Result of Service

The consultant will work under the supervision of the responsible staff at the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Section and the Firearms Trafficking Section, Division for Treaty Affairs of UNODC. The consultant will be undertaking the following activities: 1) Identify illustrative country situations and conduct a desk review of available laws from jurisdictions across all regions and different legal traditions, as well as related information from academic articles and other reliable sources. The desk review should include the collection of all legal provisions that are available from official sources, with a view to making them available on relevant UN databases. 2) Prepare an outline of the research, clearly identifying the scope, methodology and key focus areas, as well as the different stakeholders to be contacted or interviewed and the specific questions to be addressed to each of them concerning the relevant focus areas. 3) Gather information from relevant stakeholders (including academia and civil society organizations supporting victims/survivors) through online interviews (individual and/or focus groups), with support from UNODC field office staff, as feasible. 4) Analyze the information gathered, with a view to provide a comparative legal analysis and identify challenges and recommendations, including any needs for future research and legislative support or further technical assistance; 5) Prepare a comprehensive research paper summarizing the information gathered and outlining the findings and detailed recommendations (addressed to relevant stakeholders, such as law and policy makers at the national level or UNODC or intergovernmental bodies at the international level), and submit it to UNODC for review and feedback. 6) Finalize the research paper, in line with UNODC comments.

Work Location

Home-based

Expected duration

05.08-30.09.2024

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is mandated to promote crime prevention and criminal justice responses to violence against women and gender-related killing of women and girls, in line with relevant international standards and norms adopted by the General Assembly. These standards and norms complement broader international commitments and obligations for States to exercise due diligence in preventing and responding to gender-based violence against women (GBVAW). They call, inter alia, for legal reforms to ensure that persons who are brought before the courts on judicial matters in respect of violent crimes or who are convicted of such crimes can be restricted in their possession and use of firearms, as well as for enhanced data collection concerning the use of weapons in cases of violence against women to inform criminal justice policy. The 2020 UNODC Global Study on Firearms Trafficking stressed that in relation to homicides of intimate partners and family members, in which most victims are women, men were more likely than women to use a firearm when killing their female partners. In fact, access to firearms or the presence of firearms in the household is a key risk factor for gender-based violence against women (GBVAW), and international standards call for risk assessments that indicate the level or extent of harm that victims may be subjected to, including based on the presence of weapons and other determining factors. To support the implementation of applicable standards, UNODC has developed a range of technical tools to enhance the capacity of police, prosecutors, judges and other criminal justice professionals in responding effectively to GBVAW, applying victim/survivor-centered and holistic approaches. In addition to assessing the (lethality) risk of firearms and other weapons, such tools discuss the use of legal powers to prohibit suspects or convicted persons from acquiring or possessing firearms or other weapons, including as part of protection orders, sentences or release conditions, to seize firearms and ammunition or other weapons, or to require the surrender of authorizations, licenses and registration certificates. As such, these tools can also be used as guidance for policy makers when developing gender-sensitive firearms control regimes within domestic legal frameworks on firearms. Through its Global Programme on People-Centered Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Reform, UNODC promotes crime prevention and criminal justice responses to GBVAW, including through research and technical support to countries in aligning national criminal legislation and policy frameworks with international standards and developing the capacity of criminal justice systems respond more promptly and effectively to GBVAW and provide essential services to victims and survivors. UNODC’s Global Firearms Programme supports States in preventing and combatting the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, and, to that end, reinforcing national legal and institutional frameworks and building adequate criminal justice systems. This work includes support to reform processes of domestic legal frameworks related to firearms, including firearms licensing regimes. The purpose of the present assignment is to provide a comparative overview of domestic legal provisions to prevent and address the use of firearms in gender-based violence offences. In particular, the assignment will identify and compare legislative approaches to restrict the acquisition, possession and use of firearms by suspected or convicted perpetrators of GBV, including as part of protection orders, sentences or release conditions. It will also review the extent to which domestic criminal law addresses firearms-related GBV, as well as the extent to which GBV is addressed in legal provisions concerning firearms authorization, licensing and registration, firearms control registries or the seizure of firearms and ammunitions. The approach of the assignment will include comparative legal research and inclusive consultations of relevant experts and stakeholders. The research will be guided by relevant international instruments, including the United Nations updated Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (General Assembly resolution 65/228, annex) and the standards and guiding principles set out therein (e.g. human rights-based, victim-centered, ensuring offender accountability, involvement and participation of all relevant sectors of government and civil society, etc.). In addition to facilitating the implementation of international standards and norms, the research will facilitate the implementation of commitments made by Member States, for example in the Kyoto Declaration to mainstream a gender perspective into criminal justice systems or in the 2030 Agenda, as part of SDG 5.2 on ending all forms of violence against women and girls and SDG 16.3 on access to justice for all. The consultant will be expected to work collaboratively with the UNODC team in defining the final scope of the research, the case studies and jurisdictions that will be assessed and methodology to be used and in preparing the final product. In performing related tasks, the consultant would be expected to apply UN and UNODC policies and strategies on gender mainstreaming, disability inclusion and intersectionality. The research should in particular focus on the following elements: A. Comparative overview of relevant legal provisions (from a variety of jurisdictions from all regions and different legal traditions) • Legal provisions addressing the use of firearms in the context of GBV-related offences, including as part of the definition or as an aggravating factor for sentencing; • Legal provisions addressing GBV in the context of firearms-related offences; • Legal provisions restricting the acquisition, possession or use of firearms by suspected or convicted perpetrators of GBV, including (a) as part of protection orders issued by judicial or police authorities, (b) as part of a criminal conviction or sentence, (c) as part of release conditions imposed as part of non-custodial measures, including at the pre-trial stage or at the post-sentencing stage, or (d) any other type of legal provisions; • Legal provisions addressing GBV in the context of firearms authorization, licensing and registration; • Legal or administrative provisions addressing GBV in the context of firearms registries; • Legal provisions addressing GBV in the context of the seizure and confiscation of firearms and ammunitions. B. Comparative overview of judicial practice in the application of relevant legal provisions (from a selected number of jurisdictions from different regions) C. Analysis of the legislation in place to prevent and address the use of firearms in gender-based violence offences and its application in practice D. Conclusions and recommendations (addressed to relevant stakeholders at the global and national level), including model provisions for the abovementioned areas

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, human rights, political science or criminology is required. A first level university degree in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. At least 7 years of progressive professional experience in the field of prevention and responses to violence against women, with specific experience in the crime prevention and criminal justice aspects is required; Experience in comparative legal research in the field of criminal law, is required; Experience in the field of firearms control, firearms criminality or firearms trafficking is desirable; Research or work experience in relation to the use of firearms in gender-based violence offences is desirable; Work experience with the UN system is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.