International Expert in Land Conflict Risk Analysis and Early Warning System

Result of Service

At the end of the consultation, a final document on land risks is expected to be the result of field surveys and stakeholder participation.

Work Location

KINSHASA

Expected duration

4 MONTHS

Duties and Responsibilities

Organizational Background The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the agency responsible for human settlements. It is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable cities, with the aim of providing adequate housing for all. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been engaged in the process of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) since 2009. In November 2012, the Government validated the National REDD+ Framework Strategy in the Council of Ministers. The Strategy promotes sustainable land management and use with a view to addressing the various drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in an integrated manner and stabilizing forest cover, while ensuring economic growth, increased incomes and improved living conditions, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable. The REDD+ Strategy, facilitated by the REDD+ Fund (FONAREDD), is based on seven pillars: land use planning, land tenure security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, compensation for the negative effects of logging and mining, promotion of access to sustainable energy, control of population growth and improved governance. It has been operationally implemented in a National REDD+ Investment Plan, which sets out the programmatic framework. This Investment Plan was validated in September 2013 and updated in 2015. PARF 2 aims to identify realistic milestones and targets to measure progress towards change induced by planned interventions aimed at reducing or mitigating conflict risks. To this end, it is recommended that a PESTEL (Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Ecological, Legal) analysis be carried out, which will make it possible to determine the external legal and political factors that may have an impact (positively or negatively) on the reduction of the risks of land conflict in general, and the PARF in particular. This will be integrated into the study of conflict risks (and the prevalence of conflicts) related to socio-cultural developments. The purpose of this is to promote an early warning system based on evidence and can/should be based on an approach to good land governance and land tenure security. In view of the complexity of the land issue in the DRC, the multiplicity of actors working in land governance, and the need to better monitor and inform the contribution of PARF 2 in the prevention, mediation, and management of land-related conflicts, the Programme is looking for national and international senior consultants in land conflict analysis. prevention and mediation mechanisms, and the institutionalization of early warning systems. The aim is to reduce the escalation of armed violence and/or the creation/perpetuation of armed groups linked to the land by taking into account the socio-cultural, administrative, and financial knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the localities and provinces of intervention according to gender. The results of this multidisciplinary study will allow for improved results-based land conflict risk management to better support root cause interventions. The position is located in the UN-Habitat office in Kinshasa. Under the overall supervision of the Head of Office for the Democratic Republic of the Congo based in Kinshasa, the incumbent will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities: Duties and responsibilities In collaboration with the UN-Habitat team and its partners in the DRC, and in consultation with stakeholders, the consultants will mainly carry out, in a participatory manner, the scope of land conflict risk management, identify and assess the risks of land conflicts by major sociolinguistic/cultural areas and measure their magnitude or prevalence, and describe the means of reducing or controlling conflict risks in general and through early warning systems in particular. He/she will be responsible for: • Describe the configurations of the different land tenures, their evolution and the major trends in relation to existing and future land conflicts, taking into account sociolinguistic/cultural, customary and administrative specificities; • To measure the performance and professionalism of public land administrations and customary authorities, including indigenous peoples; • To draw up an in-depth inventory of customary land tenure systems, their evolution and the conflicts generated around the land; • Identify the root and structural causes of land conflicts as well as appropriate measures at the community and ETD levels; • Assess, classify and prioritize the risks of land conflicts by locality and province with qualitative and quantitative data (danger, severity, and probability according to periodicity); • Present the clusters of factors that influence the perception of the risk of land conflicts according to socio-cultural areas, modes of succession (matrilineal or patrilineal); • Mapping the vulnerabilities and access of women, youth, people living with disabilities, and forced migrants to access secure land; • Examine the participation of women, youth, customary leaders and Pygmy indigenous peoples in land reform; • Analyze in a consultative manner the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) of CONAREF, its provincial sections, and its transformation into the National Land Observatory (ONAF); • Produce maps illustrating the realities identified, the options considered by the communities and actors involved, and the solutions proposed; • Analyze conflict sensitivity in relation to land conflict risk management, and propose community and administrative systems for the transmission of information in these areas; • Propose control measures to reduce the risks of land conflicts, and community-based options for participatory local risk communication plans, implementation plans, and early warning of land conflicts; • Propose an outline of a national strategy for alerting on land risks using land mediation tools and digital devices.

Qualifications/special skills

Master’s degree in Statistics, Demography, Land Anthropology, Criminology, Law, Social Sciences/Geography or Sociology, or any other relevant field is required A minimum of 7 years of experience in the development of baseline studies and sector analysis of projects in conflict, post-conflict and developing countries is required. Good knowledge of conflict transformation, especially in the natural resources and land sector is desirable. Experience in the Democratic Republic of Congo or in an African country with security challenges will be an asset.

Languages

Fluency in the French language, both written and oral, is required.

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.