Study and Analysis of Human Rights and NGOs

							Study and Analysis of the Human Rights situation in The Republic
                   of the Congo (2003-01-15)

                             Terms of Reference

1. The Swedish NGO Foundation for Human Rights and the Mission
   Covenant Church of Sweden (hereinafter referred to as the clients)
   have decided to undertake an analytical study of the Republic of the
   Congo (RC). The purpose of the study is to gather data for respective
   organisation to make informed decisions regarding future strategy for
   the country.

2. The study shall comprise a descriptive part as well as an analysis
   providing guidance to the clients as to how their future activities related
   to the Republic of the Congo should be carried out. A study should
   apply a gender perspective as far as possible.


3. Geographic scope

      a. The study shall comprise the entire Republic of the Congo, with
         a special focus on the Pool region, and Brazzaville and Pointe-
         Noire and their environs, urban as well as rural areas.

      b. The study shall also include an overview of the other regions of
         the Republic of the Congo.


4. The following topics shall be covered:

      a. General information

          A brief introduction to the country with statistics and other
          facts, including information on:
                  - Demographic profile and geography;
                  - History since independence, including a brief description of
                     the development of democracy and human rights in the
                     country;
                  - Economy, including information with regard to debts,
                     poverty reduction strategies and the informal sector;
                  - Politics;
                  - National law and national institutions for the promotion
                     and advancement of human rights and democracy, as well
                     as an overview of the system of traditional law;

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        - Religion and the role of the church;
        - Ethnicity;
        - Refugees and internally displaced people;
        - Health, including HIV/AIDS situation;
        - Peace- and conflicts resolution initiatives;
        - Other relevant information.

b. Human Rights

     i. The chapter shall describe the human rights situation in
        the Republic of the Congo and include information on the
        civil, cultural, economic, social and political rights, again
        with a gender perspective in mind.

        In particular the following areas shall be covered:

        - Fundamental Rights (right to non-discrimination, right
          to life, freedom from slavery, freedom from torture,
          freedom of movement)
        - Rule of Law (right to recognition everywhere as a
          person before the law, equality before the law and
          equal treatment before te law, right to trial, right to fair
          trial, among other legal guarantees);
        - Democratic rights (the right to vote, to take part in the
          government of the country, freedom of thought,
          conscience, expression, religion, assembly, war
          propaganda, advocacy of hatred);
        - The right to work;
        - The right to an adequate standard of living;
        - The right to health;
        - The right to education;
        - Collective Rights (right to peace, development,
          favourable environment)

     ii. Information specifically describing the human rights
         situation for women, with particular reference to the UN
         International Convention on the Elimination of All
         Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

    iii. With regard to the following conventions:

            - UN International Covenant on Civil and Political
              Rights,


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                             - UN International Covenant on Economic, Social
                               and Cultural Rights,
                             - UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
                               Racial Discrimination,
                             - UN International Convention on the Elimination of
                               All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,
                             - UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
                             - UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel,
                               Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
                             - African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,

                         the study shall, in a separate appendix, contain information
                         on:

                         1. If and when these conventions were signed or ratified;
                         2. The content and reasons of any reservations made;
                         3. Dates when reports to the treaty monitoring bodies
                            were due and when they were submitted (alternatively
                            overdue),

               c. Civil society

                        Based on the definition of civil society as the set of
                        institutions, organisations and behaviour situated
                        between the state, the business world, and the family.
                        Specifically, this includes voluntary and non-profit
                        organisations of many different kinds, philanthropic
                        institutions, social and political movements, religions
                        organisations, other forms of social participation and
                        engagement and the values and cultural patterns
                        associated with them, the study shall include the following
                        information:

                    - Description of structure and important features of the civil
                      society in the country;
                    - Categories of human rights actors, including a shortlist of the
                      more important ones and what their work covers;
                    - The conditions under which the civil society is working, the
                      actors’ relation to the state, to the public, co-operation
                      between actors etc.;


    Definition based on the one used by London School of Economics


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          - The existence and work of relevant national networks;
          - The way in which organisations make use of national and
            international human rights instruments /problems and
            possibilities.

      d. Other donors
      The study shall include a list of donors making substantial financial
      contributions to civil society organisations in the country.

5. Analysis

The analysis shall pay particular attention to economic, social and
cultural human rights and women’s rights/gender, along with civil and
political rights, in answering the following questions:

               i. What are the present working conditions and prospects
                  for future work for civil society organisations in the
                  Republic of the Congo? Strengths and weaknesses of the
                  civil society in different parts of the country?

              ii. What responsibility can the state be expected to take in
                  the future with respect to essential public services
                  (pertaining to health care, food, housing,
                  primary/secondary education and infrastructure)?

              iii. What are the priorities for human rights work in the
                   country, both in the view of partners and of external
                   actors (donors, independent consultants, academics)?

              iv. Are there areas in which human rights organisations are
                  not meeting important needs; what work is needed, if any?

6. Realization

      a. There exist a number of studies on the above topics, hence most
         of the work should be based on existing studies.

      b. The research for the study shall comprise visits to Brazzaville
         and Pointe-Noire. Travel shall take a maximum of two weeks.

      c. During his/her visit, the consultant will, in addition to other
         information collected, participate in (a) regional seminar(s)
         organised by the clients. The seminar will gather partners and


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   other civil society organisations with a view to collect views on
   the best way forward in the area of human rights in the country.

d. The consultant will be remunerated for five (3) weeks of work.

e. The final document shall be maximum 30 pages, excluding the
   appendix referred to in paragraph (4) (b) (iii).




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