Legal Advisor - National Consultant - Home-based

Background:

UN Women, 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.

UN Women has been working in Lebanon since 2015 through its triple mandate, encompassing normative support, UN system coordination and operational activities to mobilize urgent and sustained action to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls and support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Operational activities have prioritized advancing women’s leadership and political participation, women and peace and security and economic empowerment with changing discriminatory gender norms as a cross cutting area of work.

Under the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) programme, UN Women supports the government of Lebanon in the implementation, reporting, monitoring and evaluation of progress achieved under the National Action Plan (NAP) on United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on WPS, which was endorsed by the government of Lebanon in 2019 for the period 2019-2023. The NAP on UNSCR 1325 focused on supporting i) the security and defense sectors in developing and implementing gender equality policies; ii)removing discrimination against women in laws and iii) promoting women’s role in peace building, recovery, transitional justiceand mediation efforts. In addition, UN Women Lebanon supports the efforts of national women’s rights organizations andcommunity based organizations (CBOs) to seek truth, foster collective remembrance and ultimately, move towards reconciliationaround the legacy of the civil war.

Furthermore, the NAP on UNSCR 1325 provides the national framework guiding UN Women’s support to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). UN Women’s collaboration with the LAF dates back to 2019 and complements UN-system wide efforts to support the LAF to strengthen Lebanon's critical security functions amidst the multiple crisis. Specifically, in response to national priorities, UN Women has provided technical support to LAF to mainstream gender equality issues within the LAF Strategic Vision, including supporting the LAF Gender department.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

Under the supervision of the UN Women Representative and the guidance of the Head of the LAF Gender Department and the UN Women Programme Management Specialist, UN Women seeks to recruit a Legal Advisor to provide technical capacity building to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) on the recently developed internal policy on Anti-Sexual Harassment and Domestic Violence (ASH/DV).

Building on the ASH/DV policy previously developed with the support of UN Women, the Legal Advisor will design and deliver tailored training sessions aimed at strengthening institutional understanding, ownership, and implementation of the policy across relevant units of the LAF and with external partners.

In close coordination with the Head of the LAF Gender Department and UN Women, the Legal Advisor will:

• Provide technical guidance to the LAF Technical Committee to support the integration of ASH/DV policy considerationsinto the LAF Code of Conduct;
• Deliver a capacity-building session for senior leaders and members of the Technical Committee on the content, scope, and operationalization of the ASH/DV policy;
• Conduct a workshop targeting security sector Gender Focal Points and representatives of civil society organizations working with the military and security agencies in Lebanon, focusing on the implementation of the LAF’s ASH/DV policy and its coordination mechanisms.

All activities should be implemented in alignment with national and international legal frameworks, including the Lebanese Constitution, Law No. 205 on “Criminalizing Sexual Harassment and Rehabilitation of its Victims,” and the LAF Gender Mainstreaming Strategy, as well as with the commitments under CEDAW, the Beijing Platform for Action, and UNSCR 1325 (2000) and its subsequent resolutions.
The consultant will ensure that the trainings are participatory, gender-responsive, and adapted to the institutional context of the LAF, contributing to building a culture of accountability, prevention, and zero tolerance for sexual harassment and domestic violence within the institution.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy, with frequent visits to UN Women office and LAF Gender Unit office.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies: