Careers Vacancy

IPARD Regional Report on Free, Prior and Informed Consent

Indigenous Peoples Alliance for Rights and Development (IPARD) & the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

INDIVIDUAL CONSULTING SERVICES: (IPARD) Regional Report on Free, Prior and Informed Consent

I. IPARD PROGRAM

a) BACKGROUND

The Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance for Rights and Development (IPARD), is a Global Development Alliance (GDA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with a grant period of August 12, 2020, through August 11, 2025. The IPARD Program is implemented through Indigenous National Development (IND) Programs aimed at securing rights, enhancing capacities, and creating self-determined economic opportunities for Indigenous Peoples in selected countries around the world.

The objective of the IPARD Global Alliance is to empower Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and enhance an enabling environment where Indigenous Peoples can manage, develop and govern their own territories based on the principles of self-determined development, traditional practices, natural resource management and respect for their customary rights.

In accordance with the technical approach contained in the program description, IPARD will focus its activities around three key objectives:

Objective 1: Organize and convene a Capacity Building Program for Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and stakeholders (Institutional Strengthening): This objective seeks to strengthen the capacities of Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, mainly through the development of monitoring, leadership, management, organizational capacity, technical and negotiation skills.

Objective 2: Foster an enabling environment for the recognition, effective participation and joint decision-making of indigenous peoples in matters that affect them. (Advocacy, rights and inclusion): The creation of an enabling social, political and institutional environment will foster collaborative decision-making efforts, social coalitions and partnerships, and the mobilization of resources to support self-determined indigenous initiatives. Indigenous Peoples’ organizations will more effectively influence policy-making decisions with this enabling environment through an Indigenous Peoples’ Governance Forum. These organizations will also be better able to interact with governments to promote, develop and implement agreements and policies that support responsible business and investment, and protect the rights of indigenous peoples.

Objective 3: Promote the sustainable development of Indigenous Peoples based on self-determined economic models (Business Partnerships and Indigenous Economies): Through this objective, the Alliance will create business linkages with the private, public and civil society sectors, as well as enhance the institutional, technical and financial sustainability of Indigenous Peoples’ self-determined development strategies. First, it will strengthen Indigenous Peoples’ organizations through activities to improve their capacity for enterprise development. Second, it will identify improvements and innovations in indigenous value chain systems, and opportunities for private sector participation. Third, it will promote the development of indigenous-led economic models for self-sustaining and sustainable economic development of indigenous communities.

The IPARD Program is managed by the FSC Indigenous Foundation from its headquarters in Panama City. IPARD is led by the Program Director, three Technical Leaders, one for each Objective, an Administrative and Financial Manager, a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Leader, and Regional and Country Managers from the main countries of influence.

Given the size of the operation worldwide, IPARD must conduct some programmatic activities through strategic partners and consulting firms in each country, signing consulting contracts for the implementation of specific parts of the technical work to strengthen operations, which will be supervised by the Program’s technical staff. These contracting activities shall be advertised and openly competed under USAID rules and regulations, also following the FSC-IF Indigenous Foundation’s procurement and administrative procedures, to ensure that the process is transparent. As such, IPARD will establish a strategic and technical alliance with the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC) in the short and long term to support implementation of studies to promote Indigenous People rights at the regional level.

Since 1992, the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC) has been an international organization established with equal representation of Indigenous Peoples and governments to support the self-development processes of Indigenous Peoples, communities and organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Since 2020, FILAC has established its Regional Observatory on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a program focused on the collection, systematization and dissemination of relevant information on the fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples and the generation of inputs for progress in the implementation of the Ibero-American Plan of Action for the implementation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. From this program, several thematic reports and other technical documents have been prepared that emphasize various rights and situations of indigenous peoples and communities in the region.

The report on the political rights of indigenous peoples and free, prior and informed consent, with emphasis on their participation in popularly elected bodies, which will be the continuity and deepening of the initial study prepared by FILAC with information collected in 2020.

