TERMS OF REFERENCE

 

Review and Redevelopment of the African Union Harmonised Training Standards onto the Protection of Civilian Training Package

BACKGROUND

In recognition of the increasing importance of the protection of civilians to the work of the AU, the PSC, during its first Open Meeting on the Protection of Civilians on 18 May 2011(PSC/PR/BR.CCLXXIX), emphasised the importance of the need to protect civilian populations. Specifically, the Council “Stressed the relevance of a number of AU instruments to the protection of civilians, including the AU Constitutive Act, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, as well as the AU Convention for the Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons. Council further stressed the imperative of ensuring the effective implementation of the commitments made by Member States in these instruments, in particular with respect to the protection of civilians.”. The Council further: “Emphasised the importance of the protection of civilians, and […] encouraged the Commission to mainstream the protection of civilians into the whole spectrum of the African Peace and Security Architecture.”. The Council also requested the Commission to provide regular reports on progress made in implementing the Council’s request and other relevant AU decisions.

In light of the increasing importance of the protection of civilians to the decision-making of the PSC and the work of the AU more generally, the AU developed Draft AU Guidelines for the PoC in Peace Support Operations in 2010. This was followed by the development of an Aide-Mémoire on Protection of Civilians in 2013 to provide a shared approach to the rights of civilian population during conflicts and post-conflict situations, including through the guarantee of protective environments for civilians.

In 2023 the 15th ordinary meeting of the Specialized Technical Committee of Defence, Safety and Security (STCDSS) adopted the draft AU Policy on PoC in Peace Support Operations. With the aim of supporting effective mission-wide PoC mandates for PSOs under one policy, the newly adopted AU Policy on PoC seeks to guide, mainstream, consolidate and strengthen the implementation of PoC mandates in PSOs.

In order strengthen capacities for the implementation of PoC mandates in PSOs, the AU designed the AU Harmonised Training Standards on Protection Of Civilians in 2018 to inform and expose military, police, and civilian experts to the conceptual and institutional frameworks of African Union (AU) multidimensional Peace Support Operations in the protection needs of civilians, especially vulnerable groups (such as women and children) during conflicts and post-conflict situations. Since 2018 a number of PoC courses have been held, including Training of Trainers to RECs/RMs and TCEs/TIs.

Having utilised the AU Harmonised Training Standards on PoC in training all components of the ASF since 2018, it has become important to review and update the AU Harmonised Training Standards onto the PoC Training Package, to make it more relevant and responsive to current and emerging AU PSO needs. There is also a need to align the PoC Training Package with the new AU Policy on PoC for Peace Support Operations.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives for the review and redevelopment of the AU Harmonised Training Standards onto the PoC Training Package are to:

1. Assess the relevance of the various modules of the AU PoC curriculum and align it to the new AU Policy on PoC for Peace Support Operations, and to the current and emerging needs of peace actors and civilians in contemporary AU PSOs;
2. Recommend modules that need to be updated, expunged or developed to make the AU PoC Curriculum responsive to emerging needs of AU PSOs;
3. Develop a revised AU PoC Curriculum, reader and facilitators manual based on the AU’s format for developing Curriculum package documents.

TASKS AND TIMELINE

In order to get the best out of the review process it is anticipated that the Training Package will undergo a two-phase approach within a total of 50 Consultancy days. The phases are suggested as follows:

Phase I (APPENDIX A)	Days
Step 1: Commissioned consultant must flesh out the revised AU Harmonised Training Standards on PoC, align it with the new AU Policy on PoC, and Develop a Reader for the revised PoC Training Package.	25 Days
Phase II (APPENDIX B & APPENDIX C)	Days
Step 2: Develop a Facilitators’ Manual for the revised PoC Training Package (APPENDIX A).	15 Days
Step 3: Development of Scenario-Based Exercise and Case Studies for the revised PoC Training Package (APPENDIX B).	10 Days

Contract Duration

The contract shall commence on 11 September 2023 and end on 30 November 2023 unless terminated earlier.

Qualification and Competencies

• Minimum of five years’ experience as a Curriculum Development expert in a Multilateral organisation
• Demonstrated skills as a Training expert
• Understanding of the working methods of the AU Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security and PSOs
• Excellent interpersonal skills to engage at all levels of management and staff
• Language Competence - Excellent written and spoken English

Educational Requirements

• Advanced University degree or equivalent experience in political science, law or any other social sciences

Contract Management and Reporting

The Peace Support Operations Division (PSOD), under the AU Commission (AUC), is responsible for commissioning the review and redevelopment of the AU Harmonised Training Standards Standards onto the PoC Training Package. The coordination and supervision of the commissioned work, as well as all matters of reporting and of ensuring that the deliverables meet established quality benchmarks will be the primary responsibility of AUC PSOD.

The Consultant will be contracted and administratively managed by the African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) on behalf of the Training for Peace Partners. For remuneration purposes, the Consultant will report on their activities to ACCORD. The Secretariat of the TfP will have operational oversight over the performance of the assignment.

This is a home-based assignment. Travel is not required. The Consultant will engage virtually:

• ACCORD will facilitate engagements with interlocutors at the AUC
• ACCORD will provide IT support to host virtual meetings.

Deadline for Technical Proposal

Qualified applications are invited for the above assignment. The deadline is 8 September 2023. Please direct your submission to ACCORD Programme Officer, Mr Wandile Langa at wandilel@accord.org.za.

 

APPENDIX A

 

1. AU Harmonised Training Standards on PoC: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RV-8cxBDlWKl4b5EQpOoloYiC96rLVbS/view
2. African Union Policy on Protection of Civilians in Peace Support Operations: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lK3McO1aFWU9dWWfK2C214PgXx7Il4xK/view?usp=drive_link

Proposed consultancy days: 25 days

APPENDIX B

 

Facilitators’ Manual for the AU Protection of Civilians Course Curriculum

 

Terms of Reference

The consultant will develop a Facilitators’ Manual for the AU Protection of Civilians Course Curriculum which will include the following:

1. Introduction to the Manual
2. Aim of the Manual
3. Organization of the Manual
4. A step-by-step guidance for trainers on each module of the Au PoC Curriculum in a standardized format. For each lesson of a module, the following information must be provided:

• Training Objectives stating intended measurable outcomes that a learner will achieve at the end of the lesson
• Suggested duration of the lesson and suggested time allocations for each topic to be treated under a lesson
• Facilitator’s Notes that must accompany almost every planned activity. These notes will highlight facts and information relevant for the selected activity thus enabling the facilitator to present them in a simple and understandable manner. These notes will also provide trainer with the necessary minimum understanding of each subject needed to facilitate the lesson.
• Alternative activities for presenting a lesson (minimum of two). This will give the facilitator alternative and additional ideas on how to present the lesson or topic or conduct activity using different approaches, thus allowing the trainer to adjust the training to better reflect the specific objectives of the training and the specific audience.
• Hand-outs necessary to conduct some of the activities described in the manual (where recommended in the curriculum)
• Editable power points slide for each lesson which can help to facilitate each module, lesson or activity
• Suggested exercises for each lesson to internalize learning
• Recommended resources and further reading references for the lesson

Proposed consultancy days: 15 days

APPENDIX C

 

Development of Scenario-Based Exercise and Case Studies for the AU Protection of Civilians Course

 

Terms of Reference

The consultancy is aimed at develop an end-of-course summative Scenario-based Exercise (SBE) and Case studies for the AU Protection of Civilians Course which will assist in reinforcing the skills and knowledge that are expected to be transferred to trainees throughout the course.
In terms of the SBE, the consultant is expected to:

1. Define a goal for the SBE
2. Develop exercise objectives which will help define the scenarios/ case studies, challenge the thinking of trainees, ensure that trainees understand what is to be accomplished and allow trainees to practise the knowledge and skills transferred throughout the course. These objectives should be simple, measurable, achievable, realistic and task-oriented
3. Provide an SBE that is contextual to AU PSO environments and largely drawn from the Carana Country Scenario and any other experiences relevant to AU PSO context
4. Identify the players/ groups to be involved in playing out the scenarios
5. Develop scripts and injects for the players
6. Allocate a duration for the exercise
7. Develop a plan and guiding questions for the debrief sessions aimed at correcting gaps and reinforcing learning

The Case Studies to be developed should:

1. Provide storylines that are contextual to AU PSO environments and largely drawn from the Carana Country Scenario and any other experiences relevant to AU PSO context.
2. Relevant to the thematic/subject Areas in the AU PoC curriculum drawing out pertinent issues in a PSO setting. The areas include Gender & SGBV, Children, SEA, IHL/IHRL etc,
3. Pose problems that actively involve learners in discussing, exploring, investigating, analyzing and making recommendations regarding the case
4. Pose problems or situations that encourage or require interaction among trainees, between trainees and facilitator, and between trainees and resources outside the learning environment
5. Pose problems whose solutions are open-ended
6. Make trainees apply what they know and develop new ideas to manage a situation or solve a problem in AU PSOs
7. Provide a set of questions/scenarios at the end to give direction and feedback to learners in their discussions

Proposed Consultancy Days: 10 days