Conducting continental study on children’s rights and business

1. Background of the technical assistance mission

As trade, manufacturing and investment continue to grow in Africa, business has become one of the evolving thematic areas with significant implications on the rights and welfare of children, who make up close to half of the current population in Africa.[1] It is thus inevitable that business, whether small or large, will interact with and have an effect on the lives of children both directly and indirectly.[2] Children are key stakeholders of business – as consumers, family members of employees, young workers, and as future employees and business leaders. At the same time, children are key members of the communities and environments in which businesses operate.[3]

There are various aspects of business that present negative implications on children’s rights and welfare. These include the lack of employment conditions within business enterprises which assist working parents and caregivers in fulfilling their responsibilities to children in their care; the challenges of economic exploitation and hazardous working conditions for children; lack of functioning labour inspection and enforcement systems in most African States; limited measures taken by States to promote the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of children who have experienced various forms of violence, neglect, exploitation, or abuse, including economic exploitation; lack of strict due diligence processes and an effective monitoring system; and the difficulties in obtaining remedies for abuses that occur in the context of transnational business operations. In addition, in Africa, the large-scale tax evasion by businesses using loopholes in taxation systems, tax havens and lack of government regulation results in States losing domestic revenue. However, what is still not widely recognised is that these illicit fiscal practices deprive developing countries from the resources necessary to deliver access to essential services for communities such as health, education,water, sanitation and child protection. It has been repeatedly reported that African countries lose much more money to tax evasion and illicit financial flows than what they receive in international aid. By some estimates, countries lose three times more to tax havens than they receive in aid.[4] On the other hand, children are even affected by everyday hazards differently and more severely than adults. Due to their physiology, children absorb a higher percentage of pollutants to which they are exposed, and their immune systems are more compromised and vulnerable.[5]

The effects of business on children can be long-lasting and even irreparable. Children employed or affected by a business are often invisible. Distinctive examples include, but are not limited to children working illegally in the supply chain, children on or around company premises, children employed as domestic workers, children exposed to business products, children paid way below minimum wage, children arrested and detained by security services; children of migrant workers left at home; and, children exploited and abused within the business sector.[6] From a governance and accountability perspective, businesses can have negative impact on children’s rights when they do not pay their taxes, or take efforts to address/respond to child rights violations as a result of their operations.

However, much as the phenomenon of children’s rights and business is a growing one in Africa, there is a big evidence gap. To date, no comprehensive study has been conducted at the continental level, covering all countries, in terms of how and in what ways companies address children’s rights in their business activities and on how businesses directly and indirectly pose risks and impact to children’s rights and welfare. The evidence gap also exists on the extent to which current legislation, policies, governance systems and standards, provide for the protection of children’s rights in the context of business, as well as the gaps and challenges in ensuring that children’s rights are protected in the context of business.

In response to the realization of the need for a child rights-based response to the challenges in business practices, the ACERWC adopted a resolution to establish a Working Group on Children’s Rights and Business during its 35^th Ordinary Session, held virtually from 31 August to 8 September 2020. The Working Group was established in accordance with Article 38(1) of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child(ACRWC) that authorizes the ACERWC to establish its own Rules of Procedures, which the ACERWC developed and revised in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Rule 58 of the Revised Rules of Procedure, allows the ACERWC to establish special mechanisms, including working groups, and assign specific tasks or mandates to either an individual member or group of members concerning the preparation of its sessions or the execution of special programs, studies and projects. The aim of the Working Group is to promote the integration of a child rights-based approach to business practices with a view to addressing business-related child rights challenges in Africa.

Within the context of the current cooperation between the ACERWC and the Working Group on Children’s Rights and Business, the services of a consultant are sought to undertake a continental study on children’s rights and business. The study will be conducted through the European Union’s African Governance Architecture Support Project (AGA-SP) which is being implemented through Expertise France.

2. Objectives of the technical assistance mission

The overall purpose of the continental study is to generate information on the current status of children’s rights and business. The study findings will be used by the ACERWC in execution of its mandate on the subject matter. The study will also be used by RECs/RMs, Member States, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), businesses the Civil Society and child-led initiatives in the process of understanding the contemporary notion of children’s rights and business. It will serve as an evidence base for developing guidelines and benchmarking the policy, legislative and programmatic priorities for improving children’s rights and business. Furthermore, the study will contribute to increasing awareness of the issues involved in this new and developing area of children’s rights in Africa.

Since the study is the first of its kind focusing on children’s rights and business by the Committee, it will mainly be a mapping and situation analysis of children’s rights in the business sector.

The study will therefore cover the following specific objectives:

· Establish evidence on how businesses directly or indirectly pose risks and impact on the rights and welfare of children;

· Identify the barriers in the business sector that cause deprivation of children’s rights;

· Map the business sectors with the greatest potential impact on economic growth by examining illicit financial flows and linkages to investment in children

· Examine the direct and indirect impact of selected business sectors on children’s rights and the related risks;

· Analyse how and in what ways companies address children’s rights in their business activities;

· Identify the existing legal and policy framework, as well as standards that could either hinder or foster business’ respect, protection, and promotion of the rights and welfare of children;

· Identify and map key stakeholders that can play a role to drive the promotion and protection of child rights in the business sector; and

· Recommend ways in which the ACERWC, RECs, Member States, NHRIs, businesses, civil society and other relevant stakeholders can work more effectively in responding to the impact of business on children’s rights.

