International Consultant to Support Conflict Preventions, Party Democracy and Consensus in Lesotho at Lesotho

Background

Over its long history, there were times the Kingdom of Lesotho has experienced political instability, violent conflicts and insecurity such as in 1998. These experiences constrained the performances of state and governance institutions and their ability to deliver public services. There has also been experiences of continuous splintering of political parties, which, in recent years, affected the ability to put in place stable governments that complete their five-year terms. Three-elections in five years (2012-2017), for instance, resulted in weaker state and governance institutions and presented unpredictable situation. Political parties’ proliferation is exacerbated by the decline in support, in terms of numbers both at a party level but also at the polls. This forces the main parties to agree to coalition governments with relatively smaller parties. In the first three coalition governments, the conditions and agreements co-governing were formulated on expedited basis immediately after election results are known – and the agreement are not largely carefully scrutinized, regulated and regularly monitored.

As such, inter-and-intra-party infighting and mistrust characterize most of the political parties in the country, which add to the challenges of governance in the country and weaken the focus of government on policy formulation and implementation over a five-year period – and lead to the collapse of governments. As country-wide mechanisms to resolve these challenges, the ongoing national reforms process provides lots of hope and practical solutions to make changes and improvements in various sectors, which include constitutional, parliamentary, judiciary, public administration, security sector, economic and media reforms.

In addition to the UN’s support to the national reforms process, the challenges in the country necessitate: (1) continued and tailored support that help build national capacities for conflict prevention, mediation and transformation for both governmental and non-governmental organisations; and, (2) the development of intra-and-inter-party democracy, consensus building and formation and running of coalition governments among political parties and influential elite. In line with this the overall objective of the project entitled ‘Support to Conflict Prevention, Party Democracy and Consensus Building’ is to  (1) enhance local peace making and mediation initiatives including an inclusive national infrastructure for peace and community policing; (2) increase the number and profile of women mediators in the country; and, (3) strengthen intra-and-inter-party democracy and consensus building among political parties and other influential social and political actors.

The project is an enhanced continuation of the support UN has been providing to conflict prevention and peacebuilding initiatives in Lesotho, which include support to the Heads of Churches and the Christian Council of Lesotho (CCL). The promotion and development of National Peace Architecture (NPA) intends to build on UNDP’s support for the establishment and functioning of local peace-making committees in Mafeteng district – and accomplishments made by civil society organisations such as CCJP and DPE. The project approach is gender-sensitive and takes measures to address the situation and contribution of women for peace and security.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work and Deliverables/Outputs

The consultant(s) will work under the overall guidance UNDP Deputy Resident Representative (DRR) and in close cooperation with the UNDP Governance and Peacebuilding Unit (GPU). The consultant(s) report to and are supervised by the Peace and Development Advisor and the Head of GPU. This consultancy will be shared between the international and the national consultants. The main scope of work is to provide expert advice and technical assistance – on retainer basis – in the course of the implementation of the project entitled ‘Support to Conflict Prevention, Party Democracy and Consensus Building’ and its output areas, which include:

• To design and carryout an assessment of Conflict, Peacebuilding and Gender (CPG) context in Lesotho and produce an analytical report that provide up to date understanding and inputs to the UN Common Country Assessment (CCA), social cohesion and community resilience under Covid-19, the national reforms process and the support on conflict prevention to state and no state actors.
• To design and facilitate two 3-day training workshops to building the capacity of civil society organizations (including Heads of Churches, CCL and women organizations), public representatives and political parties on conflict prevention, management and transformation and mediation.
• To design and carry out an assessment of intra-and-inter-party democracy in Lesotho, particularly their ability to function in a democratic and inclusive manner. The assessment will cover political capacity, internal democracy, the formation and management of coalition governments and gender inclusiveness of Lesotho political parties including women’s participation in political structures at all levels (barriers and solutions).
• To design and facilitate workshops/trainings on inter-and-intra political party mediation, conflict management and transformation skills; applied skills in internal party democracy and consensus building; formation and management of coalition governments; gender participation and inclusiveness both in membership and leadership positions; and, training of women candidates in election campaigning and political leadership skills.
• To provide technical support to the promotion and establishment of a National Peace Architecture (NPA) particularly through development of preliminary NPA models; engagement in national and subnational consultations and information sharing including community policing and early warning systems using information technology; mapping of and training of trainers (ToT) on community policing; production of educational and promotional materials; and the design and facilitation of a national workshop on NPA.

Competencies

Functional Competencies     

The assignment requires technical expert(s) who are multi-qualified and experienced in the areas of:

• Political and conflict analysis; conflict prevention, management and transformation/peacebuilding; women, peace and security;
• Intra-and-inter-party democracy;
• Conducting assessments, surveys, mapping, participatory research;
• High quality writing skills;
• Designing and facilitating workshops and trainings;
• Good interpersonal skills;
• Ability to deliver through home-based work and engage in virtual exchanges.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:   

Master’s Degree or equivalent in Political Science, Conflict, Peace and Security Studies or related field. A PhD provides an added advantage.

Experience: 

• At least 10 years’ relevant working experience and demonstrable delivery in areas of conflict prevention, support to political parties and party democracy, and consensus building;
• Sound knowledge and understanding and previous experience of working on political governance, conflict, peace, social cohesion and security in Southern Africa, particularly in the Kingdom of Lesotho;
• Experience working with international organizations especially  the UN.

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