Background:
UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.ย
UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. Guided by the principles of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and relevant international human rights instruments, UN Women supports Member States in strengthening institutions to ensure the effective realization of womenโs rights, including access to justice.
Judges play a central role in translating constitutional guarantees, statutory law, and international human rights obligations into effective judicial protection. In Lebanon, judicial practice operates within a plural legal system, where constitutional principles, ratified international treaties, statutory law, jurisprudence, and religion-based personal status systems intersect. This complexity places particular responsibility on judges to ensure equality before the law, non-discrimination, due process, and the right to an effective remedy.
At the same time, continuing judicial education in Lebanon faces structural and resource constraints, including limited opportunities for systematic induction or refresher training, particularly when judges are rotated to new courts or jurisdictions. These constraints underscore the need for flexible, modular, and sustainable training tools, including Learning Management Systems (LMS), that support continuous judicial learning without disrupting judicial functions.
In line with international human rights standards and drawing on A Practitionerโs Toolkit on Womenโs Access to Justice Programming, jointly developed by UN Women, UNDP, UNODC, and OHCHR, UN Women Lebanon seeks to support the development of a practice-oriented Gender and Human Rights training course for judges. The focus of this assignment is judicial practice, not advocacy, and aims to enhance the quality, consistency, and fairness of judicial reasoning and decision-making in cases that raise gender and equality considerations. This activity contributes directly to UN Womenโs Strategic Plan 2026โ2029 by strengthening gender-responsive, inclusive, and accountable governance systems through institutional capacity development of key duty-bearers.ย
The consultant shall perform the assignment under the supervision of the UN Women Country Representative and the support of the Governance and Participation in Public Life (GPPL) Programme Manager in close coordination and consultation with the Ministry of Justice.
Objective of the Assignment
The objective of this assignment is to develop a structured, practice-oriented Gender and Human Rights training course for judges, including a training manual and LMS-ready learning materials, to support the consistent application of equality and non-discrimination principles in judicial reasoning, case management, and remedies within the Lebanese legal context, in line with Lebanonโs international obligations.
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
The consultant will undertake the following responsibilities:
Design the overall course structure and pedagogy, ensuring a coherent, modular, and practice-oriented learning pathway suitable for judges and LMS-based delivery Lead the Lebanon-specific legal analysis, including the application of international human rights standards within the Lebanese constitutional, statutory, and jurisprudential framework Draft the core Gender and Human Rights training manual for judges, ensuring accuracy, clarity, and relevance to judicial practice Ensure coherence, consistency, and an appropriate judicial tone across all course modules and learning materials, respecting judicial independence and professional expertise Coordinate closely with the Ministry of Justice, judges, and relevant judicial training stakeholders, including through consultations and validation processes, to ensure institutional relevance and ownershipUse of Additional Expertise: Where appropriate and with the agreement of UN Women, the consultant may draw on short-term subject-matter expertise (e.g. in specific areas of Lebanese law or instructional design) to support the development of selected modules or learning materials. The Lead Consultant will remain fully accountable for the coherence, quality, and timely delivery of all outputs.
Deliverables
A. Inception Phase and Contextual Mapping
The consultant will:
Review Lebanonโs international human rights obligations relevant to equality, non-discrimination, and access to justice, and their status within the domestic legal order Map the Lebanese legal and jurisprudential framework relevant to gender equality, including constitutional principles, statutory law, and the interface with personal status systems Assess gaps in existing judicial training related to gender, stereotypes, and access to justice, with particular attention to continuing education and court rotation realities Conduct targeted consultations with judges and judicial training stakeholders Submit an inception report outlining the methodology, workplan, pedagogical approach, and proposed course structure adapted for LMS deliveryDeliverable 1: Inception report and detailed course outline.
