CONSULTANCY ANNOUNCEMENT ** Global Guide on Protection of Children against Torture**

Created in 1985, and with over 200-member organisations in its SOS-Torture Network, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) is today the largest international coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) fighting against torture, summary executions, forced disappearances and all other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment. OMCT’s International Secretariat is based in Geneva and it has offices in Brussels and Tunis.

The OMCT, as the principal civil society coalition against torture, has developed its child rights specialized expertise through a designated Child Protection Against Torture Programme over the past three decades. Our focus on the protection of children from torture seeks to link child rights and anti-torture actors. We work through our SOS-Torture Network and support the members to integrate a child rights perspective in their work, strengthen their capacities and reach, including through enabling regular civil society access to monitor juvenile detention facilities. We engage authorities on legal and policy reforms to prevent torture, and pursue accountability for child victims of torture and we have in particular developed a specific expertise in monitoring places of detention where children are detained.

OBJECTIVE OF THE CONSULTANCY

The OMCT seeks to contract a Consultant to conduct research and collect information on the protection of children against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment, and to draft a Global Guide on Protection of Children Against Torture for publication.

The Global Guide will consist of a tool collecting best civil society practices to prevent torture and abuse against children in detention. It will draw amongst others on OMCT’s longstanding experience, particularly in, Benin, Brazil, India, the Philippines, Togo, and Uruguay, but also worldwide. It will aim at increasing knowledge and understanding of civil society organisations, but also governments and juvenile justice professionals about the prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment against children deprived of liberty, and at presenting models and initiatives that prevent and protect children against such practices. The Guide will also analyse how children are affected by torture and will provide recommendations to states, UN human rights bodies to protect children against torture and ill-treatment.

What we are looking for:

The OMCT seeks to contract a Consultant to conduct in depth research and collect information on the protection of children against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment with the aim to produce a Global Guide on Protection of Children Against Torture for publication. The objective of the Global Guide is to mobilise the OMCT SOS -Torture Network and other civil society organisations as well as juvenile justice professionals, UN human rights bodies and States’ authorities to get involved in the protection of children who are deprived of liberty from torture. The Guide will seek to:

1. Collect best practices to prevent torture against children in detention, based on OMCT’s longstanding experience, particularly in, Benin, Brazil, India, the Philippines, Togo, and Uruguay, but also based on secondary data through three consultations organised in the regions;

2. Provide context on how children are affected and impacted by torture;

3. Introduce stories of children assisted through OMCT’s Child Rights Protection Programme;

4. Provide recommendations for OMCT’s SOS-Torture network members, partners and other civil society organisations, but also for professionals of juvenile justice, State authorities and UN human rights bodies on how to improve the implementation of the prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment against children deprived of liberty.

METHODOLOGY

The consultant will, as part of the research methodology, organise and conduct with support of the OMCT team three online regional consultations with experts and SOS-Torture Network members in order to collect relevant information, as well as one global expert meeting in order to share and exchange on good practices against torture and ill-treatment of children and the key policy recommendations that will be identified in the Global Guide.

BACKGROUND OF THE CONSULTANCY

The UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty, launched in 2019, estimates that there are currently 1.5 million children deprived of liberty, who are in serious risk of being tortured or otherwise ill-treated. Torture, and other inhuman and degrading treatment against children deprived of liberty remains largely unacknowledged and hidden, in many cases accepted, or tolerated.

Over the past three decades, we have worked locally and globally to develop a multi-tiered strategy to ensure children their right to protection against torture and abuse. While the ultimate goal of the OMCT is to eradicate torture and notably promote alternative measures to deprivation of liberty, we have observed throughout our work that there are practices and safeguards that could prevent torture and other ill-treatment of children while deprived of liberty.

The Global Guide aims at presenting models of initiatives that can help reduce cases of torture of children during deprivation of liberty developed against the backdrop of an analyses of how children are affected by torture and a discussion of the legal challenges related to their protection.

RESPONSABILITIES OF THE CONSULTANT

· Conduct research and collect information, in particular best practices to end torture and other ill-treatment of children in detention, including through the organisation of online regional consultations;

· Organise and lead three regional online consultations (in Africa, Asia and Latin America) with experts and members of the SOS-Torture Network and partners of the Child Protection Against Torture Programme (starting December 2020 TBC). This includes the preparation of working documents for participants, setting the agenda, the organisation of the online consultations, and the collection of information from the participants on best practices to end torture and ill-treatment of children in detention;

· Organise an expert meeting (date TBC) with representatives of the regional online consultation groups and international experts for the finalization of good practices and recommendations;

· Finalise the research and text of the Global Guide for publication.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE OMCT

· Participate and provide orientation, guidance and discussion on the objectives, structure and content of the Guide;

· Provide intensive, on-going, back-and-forth revisions and improvements;

· Provision of any available raw materials from the OMCT for the Consultant to comply with her/his/their responsibilities;

· Assuring the translation of the report into English/French, the lay out and printing of the report;

· Providing timely payments upon receipt of appropriate and satisfactory deliverables.

KEY DELIVERABLES

· A working document/concept note reflecting the principal issues and best practices in ending torture and ill-treatment of children, in order to facilitate the discussions during the online consultations and collect relevant information;

· Leading in the design, organisation and moderation of three online regional consultations with selected CSO experts, and of the final expert consultation on recommendations;

· Propose a specific methodology and research plan jointly with the OMCT Secretariat;

· Finalised text for the Global Guide on the protection of children against torture and ill-treatment.

DURATION AND BUDGET OF THE CONSULTANCY

The Consultancy’s start date is 1^st December 2020 in order to deliver the report on the research by 1st May 2020 at the latest.

The maximum available budget for this contract is US Dollars 27.000. The most competitive consultancy proposals will be those with the highest quality proposal that are budgeted within.

LOCATION OF WORK AND SUPERVISION

The consultancy can be home-based with possibility to spend time for specific intervals at the International Secretariat of the OMCT, located in Geneva, Switzerland. It includes the mandatory attendance of the three online regional consultations and of the final expert consultation, and any other meeting that may be required to accomplish the consultants’ responsibilities. The Consultant will work under the supervision of and in close collaboration with the OMCT Human Rights Adviser of the Child Protection against Torture Programme, and in close collaboration with OMCT SOS-Torture Network members.

TO BE CONSIDERED ELIGIBLE, CANDIATES MUST POSSSES THE FOLLOWING:

· Masters’ Degree or equivalent in law, international relations, or related field (required);

· Recognised competence and experience in the field of human rights, in particular in the field of torture or other ill-treatment, detention or juvenile justice related issues (required);

· Experience in working in a multidisciplinary environment with a diverse group of stakeholders from different backgrounds;

· Good understanding of dynamics around issues of detention, children’s rights and juvenile justice

· Experience in organising international meetings and coordinating group work;

· Good drafting skills, and previous experience compiling / writing manuals/reports for a recognized national, regional, or international NGO;

· Excellent fluency English and either Spanish or French, with knowledge of other languages as an asset;

· Excellent drafting, communication and presentation skills.