South Sudan: Gender-Responsive Collaborative Dispute Consultant

Nov 14, 2019 | International Organization for Migration
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Since the conflict began in South Sudan, more than 2 million South Sudanese have been internally displaced and another 2.4 million have fled to neighbouring countries. Land use and ownership is at the heart of the ongoing conflict. Given the nation’s insufficient legal frameworks and land governance institutions, the likelihood for land-related conflicts (particularly given increased returns) is high. Presently, traditional arbitration mechanisms provide an important alternative to the lack of formal justice institutions, and they remain the main means of dispute resolution across the country. These traditional systems adjudicate issues including inheritance, land use, reparations, etc—but gaps persist, and the potential for discrimination is high. It is therefore apparent that they are not adequate to address all disputes around land and property. It is important to therefore to engage communities and their leadership on the peaceful and equitable resolution of land and property disputes. Customary structures interpret and resolve land disputes in accordance with traditional laws, which often conflict with international human rights principles and contradict the rights of women and girls as guaranteed by the Constitution and international statutes applicable to South Sudan. Additionally, traditional mechanisms often are overly focused on clan relationships and tend to overlook the protection of individual rights.

IOM is committed to helping communities engage in the peaceful resolution of land and property disputes, while guaranteeing women’s right to access land and property. One way to pursue this is investing in the capacity of community institutions, such as Village Development Committees (VDC), current chiefs/ community arbitrators, or respected community decision makers. IOM will seek to train these individuals and groups on equitable, collaborative dispute resolution; the constitutionally-guaranteed rights of women; and fundamental human rights.

Scope and Deliverables:

IOM is seeking an expert to help develop a detailed, gender-responsive collaborative dispute resolution manual for use by communities and the field teams implementing this project. The manual will be divided into two separate sections and will instruct facilitators of training-of-trainers sessions, as well as a section for use by grassroots community-level users, functioning as a resource for them to navigate and equitably settle land and property disputes, among other issues.

Expected Outputs and Outcomes:

• Incorporation of a significant gender-sensitive component with analysis tools and a training manual for traditional/community structures;
• Increased appreciation by customary leaders of the different needs of men and women in dispute resolution mechanisms (and specifically in HLP disputes);
• Enhanced efficacy of targeted community groups to engage in collaborative dispute resolution, including conformity with the principles of gender equality, and human rights standards;
• Increased awareness by customary court officials of the effect and illegality of harmful traditional practices on women and girls;
• Increased access to HLP for women and girls via the customary and community dispute resolution systems. 

Deliverables:

• Deliver a detailed, gender-responsive collaborative dispute resolution training manual that can be applied in the community, including modules on dispute resolution methodologies, equitable arbitration of HLP-related disputes, women’s rights, international frameworks, and relevant components of the forthcoming national land policy;
• Deliver a resource pack on how to train on the aforementioned manual for field staff
• Conduct a training of IOM staff, partners and field teams on utilization of this training manual, including the production of a training report on the same
• Field test the training manual with the first group of Village Development Committee (VDC) members, HLP focal points, current chiefs/ community arbitrators, and/or respected community decision makers responsible for land-related dispute resolution.

Consultancy Details:

The individual/consultancy firm is to carry out the required tasks with a mix of home-based and South Sudan-based work. The Consultant will directly report to IOM’s Protection Project Manager, with support from the IOM HLP Officer who will provide guidance; review; and endorse deliverables as per the schedule below.

Payment schedules:

1. Upon negotiation and signing of the contract – 10%
2. Submission of the draft manual – 30%
3. Submission of the draft resource pack for use by staff on application of the manual -20%
4. Upon submission of the final manual and resource pack – 40%

Consultant’s Specifications:

The nature of this topic and scope of work requires a highly specialized individual with extensive relevant experience, and the highest level of expertise in land rights, administration, and governance in South Sudan and/or other conflict-affected contexts.

• Masters or equivalent in conflict resolution, gender, law, political science, international human rights or similar;
• A minimum of 7 years’ experience working with communities on dispute resolution especially on gender, research on human rights, administration, and governance;
• A minimum of 4 years’ experience working on land rights, administration, and governance issues in South Sudan and knowledge of the existing legal and policy frameworks;
• Experience advising on dispute resolution methodologies, gender, human rights, and governance in conflict-affected environments other than South Sudan (within international organizations, governments, or donor agencies); and
• In depth knowledge of the political, economic, humanitarian, and development landscape in South Sudan, including knowledge of relevant actors on the ground; and
• Fluent written and oral English, excellent drafting and report writing skills, and highly proficient computer skills

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are required to complete the information in this link https://ee.humanitarianresponse.info/x/#Yi5g and submit their CV as well as technical and financial proposals for the assignment to vss@iom.int by 17^th November, 2019, indicating in the subject of the e‐mail “HLP DISPUTE RESOLUTION TRAINING MANUAL” and the call for applications number.

The submission should include:

• A motivation letter;
• A technical proposal, outlining conceptual framework, detailed methodology and work plan (max 10 pages);
• A financial proposal, outlining the consultancy fee, including the field trips;
• CV for each team member.