NATIONAL CONSULTANT: To Develop a Rights-Based SRHR Monitoring Tool and Checklist for the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Nepal

Nepal has made significant strides in enshrining sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) within its legal and policy architecture. The Constitution of Nepal (2015) guarantees reproductive rights as fundamental rights, and the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Act (2018) provides a legislative foundation for ensuring access to reproductive health services. Nepal is also a State party to key international human rights instruments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and participates actively in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, both of which generate recommendations relevant to SRHR accountability.

The National Human Rights Commission of Nepal (NHRC) holds a constitutional and statutory mandate to protect, promote, and monitor human rights across the country. The Commission has demonstrated progressive leadership on SRHR accountability through monitoring of gender-based violence (GBV), engagement with harmful practices such as child marriage and chhaupadi, gender-sensitive law reform advocacy, and systematic engagement with international human rights mechanisms. The NHRC has also made formal regional commitments through the Amman Declaration (2011) of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF), which calls on NHRIs to advance gender equality and reproductive rights as part of their core mandate.

UNFPA Nepal has maintained a long-standing partnership with the NHRC to strengthen its capacity on SRHR, GBV, and gender equality. This collaboration has included support for treaty body engagement, gender-sensitive monitoring methodologies, and a flagship national inquiry on child marriage. Alongside this, UNFPA has supported the NHRC in capacity development on international human rights standards as they relate to reproductive rights and health system accountability.

Despite this progress, the NHRC currently lacks a standardized, institutionalized monitoring framework specifically designed to facilitate systematic human rights monitoring and reporting on SRHR-related cases and violations. This gap limits the Commission's ability to conduct consistent, rights-based assessments of SRHR violations; to measure State compliance with Nepal's legal obligations and international commitments; to produce evidence-based findings for its annual national human rights report; and to coordinate effectively with other national bodies, including the National Women's Commission (NWC), on GBV monitoring and survivor-centered response.

To address this gap, UNFPA in partnership with the NHRC seek to engage a qualified national consultant to develop a comprehensive, rights-based SRHR monitoring tool tailored to Nepal's legal, institutional, and policy context. This initiative is grounded in the human rights vision of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and directly supports the NHRC's mandate and regional commitments on SRHR.

The primary objective of this consultancy is to provide technical support to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to develop and institutionalize a standardized, rights-based SRHR monitoring checklist aligned with Nepal’s constitutional and legal framework and international human rights commitments. The tool will strengthen NHRC’s capacity to systematically monitor, document, and report on SRHR and GBV-related human rights violations.

Specifically, the consultancy aims to produce a tool that is grounded in Nepal's constitutional and legislative framework on SRHR, including the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Act; aligned with international human rights instruments to which Nepal is a party, including CEDAW, the ICPD Programme of Action, and UPR recommendations relevant to SRHR; aligned with the Asia Pacific Forum's standards and the Amman Declaration commitments; and practical and operational for use by NHRC investigators, monitoring officers, and field staff.

UNFPA is the lead United Nations agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is intended, every childbirth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. The UNFPA Strategic Plan for 2026-2029 articulates the organization’s response to a complex global environment, providing a roadmap for resilience and renewal. It is designed to accelerate the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This mandate is pursued through a focus on four interconnected outcomes: ending the unmet need for family planning; ending preventable maternal deaths; ending gender-based violence and harmful practices; and adapting to demographic change through evidence and rights-based policies.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff who embody these international norms and standards and will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates who transform, inspire, and deliver high-impact sustained results, ensuring effective external relations, communications, partnership-building and resource mobilization in a rapidly changing development and funding landscape. We need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them, and who commit to delivering excellence in programme results.