For the purposes of this study, we will mainly consider the political participation of Indigenous Peoples as collectives, without prejudice to the participation of individual citizens (self-identified as indigenous) in electoral processes. The political participation of indigenous peoples in popularly elected bodies, both legislative and executive, will be addressed, with emphasis on the national level.

Participation in electoral processes is one of the conventional forms identified in its typology and is, par excellence, the main way for citizens to intervene in politics in democratic societies.

Although there are other forms of political participation, electoral processes have a triple function that makes them the main mechanism for popular decision-making: they produce government, they produce representation and they produce legitimacy. On the one hand, it selects rulers, essential for the functioning of complex societies; on the other, those who are elected represent, to some extent, the aspirations of citizens; finally, citizens identify themselves with a given collective and, therefore, with the political community as a whole, endowing elected rulers with popular legitimacy.

However, when observing the political participation of indigenous peoples, special attention should be paid to the multiple obstacles they face in accessing electoral political processes under similar conditions as the rest of the population, both to vote and to aspire to be elected.

It should also be noted that the valuation of the different instruments of participation is not identical to that prevailing in so-called “Western” societies.

Often, indigenous organizations and communities do not perceive electoral participation or victories as a form of integration into the dominant state and society, but rather as one of several instruments to strengthen the movement itself in its broader struggle for self-determination. Therefore, for this report it will be relevant to look at participation in electoral processes in dialogue with other instances of political participation.

Concepts such as nation-state, nationality, citizenship, sovereignty or democracy are strained by the irruption of a collective that demands rights as a collective, that possesses notions of development and well-being different from those of the economic and political elites and claims its pre-colonial belonging to the lands on which the nation-states were formed. The enshrinement of collective rights breaks with the State-individual dyad and, with it, the entire institutional and legal structure on which modern nation-states are based; this occurs because the idea of collective rights does not come from liberalism, the ideological basis of nation-states.

Hence, the study will also characterize the systems for selecting authorities within the territories that are administratively governed with some level of autonomy or self-determination by indigenous peoples and communities.

In addition, one of the most relevant tools for political participation recognized in international standards is the right to participation and free, prior and informed consultation.

Undoubtedly, in addition to being essential rights and a cornerstone of the plexus of rights recognized in Convention 169, the first recognition and effective implementation of these rights is a central issue for States and Indigenous Peoples in the region.

Therefore, part of the report will be devoted to a systematization of the regulatory and institutional frameworks, as well as specific experiences related to free, prior and informed consultation in the countries covered by the study.

b) OBJECTIVES OF THIS ACTIVITY

Preparation of a descriptive report on the situation of political participation of Indigenous Peoples, including the right to free, prior and informed consultation in FILAC member countries, based on the criteria and methodology of the Regional Observatory on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.

c) SCOPE OF THE CONSULTANCY

The consulting firm will prepare the report, which should include, at least, the following contents:

  • International and national legal frameworks related to the political and electoral participation of indigenous peoples.
  • National institutionality related to the political and electoral participation of indigenous peoples.
  • International and national jurisprudence related to political and electoral participation.
  • Selected national experiences related to the right to electoral participation of indigenous peoples, including affirmative actions and other noteworthy mechanisms.
  • Selected national experiences related to mechanisms of political participation of indigenous peoples other than electoral processes.
  • International and national legal frameworks related to the recognition and exercise of the right to free, prior and informed consultation.
  • National institutionality related to the exercise of the right to free, prior and informed consultation.
  • International and national jurisprudence related to the exercise of the right to free, prior and informed consultation.
  • Selected national experiences on the exercise of the right to free, prior and informed consultation..

d) ACADEMIC / PROFESSIONAL PROFILEMINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

  • Academic training at the master’s or doctoral level in social sciences, law or other related disciplines. Professional specialization in academic areas related to indigenous peoples will be given special consideration.
  • Proven professional experience of at least 15 years in the field of indigenous peoples’ rights, including at least ten of FILAC’s member countries.
  • Proven professional experience in work related to human rights, political and electoral rights, indigenous governance systems, normative and institutional analysis. In all these areas, work experience of more than ten years will be especially considered.
  • Professional experience in regional institutions or projects will be specially considered.
  • Previous experience working with FILAC or international agencies on issues related to indigenous peoples, political and electoral rights will be especially valued.

