Consultancy for research and drafting of a thematic paper on: Youth participation in parliament and peace and security

I.Background

In December 2015, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2250 (SCR 2250) on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS). SCR 2250 recognizes the important and positive contributions of youth¹ in the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, affirms their critical role in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, and stresses the importance of empowering youth in peacebuilding. It also urges Member States to increase inclusive representation of youth in decision-making at all levels, as well as in institutions and mechanisms to prevent and resolve conflict and counter violent extremism. It identifies five main pillars for action: participation, protection, prevention, partnership, and disengagement and reintegration.

SCR 2250 requests the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) to carry out a Progress Study on the positive contributions of youth to peace processes and conflict resolution, in order to recommend effective responses at local, national, regional and international levels.

To feed into the study, the United Nations has issued a call for thematic papers to provide background research, analytical thinking and recommendations on specific themes related to the YPS agenda. It has approached the IPU to contribute to the UNSG Progress Study with a thematic paper on the relationship between youth participation in parliaments and peace and security.

Parliaments are key institutions in the promotion and maintenance of peace and security. As representative institutions, they can promote dialogue and reconciliation in fragmented societies. With their legislative and oversight functions, they establish legal frameworks on peace and security-related issues, and hold the security sector to account. Parliaments often also review and/or approve major arms procurement projects and major personnel appointments. They also exert control over the security sector by approving budgets. At the same time, they are also an important entry point for youth political participation and the input of youth perspectives to policy-making. Parliaments, therefore, are institutions that intersect strongly with the youth focus of SCR 2250 and its five main pillars for action.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the world organization of parliaments, was founded on the premise of dialogue and the peaceful resolution of conflict. Over 125 years later, it maintains peace building, conflict prevention and security as its strategic objective. For example, it engages in mediation efforts to assist in conflict resolution, it reviews and debates issues related to peace and security through its Standing Committee on Peace and International Security, and it engages in capacity building activities on thematic issues pertaining to peace and security, including disarmament, non-proliferation of weapons, and reconciliation.

The promotion of youth empowerment is one of IPU’s core strategic objectives. IPU acts as an observatory of youth participation in national parliaments. Its research and monitoring has resulted in the establishment of both an authoritative sex-disaggregated dataset and a series of biennial reports on Youth participation in national  parliaments. With SCR 2250 having recognized the importance of political participation of youth in peace and security, IPU’s data and guidance on youth participation are valuable resources that can provide insights on the interplay between youth political participation and peace and security. IPU also provides platforms for young parliamentarians to enhance their engagement and influence on international issues. It has established a permanent global Forum of young parliamentarians and organizes an annual Global Conference of Young parliamentarians. The 2015 edition of the Conference was on the theme Democracy, Peace and Prosperity and served to specifically examine the relationship between youth participation and peace and security.

These activities, as well as IPU’s related work in supporting youth participation in politics and enhancing the integration of youth perspectives in parliament, has uniquely positioned it to provide valuable evidence-based perspectives to the United Nations Secretary General’s Progress Study in the follow-up to SCR 2250.

II.Objective

The overall objective of this assignment is to draft a thematic paper on the relationship between inclusivity in parliaments and peace and security, in particular through youth participation in parliaments.

The thematic paper will build on IPU’s data and information on youth participation in national parliaments and will constitute IPU’s contribution to the United Nations Secretary General’s Progress Study on SCR 2250.

The information collected will help inform IPU’s, world parliaments’, and the international community’s efforts at better understanding and building policy on inclusive political processes in peacebuilding and conflict prevention.

IV.Methodology

The paper should be based on the United Nations Guidance for thematic papers and country case-studies for the Progress Study on YPS, as well as the Note on the Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security mandated by Security Council Resolution 2250.

IPU data and publications, in particular the report on youth participation in national parliaments should constitute the paper’s main sources of information along with indexes focused on levels of fragility and/or stability, such as: the Fragile States Index, Global Peace Index, and other relevant rigorous empirical databases.

The research and subsequent thematic paper will build on an examination of selected country examples, in either post-conflict, transition, or post-transition phases. Focus will be made on mechanisms and processes in place to foster inclusivity and youth participation in parliaments and the impact of such mechanisms and processes in contributing towards peace, security and stability.