Under the overall supervision of UNFPA Nepal and in close coordination with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the consultant will undertake the following tasks:

1. Inception and Framework Design

• Conduct an inception meeting with UNFPA and NHRC to clarify scope, methodology, structure, and deliverables.
• Review relevant national legal and policy frameworks including the Constitution of Nepal (2015), Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Act (2018), National Penal Code, NHRC Act (2012), and other relevant GBV and SRHR-related legislation and policies.
• Review international human rights instruments and commitments relevant to SRHR and GBV, including CEDAW, ICPD Programme of Action, UPR recommendations, and APF/Amman Declaration commitments.
• Develop an inception note outlining the proposed structure, domains, and indicator framework of the SRHR monitoring checklist.

2. Development of a Comprehensive SRHR Monitoring Tool/Checklist

• Develop a standardized, rights-based SRHR monitoring checklist tailored to NHRC’s constitutional mandate and operational procedures.
• Ensure the checklist is legally grounded and aligned with Nepal’s constitutional guarantees and international human rights obligations.
• Structure the tool to include monitoring domains such as:
• Compliance with national laws and policies related to SRHR and GBV
  o Monitoring of harmful practices (e.g., child marriage, chhaupadi, dowry-related violence, gender-biased sex selection)
  o Access to reproductive health services, including safe abortion and maternal health services
  o Survivor-centered response and accountability mechanisms
  o Institutional performance and service delivery standards
• Integrate the AAAQ (Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability, Quality) framework in assessing service-related obligations.
• Develop clear, measurable, and practical indicators that can be applied by NHRC investigators and monitoring officers.
• Design the checklist in a user-friendly format suitable for field monitoring, investigation visits, and documentation of violations.
• Ensure the monitoring checklist is aligned with NHRC’s existing investigation and reporting procedures to facilitate institutional adoption and integration into routine monitoring processes.

3. Consultation and Validation

• Facilitate consultation meetings with NHRC commissioners and designated officials and present draft versions of the checklist and collect feedback.
• Consult with UNFPA technical team and relevant experts to ensure compliance with international human rights standards and survivor-centered principles.
• Incorporate feedback and refine the checklist to ensure clarity, practicality, and institutional ownership.

4. Orientation and Capacity Strengthening

• Develop a concise user guidance note/manual explaining the structure, application, and interpretation of indicators within the monitoring checklist.
• Facilitate one orientation session for NHRC staff to strengthen their capacity to apply the SRHR monitoring tool effectively.

5. Finalization and Submission

• Submit the finalized SRHR Monitoring Checklist in electronic format in Nepali Language.
• Provide a final consolidated version ready for institutional adoption and operational use by NHRC.

Ensure application of ethical standards in handling sensitive information related to SRHR and GBV, including confidentiality, survivor-centered approaches, and do-no-harm principle.

• Master’s degree in law, Human Rights, Gender Studies, Social Sciences, or a closely related field from a recognized university.
• Specialized training or certification in human rights monitoring, treaty body reporting, SRHR, gender equality, or rights-based monitoring frameworks is desirable.

• Minimum 5 years of progressive professional experience in human rights, gender equality, SRHR, or access to justice programming.
• Demonstrated experience in developing monitoring tools, checklists, or accountability frameworks related to human rights, GBV, or SRHR.
• Proven expertise in applying human rights–based approaches (HRBA) to monitoring and documentation of rights violations.
• Strong knowledge of Nepal’s constitutional and legal framework related to SRHR, including the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Act and relevant criminal and civil laws.
• Experience working with national human rights institutions (NHRIs), oversight bodies, or government institutions is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with international human rights mechanisms and instruments, including CEDAW, ICPD Programme of Action, UPR processes, and related reporting obligations.
• Experience facilitating technical consultations and working with multi-stakeholder groups, including government officials and civil society actors.
• Experience drafting policy tools, guidelines, monitoring frameworks, or institutional checklists in the Nepali context.
• Previous experience working with UN agencies or international development partners is an asset.

• Strong drafting skills in English and Nepali, with ability to prepare structured and legally sound monitoring tools.
• Fluency in English and Nepali (written and spoken) is essential.

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts. 

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.