Individual Consultant – Legal Analysis on Children’s Rights in the Digital Environment, Remote, 37 working days

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

 

For every child, champion.

Children in Bosnia and Herzegovina are increasingly active in the digital environment — both as users and as subjects of online content. Platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram feature a growing volume of user-generated content (UGC) involving minors, including child-led content (“kidfluencers”) and content created by parents or third parties. At the same time, 95% of children aged 7–18 use YouTube, and 70% of the audiovisual content consumed by this group is created by vloggers (Communications Regulatory Agency, 2023).

This trend raises complex legal, ethical, and educational questions related to children’s rights to privacy, protection, participation, and freedom from exploitation. Despite partial safeguards, Bosnia and Herzegovina currently lacks a coherent legal and regulatory framework that addresses the risks and obligations associated with children’s participation in digital spaces.

As a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and in light of General Comment No. 25 on children’s rights in the digital environment, Bosnia and Herzegovina is obligated to ensure that children are protected, empowered, and able to exercise their rights online. This requires not only legal reform but also child rights education and digital literacy across sectors.

UNICEF Bosnia and Herzegovina is commissioning a legal analysis to map existing legislation, clarify the responsibilities of key actors, and offer recommendations for advancing child rights protection and education in the digital sphere.

 

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

Under the direct supervision of the Child Rights and Monitoring Specialist, the consultant is responsible to conduct a comprehensive legal that maps the current legal framework related to children’s participation in user-generated content in digital spaces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, identifies legal and institutional gaps, and proposes actionable recommendations for policy, regulation, and rights education. The analysis will serve as a foundation for advocacy, legal harmonization, child rights education, and public awareness-raising.

 

How can you make a difference? 

Under the supervision of the Child Rights Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, the Individual Consultant will conduct a legal and educational analysis focused on the protection and rights of children in the digital environment, with particular attention to user-generated content (UGC). The analysis will serve as a basis for policy, regulatory, and educational initiatives aligned with international standards.

The scope of work includes the following components:

1. Inception Phase
   • Review relevant background materials, including legal documents.
   • Develop an inception report outlining the methodology, analytical framework, stakeholder mapping (if applicable), and timeline.
2. Legal and Institutional Mapping
   • Identify and review applicable legislation, policies, and regulatory mandates at all levels of governance in Bosnia and Herzegovina (state, entity, cantonal, and Brčko District).
   • Map relevant legal domains, including child protection, data privacy and protection, media/audiovisual regulation, labour law, and financial/tax legislation.
   • Analyse alignment with international standards (e.g. CRC; General Comment No. 25; GDPR, Digital Services Act – with particular focus on Article 28 Guidelines;  the EU AI Act, and other relevant documents).
3. Scenario Analysis: Children and User-Generated Content
   • Analyse the legal implications of two key scenarios:
     • Children as content creators (e.g. “kidfluencers”);
     • Children as subjects of content created by others (e.g. parents, guardians, third parties).
   • Clarify rights and responsibilities of children, parents/guardians, content creators, platforms, and state institutions in each scenario.
   • Assess safeguards, consent mechanisms, privacy protections, and income management.
4. Identification of Legal Gaps and Challenges
   • Highlight gaps, overlaps, and inconsistencies in the legal and institutional framework.
   • Identify challenges related to enforcement, coordination, and practical application of existing laws.
   • Where feasible, assess regulatory good practices in the EU and Western Balkans relevant to BiH’s context.
5. Stakeholder Consultations
   • Conduct limited consultations with key stakeholders (including government institutions, as well as businesses), subject to time and availability.
   • Summarize findings or perspectives relevant to the feasibility and relevance of proposed recommendations.
6. Development of Actionable Recommendations
   • Propose short-, medium-, and long-term recommendations to improve the legal and policy framework protecting children in digital environments.
7. Final Reporting and Knowledge Sharing
   • Prepare a final legal analysis report (in BHS), including an executive summary and annexes as appropriate.

Deliver a presentation of key findings and recommendations to UNICEF and relevant stakeholders.

 

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

• University degree in Law, International Human Rights Law, Public Policy and Governance., or other relevant disciplines.
• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in legal analysis, child rights law, or regulatory reform, preferably in the context of digital environments or media law.
• Demonstrated expertise in national and international legal frameworks relevant to child protection, digital rights, data privacy (including GDPR), and audiovisual/media services regulation.
• Familiarity with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s legal and institutional landscape, including multi-level governance (state, entity, cantonal, Brčko District).
• Excellent analytical and legal drafting skills, with the ability to translate complex legal frameworks into actionable policy recommendations.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, intercultural sensitivity
• Excellent attention to detail, organisational skills and discretion with confidential information
• Strong facilitation skills and ability to work independently and proactively
• Fluency in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BHS) is required, and working knowledge of English is preferred.

 

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.