The research collection and subsequent paper should be anchored around responding to the following leading question: What are the relationships between levels of peace and security and established mechanisms and processes for more inclusive parliaments, including through youth participation?

The research collection and the paper should be based on:

• A desk review of existing literature, including IPU publications and external parliamentary, academic and civil society sources of information.
• Investigative research into parliamentary websites, legal frameworks, policies, and any other source of information that can provide insights on inclusivity in parliament, youth participation and/or peace and security.
• Direct communication and/or interviews (in person, over the phone/Skype, email, etc.) with parliamentarians, parliamentary staff, civil society actors, academics, and any other resource persons in a position to provide useful information. Contact with parliaments can be facilitated by IPU.

V.Content of the thematic paper

The thematic paper should contain the following:

• An Executive summary, with key facts, figures and findings;
• Background information and a succinct description covering the topic and the scope of the paper;
• References to previous similar relevant reports, if any;
• A section explaining the research methodology employed;
• A presentation of findings, with tables and graphics;
• The consultant will also be encouraged to submit her or his own personal suggestions on possible pistes of enquiry for inclusion in the paper;
• Conclusions and recommendations
• Full bibliography.

VI.Deliverables

A compilation of raw information and data collected with regard to the subject matter and a written thematic paper (including tables and charts) of approximately 15 pages, and not more than 20 pages, reflecting the methodology indicated above. The final paper should be of publishable quality in accordance with the criteria set by the IPU.

Copyright of the paper will be under IPU, which will also be presented as the sole author. Reference to the Consultant will be made in the paper’s acknowledgements. According to the guidelines of the United Nations, all thematic papers undertaken in the context of the Progress Study will be made available to download free of charge on the website for the Study, and can be freely disseminated by the author/leading organizations. Authors provide permission to the author(s) of the Progress Study to use thematic papers to develop the content of the Study without specific references.

Data collected for the thematic paper should be presented in a way that facilitates their extraction for future purposes or publications, such as factsheets, policy briefs, and so forth.

VII.Format

MS Excel and MS Word. Drafts and the final version must be written in English.

VIII.Duration

Twenty-five (25) working days between 10 December 2016 and 25 January 2017.

• A draft version of the thematic paper should be submitted no later than 15 January 2017.
• The consultant should account for 5 working days for incorporation of feedback and submission of the final version of the paper after feedback has been received from the IPU.

Expected submission of final version no later than 25 January 2017.

IX.Location

Research and report drafting can be carried out off-site and do not require physical presence in IPU Headquarters in Geneva.

X.Required qualifications

The accepted candidate will have:

• An advanced degree in political science, international relations, sociology, or a related social science field.
• Expert quantitative and qualitative research and analysis skills.
• Strong expert experience in measuring relationships using complex datasets. Skills in multivariate and regression analyses an asset.
• Demonstrable and proficient skills in drafting and presenting empirical data in reader-friendly formats and language.
• A strong and proven ability to present results in reader-friendly formats (graphs, charts, etc.) and language.
• Excellent and proven writing skills in English. Knowledge of French, Spanish or Arabic an additional asset.

 

• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Word and Excel.

Previous research experience in youth political participation, particularly youth participation in parliaments, is a very strong asset.

Previous research experience related to conflict, state fragility, peacebuilding, and so forth, is also an asset. Familiarity with indexes and datasets related to these issues would also be desirable.

XI.Remuneration

The IPU shall pay the consultant an agreed upon lump sum upon satisfactory delivery of the deliverables described above.

XII.Applications

Interested applicants should submit a résumé and a cover letter which explains how their skills and work experience match the required needs for the project as well as very briefly outline how they intend to carry out the project and meet the objectives. The cover letter should also include any limitations on availability within the timeframe of this consultancy and a quote for the Consultant’s daily rate.

The selection evaluation criteria will be:

• Previous work and academic experience – 60%
• Writing proficiencies – 30%
• Quality of the proposed outline to carry out the project – 10%

Interested applicants are requested to send their applications to [email protected] no later than 5 December 2016 at 12:00pm (Central European Time). Applicants will only be contacted if they are under serious consideration. Incomplete applications or those received after the deadline will not be accepted.

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1. Youth are defined in SCR 2250 as persons between the ages of 18 and 29.