3. Participants and institutions involved

The Study will be conducted in close consultation with the Secretariat of the Committee. The Consultant also needs to consult stakeholders such as UN Agencies and INGOs working on business and human rights, child labor and other issues relevant to the Study. **

4. Scope of the study

This is a continental study covering all AU Member States in the five regions of the African continent. The study will collect information on the business sectors with the greatest potential impact on children’s rights, as well as the impacts and the magnitude thereof of the selected business sectors on children’s rights and welfare. Focus will be on areas that business directly or indirectly affects most children, including but not limited to privacy, health, education, child labour, protection from child abuse and torture, sexual exploitation, etc. Furthermore, the study will examine whether businesses protect children’s rights, analyzing the ways in which children’s rights are protected in various business activities as well as how child rights violations in the context of business are addressed. The study will also examine available laws, policies and standards that promote the rights of children in the context of business that are in member states and provide a critique of these using the best interest of the child lenses. The focus will be on the adequacy and efficacy of the laws, policies, and standards, not necessarily their existence. In addition, the study will identify key stakeholders that can play a role in the protection of children’s rights in the context of business and their respective roles thereof. Finally, the study will provide recommendations on how key stakeholders can effectively work towards addressing the impact of business on the rights and welfare of the child in the continent.

5. Expected results and deliverables of the technical assistance mission

The main deliverables of the consultancy work are:

• A detailed inception report outlining the Consultant’s understanding of the assignment and the approach to be employed in conducting the research. The inception report will be discussed prior to the commencement of the data collection in an inception meeting;
• Draft Continental Study on children’s rights and business which will undergo a validation process in the form of a workshop convened by the ACERWC. The Consultant will be responsible for facilitating and reapportioning at this validation workshop;
• A detailed report of the validation workshop on the Draft Continental Report on Children’s Rights and Business;
• A final Continental Report on Children’s Rights and Business.

The Consultant is further expected to avail himself or herself to present the draft study to the Members of the ACERWC in one of the Sessions of the Committee.

6. Profile of the short-term expert

The Consultant who will be recruited for this task must have the following qualifications and experience;

· Advanced university degree in Law, Human Rights, Child Rights, Social Sciences, Business Administration, Corporate Social Responsibility, or a related technical field;

· Minimum 10 years of demonstrated work experience in children’s rights and business/ human rights and business or related field, in the African context;

· Demonstrated knowledge on trends in business practices affecting children’s rights and welfare in Africa;

· Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of the African Human Rights System, specifically the African Children’s Charter as well as the ACERWC;

· Fluency in English or French is required, knowledge of additional African Union working languages is desirable; and

· Excellent writing and analytical skills, using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

7. Dates and location of the technical assistance mission

The Consultancy is a home-based task with possible online workshops and consultative meetings. 30 payable working days are provided for the Study. The distribution and utilization of the 30 working days will be determined through an agreement between the Consultant, the ACERWC and Expertise France.

8. Application

The ACERWC invites eligible Individual Consultants to indicate their interest in providing the consultancy services. Interested candidates must provide information demonstrating that they have required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the services. Consulting firms may propose an individual consultant, but only the experience and qualifications of the individual shall be used in the selection process, and the contract would be signed with the proposed individual.

The application document should consist of the following:**

a) A cover letter summarizing the background of the applicant, with names and contacts of three references;

b) A relevant customized Curriculum Vitae not exceeding 3 pages;

c) A Technical Proposal on:

· Understanding and interpretation of the TOR;

· Methodology to be used in undertaking the assignment;

· Work plan and

· Time and activity schedule

d) A Financial Proposal on:

· Consultant’s daily rate in US$;

e) Evidence of educational background and professional experience; and

f) Samples of publications, professional undertakings or related activities which demonstrate the applicants’ expertise on the areas of children’s rights/human rights and business.

[1] UNICEF & AU ‘Children in Africa Key Statistics on Child Survival and Population’ 1 file:///C:/Users/Opar/Downloads/Children-in-Africa.pdf (accessed 23 November 2021).

[2] UNICEF, The Global Impact, & Save the Children ‘Children’s Rights and Business Principles’ https://d306pr3pise04h.cloudfront.net/docs/issues_doc%2Fhuman_rights%2FCRBP%2FChildrens_Rights_and_Business_Principles.pdf (accessed 23 November 2021).

[3] As above.

[4] Tax Avoidance: The missing link in business and human rights? Business and Human Rights Resource Centre https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/blog/tax-avoidance-the-missing-link-in-business-human-rights/ last accessed 23-01-2022.

[5] As above.

[6] As above.