Nickerie and Brokopondo in 2003. It is therefore very outdated and needs to be updated to provide a solid basis for the new UNDAF, C-CPAP and Country Programme Document 2011–2015. It will also contribute to the new Multi year Development Plan for the GoS 2012-2017.
UNICEF Suriname is going to undertake a new comprehensive SitAn in 2010. The Millennium Development Goals and Millennium Declaration, CRC and CEDAW will form the framework for guiding the SitAn. A human rights based approach (HRBA) will be applied to the SitAn, requiring a comprehensive analysis of the situation of all children under the age of 18 who are residing in the country, and focuses as much as possible on those hardest to reach. Special attention will be paid to the situation of the most marginalized and disadvantaged groups to behaviours and values related to the family, traditions and culture, that impact on the realization of children’s rights. The SitAn will conduct comprehensive analysis, by using causality analysis of immediate, underlying and structural or root causes that prevent the child’s enjoyment of all his or her rights. Under this approach it is necessary to identify all the key actors that are responsible for ensuring that children’s rights are respected, protected and fulfilled and to assess to what extent they possess or lack the capacity to meet their obligations. In order to carry out such an extensive and comprehensive analysis, the SitAn in Suriname will be based on a wide range of reliable sources: census, recent household surveys and other surveys, studies and research (see annex one for details), as well as consultations with Government, other UN agencies, other development partners, and civil society. In addition it is necessary that the SitAn includes the views of children and women from different groupings themselves by including them in participatory research activities.
It is envisaged that a well prepared SitAn can support the articulation and strengthening – through participatory means – of policy frameworks, strategies, and interventions at different levels of society that will achieve long term beneficial results for children and women.
This TOR is drawn up for an international consultant to lead the SitAn development process.
2. Purpose of Assignment:
The primary purpose of the SitAn is to identify the issues and causes of issues hindering the fulfillment of children’s and women’s rights, to analyze the capacity of duty bearers at all levels for meeting their obligations, to analyze the policy and legal frameworks for children, and make specific recommendations for future action. In addition the analysis identifies facilitating factors to build on, draws on opportunities and strategies for future action. The SitAn is also expected to:
- Contribute to national research, formulating policies, legislation, and budgets
Its aim is to make a significant contribution to national knowledge of children and women in Suriname and to provide an important reference for policy-making, formulating legislation, and budget allocations, government capacity building efforts, service delivery systems and engagement of civil society and local communities for children.
- Contribute as a reference for developing national plans, programs, and other processes
The SitAn is an essential reference for developing national plans and programs for children and for other relevant national processes such as the development of the next UNDAF and C-CPAP (2012-2016).
- Provide an assessment and analysis of the realization of the rights of children
The SitAn is a broad-based assessment of the status of the realization of the rights of children and, which also reflects on the progress achieved in women’s rights when they have an impact on children. The analysis will be based on quantitative and qualitative data available from national statistics and analytical work by a wide range of national and international sources.
- Identify the challenges concerning children using disaggregated data
The data presented in the SitAn should be disaggregated, as far as possible, by geographic areas, gender, age, ethnicity, rural and urban, and other key characteristics. It should identify which problems exist, where they are occurring, who are most affected by them, how widespread the problems are and what mechanisms exist or are lacking to address them.
3. Key tasks of the consultant:
I. Desk review of relevant documents
The consultant will review all relevant documents including but not limited to the following list:
1)MICS 2 (2000), MICS3 (2006), initial data from MICS4 (2010) if available
2)Census 2004
3)CCA/UNDAF 2007
4)C-CPAP 2008-2011
5)Suriname Statistics Yearbooks 2005-2009
6)Household Budget Surveys 200XXXX
7)Vulnerable Children Study 2008-2010
8)KAPB Survey on Child Rights in Suriname
9)1st, 2nd, and combined 3rd and 4th Periodic CRC Reports
10)CEDAW Periodic Reports
11)Study on Children’s homes in Suriname (2005)
12)Study on Childcare Institutions in Suriname (2008-2010)
MDG Report 2010
14)Child Friendly Budgeting for Education Report (2007 and 2010)
15)School Mapping (2008, 2009)
16)Education Statistical Yearbook (2008, 2009)
17)Migration Study
18)Labour Market Study 2009
19)Educational Quality and Equality in the Inland of Suriname - 2008
20)Gender SiTan 2010
21)National Action Plan for Children 2009-2013
22)National Action Plan for Youth 2010-2014
23)Youth and Adolescent studies for the Caribbean
24)Adolescents in Suriname- Health (2006)
25)Adolescents in Suriname – Sexual, Reproductive Health (2008)
26)Surinam MOP 2006 -2011
27)Situation Analysis of children in Suriname (SoZaVo, 2001)
28)Situation Analysis of children in Brokopondo (2003)
29)Situation Analysis of children and women in Nickerie (2003)
30)Situation Analysis of women in Suriname (2001)
II. Develop the Government Led Steering Committee
The Consultant will provide inputs to guide government appointment of the steering committee. Under the guidance of the steering committee the consultant is responsible for producing a work plan for the joint approval of GoS and UNICEF.
III. Develop a framework and detailed work plan
Finalise an analytical and conceptual framework based on the SitAn Guidance for Conducting Situation Assessment and Analysis of Children’s and Women’s Rights (UNICEF New York, January 2008) and the detailed work plan, including methodology, timelines and tools, list of people/agencies for key informant interviews and preliminary list of documents to be reviewed, and develop the table of contents.
IV. Data Collection and Coordination
Organize and conduct consultations with communities, including women and youth groups, key development partners including representatives of national and local governments, UN agencies, research institutes, donor agencies, international, and national NGOs
V. Participate in and support/facilitate key workshops
Organize technical workshop with key stakeholders to discuss the outline for the first draft of the SitAn. Conduct SitAn finalization workshop with key stakeholders (including Government, NGOs, UN agencies, developing partners, civil society). Participate in CCA/UNDAF workshops as necessary.
VI. Data analysis and Report writing
Produce a draft SitAn Report by synthesizing the data and information gathered from the desk review, interviews/consultations. including causality and capacity gap analysis, policy, institutional, and legislative reform analysis which will lead to the recommendations for action.
4. Duty station: Paramaribo with work from home base
1.5. Duration of Assignment:
2.4 months (June 1 –September 30, 2010) for a total of 90 working days.3.