SKILLS REQUIRED

  • Proven experience of at least ten years in the preparation of reports, studies and academic analysis of the topics mentioned in this consultancy.
  • Proven work experience in the preparation and dissemination of reports on indigenous peoples’ rights.
  • Capacity for teamwork and integration in multicultural contexts.
  • Excellent command of the main computer programs
  • Ease of relationship and communication with different types of interlocutors.
  • Oral and written proficiency in Spanish.
  • Fluency in English, Portuguese and at least one indigenous language will be a plus.

e) METHODOLOGY AND DELIVERABLES

For the development of this activity, the consultancy will follow the work route established by the Regional Observatory of FILAC and Objective No. 2 of the IPARD Program, for the production of reports, which includes working sessions with FILAC’s networks of contacts and collaborators.

The sources of information should include an exhaustive analysis of secondary sources, as well as interviews with specialists, representatives of indigenous organizations, government officials and qualified informants on the topics of the consultancy.

The following products should be delivered:

  • Work plan for the consultancy
  • Tentative developed index of the report
  • First draft of the report document
  • Final report including executive summary, annexes, sources and bibliography used.
  • PowerPoint presentation of the main contents of the final document.

f) ILLUSTRATIVE WORK PLAN

Work plan detailing the activities and estimated time to conduct the consultancy, including sources of information, research methodology (secondary information, interviews, field visits, analysis of interview results, etc.) – by the end of week 1.

Table of Contents/Report Structure/Questionnaires – by the end of week 2.

Draft report and initial recommendations – end of week 8.

Final report on the results of the study and recommendations taking into consideration the comments received from the IDFAC and IPARD Program – by the end of week 12.

The consultancy would require an estimated 12 weeks from the signing of the contract.

g) DELIVERABLES

1. Table of Contents/Report Structure.

5 calendar days

(week 2)

01/0/20222

– FILAC Technical Secretary

– Technical Leader of the IPARD Program Objective No. 2

– IPARD Program Coordinator

2. Draft report contains mapping and initial recommendations.

45 calendar days

(week 8)

30/3/02022

– FILAC Technical Secretary

– Technical Leader of the IPARD Program Objective No. 2

– IPARD Program Coordinator

3. Final report on the results of the study and recommendations taking into consideration the comments received by the IPARD and Powerpoint Program.

15 calendar days

(week 12)

30//042022

– FILAC Technical Secretary

– Technical Leader of the IPARD Program Objective No. 2

– IPARD Program Coordinator

– SC of the IPARD Program

– USAID

h) TECHNICAL SUPERVISION AND COORDINATION

The Technical Secretary of FILAC will supervise the work of the consultancy with the support of the Coordinator of the Regional Observatory for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as the General Coordinator of IPARD and the Global Manager of Policy Advocacy, Rights and Social Participation of the IPARD Program.

i) REMUNERATION

Total payment upon satisfactory delivery of committed products shall be US$15,000. Payment for products

– Product No. 1and 2: 10%: % of

– Product No. 3: 40%.

– Product No. 4: 50%.

j) PLACE AND DEADLINE

The consultancy will be developed within the framework of the working conditions and restrictions established in the COVID19 Pandemic, for which the consultant will work at his/her place of residence in constant coordination with the supervisors through the virtual platforms to be determined.

The expected timeframe for the execution of the consultancy is 12 weeks from the start of the consultancy.

Send your financial and technical proposals to: procurement.fscif@fsc.org