B. Development of the Gender and Human Rights Course for Judges
The course will consist of a limited number of focused thematic modules, including:
Module 1: Equality, Non-Discrimination, and Judicial Obligations under Lebanese Law
Core principles governing judicial work under Lebanese law, including equality before the law, non-discrimination, proportionality, due process, and the right to an effective remedy Lebanonโs international human rights obligations relevant to gender equality and non-discrimination, including ratified treaties, and their application within the Lebanese legal order Direct, indirect, and multiple discrimination, including intersectional considerations, as analytical tools for judicial interpretation and reasoningModule 2: Gender Concepts and Judicial Reasoning in Practice
Distinctions between sex and gender relevant to adjudication, including indirect discrimination and intersecting forms of disadvantage Identification and avoidance of gender stereotypes and unconscious bias in judicial reasoning, credibility assessment, evaluation of evidence, and judgment draftingModule 3: Barriers to Womenโs Access to Justice in Lebanon
Procedural, economic, social, and institutional barriers affecting womenโs access to justice, including those arising from court procedures, costs, delays, social norms, and legal pluralism Judicial approaches to ensuring fairness, accessibility, and effective participation of parties, consistent with due process guaranteesModule 4: Gender-Responsive Courtroom and Case Management
Gender-sensitive case management and courtroom practices within the framework of Lebanese procedural law Protection of dignity, privacy, and safety of litigants and witnesses, particularly in sensitive cases, while upholding fair trial rightsModule 5: Selected Applications in Judicial Practice
Application of gender and human rights standards in judicial decision-making in selected areas relevant to Lebanese courts, including:
Violence against women and girls within the criminal justice framework, including domestic violence and other forms of violence, with reference to applicable Lebanese legislation and procedural safeguards Labour rights and economic justice, including discrimination and workplace harassment Family-related harms and their civil or criminal consequences, within the limits of judicial jurisdiction and the interaction between civil, criminal, and personal status systems Political participation and public life, where relevant to judicial mandatesModule 6: Remedies, Enforcement, and Accountability
Judicial role in ensuring effective, proportionate, and enforceable remedies in cases involving discrimination or gender-based harm Identification of legal and procedural barriers to enforcement of judicial decisions and judicial responses within existing mandatesEach module will integrate:
Lebanon-relevant hypothetical scenarios or jurisprudential illustrations Practical judicial tools, including checklists, reasoning templates, and guided reflection questionsThe course will emphasize legal analysis and application, fully respecting judgesโ professional expertise, judicial independence, and the boundaries of the judicial function.
Deliverable 2: Draft training manual and curriculum.
C. Supporting Learning Materials and LMS-Ready Content
The consultant will:
Prepare instructional visuals and reference materials aligned with the course modules Develop at least three short educational videos suitable for self-paced LMS delivery Design learning units with clear objectives, estimated duration, and knowledge checksDeliverable 3: LMS-ready learning package (manual, slides, videos/scripts, assessments, and job aids).
D. Validation and Finalization
The consultant will:
Facilitate a validation process with judges and judicial training stakeholders Revise materials based on feedback to ensure legal accuracy, judicial appropriateness, and usabilityDeliverable 4: Final validated training manual and LMS package.
Deliverables: Deliverable Expected completion time (due day)ย Payment Scheduleย Deliverable 1: Inception Report and Course Design:ย Inception report outlining methodology, workplan, pedagogical approach, detailed course structure and module outline, informed by consultations with judges and the Ministry of Justice Within 2 weeks of contract signature 20%
Deliverable 2: Draft Gender and Human Rights Training Manual and Curriculum
Draft, practice-oriented training manual and curriculum covering all agreed modules, tailored to the Lebanese judicial context and aligned with international human rights standards
Within 5 weeks of contract signature 40%Deliverable 3: LMS-Ready Learning Materialsย
LMS-ready learning package, including instructional slides, reference materials, at least three short educational videos (or video scripts), learning objectives, and knowledge checks
Within 6โ7 weeks of contract signature 20%Deliverable 4:ย Final Validated Training Packageย
Final revised training manual and LMS materials, incorporating feedback from UN Women, the Ministry of Justice, and judicial stakeholdersย
Within 8 weeks of contract signature 20%Language and Format
All deliverables shall be submitted in Arabic An English executive summary may be requested for internal or donor reporting All outputs shall be provided in editable electronic formatConsultantโs Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy. No official travel is anticipated under this assignment unless otherwise agreed in writing with UN Women.
Competencies :
Core Values:
Integrity; Professionalism; Respect for Diversity.Core Competencies:
Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues; Accountability; Creative Problem Solving; Effective Communication; Inclusive Collaboration; Stakeholder Engagement; Leading by Example.Please visitย this linkย for more information on UN Womenโs Values and Competencies Framework:ย
Functional Competencies:
Strong legal research and drafting skills, including the ability to translate complex legal frameworks into clear and operational guidance for practitioners. Analytical skills to interpret legal frameworks and electoral procedures and translate them into clear operational guidance. Ability to integrate gender considerations into legal and procedural tools in line with established standards and good practices. Effective coordination and consultation skills, especially with judicial and electoral actors. Ability to work independently and deliver high-quality outputs within set timelines.Required Qualifications:
Education and Certification:
Advanced university degree (masterโs or higher) in Law, with a focus on public law, constitutional law, electoral law, or a closely related field is required. Demonstrated expertise or specialization in constitutional or electoral law is an asset.Experience:
A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible professional experience in law, with demonstrated expertise in Lebanese public law, judicial practice, or related legal fields, and strong familiarity with the Lebanese legal system is required. Proven experience working with or within judicial institutions, including engagement with judges, courts, judicial training bodies, or legal education programmes is desirable. Demonstrated experience in developing legal manuals, training curricula, procedural guides, or reference tools for legal or judicial audiences is required. Proven ability to integrate principles of equality, non-discrimination, and human rights, including gender-related considerations, into legal analysis, judicial training, or institutional work, in line with Lebanese law and Lebanonโs international obligations is required. Excellent legal drafting skills in Arabic are required; ability to prepare concise working documents or summaries in English is desirable.Languages:
Fluency in English and Arabic is required.Statements :
In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.
Diversity and inclusion: