Consultant - Policy Brief Writer at ActionAid Nigeria

Background
At the 8th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union heads of government 2007, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), an initiative of the African Governance Architecture (AGA) by the African leaders. This legal document came into force on 15 February 2012 with about 10 countries signing and ratifying the document. Another 28 countries signed but have not ratified while 18 countries still have a neutral position on it. The ACDEG has since 2012 been ratified by 45 countries.

The instrument aims at reinforcing the commitment of the AU Member States towards the promotion and consolidation of democratic governance and human rights on the continent. The formulation of this charter was stimulated by different decisions, declarations, resolutions and normative instruments of AU. These instruments include the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights; the 1999 Algiers Decision on Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa; the 2000 Lomé Declaration on the Framework for an AU Response to Unconstitutional Changes of Government; the 2002 AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa; and the 2002 Constitutive Act of the AU.

The charter seeks to Promote adherence, by each State Party, to the universal values and principles of democracy and respect for human rights; Promote and enhance adherence to the principle of the rule of law premised upon the respect for, and the supremacy of the constitution and constitutional order in the political arrangements of the State Parties. It also seeks to Promote the holding of regular free and fair elections to institutionalise legitimate authority of representative government as well as democratic change of governments; Prohibit, reject and condemn unconstitutional change of government in any member state as a serious threat to stability, peace, security and development amidst other objectives. The charter further empowers the African Union Commission (AUC) through the Democracy and Electoral Assistance Unit and the Democracy and Electoral Assistance Fund to offer technical assistance to AU Member States towards the strengthening and improvement of their electoral institutions and processes.

The implementation of ACDEG is envisaged to take place at national, regional and continental levels, leveraging normative instruments, policies and structures at those levels as stipulated under Article 44 of ACDEG. Since the adoption of the charter in 2012, different countries have made tremendous effort in the entrenchment of democracy and good governance in Africa. But of the 45 African countries signatory to ACDEG, only the Republic of Togo has since submitted its initial State Report on the implementation of the principles and commitments to the Charter. As part of efforts at organising citizens for civic engagement and empower them to engage the government to live up to their responsibility of implementing the objectives of ACDEG, ActionAid Nigeria is looking to launch a policy brief targeted at government, civil society organisations and media as critical partners.

Responsibilities / Key Deliverables
The following are expected to be the key deliverables by the Consultant:

• Produce resource materials on:
  • ACDEG, AGA: Issues and Perspectives (Detailing background to the initiative, relevance and issues pertinent to the Nigeria context)
  • Measurable Criteria on Country Compliance with ACDEG, AGA guiding principles
  • Content for a page Fact sheet on the relevance of ACDEG towards enforcing the culture of democracy in Nigeria
• The Consultant will develop a 4-page Policy Brief with clear recommendations from the Community Scorecard, Public Perception Survey, Desk Review of relevant literatures on ACDEG, Citizens Report and other important AU document that touch on democracy and human rights.

Specific Output

• A 4-page Policy Brief professionally written and edited.
• A 2-page factsheet on the relevance of ACDEG towards enforcing the culture of democracy in Nigeria
• A document detailing measurable criteria on country compliance with ACDEG, AGA guiding principles
• A summary document on ACDEG, AGA: Issues and Perspectives (Detailing background to the initiative, relevance and issues pertinent to the Nigeria context).

Qualifications
Education:

• At least a Master's Degree in Humanities, Law or Social Sciences with a minimum of five year-experience in development work and familiar with AU frameworks, governance in Africa and most importantly, AGA and ACDEG.

Experience:

• Proven experience in research skills
• Strong Analytical skill
• Ability to pay attention to details
• Proficient writing skills
• Familiarity with development works
• Good knowledge of African Union structure
• He/she should be willing to continue to be involved in ActionAid’s work in the future.

Language Requirements:

• A good grasp of English language.

Timeline
The Policy Brief will be launched in June 2018.  Hence the Consultant is expected to finalize the Brief and other deliverables within the specified timeline below:

• First Draft - June 14th, 2018.
• Final Draft - June 20th, 2018.

Ownership of Outputs

• Outputs of this contract as stipulated in the terms of reference belong to ActionAid Nigeria and ActionAid International.

Place of Work & Administrative Support

• The consultant will be free to work independently from any base location or where required.
• S/he will be expected to provide his/her own work equipment and space except where otherwise stated.

Reporting Lines:

• The consultant will work, be accountable directly to ActionAid Nigeria’s Social Mobilisation Manager/ team.