TERMS OF REFERENCE
Title:
Consultant to develop methodologies to determine a global estimate of the number
of child soldiers
Purpose:
To provide technical leadership in developing appropriate empirical methodologies
to determine the a global estimate of the number of child soldiers
Location:
Elsewhere
Contract Duration:
11 weeks
Start and End Date:
15 January to 31 March 2016
Reporting to:
ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch
Background
Currently, there are tens of thousands of children being recruited and used by armed forces and armed groups.
There is considerable diversity among these armed forces and armed groups including in size, capacity and
organizational structures.
The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed
Conflict prohibits all recruitment - voluntary or compulsory - of children under 18 by armed forces and groups.
In addition, ILO Convention No.182 defines forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in
armed conflict as a worst form of child labour to be eliminated as a matter of urgency. The Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court makes the conscription of children under age 15 a war crime, leading to individual
criminal responsibility.
In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) which framed the global development agenda for the next 15 years. One of the seventeen goals
(Goal No. 8) calls for the promotion of sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment and decent work for all by 2030. Target 8.7 under this goal states: take immediate and effective
measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and
elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end
child labour in all its form. One of the proposed indicators for target 8.7 is the percentage and numbers of
children aged 5-17 years engaged in child labour, per sex and age group (disaggregated by the worst forms of
child labour).
At the global level, there is lack of data on the current global number of child soldiers 1. It is against this concern
that ILO and UNICEF are jointly working to produce a global estimate of the number of child soldiers. The
estimate will provide a baseline against which progress in the achievement of target 8.7 of the SDG will be
measured and will support global advocacy efforts to end the use of children in armed conflict.
Producing a global estimate of the number of child soldiers is particularly challenging due to the lack of
quantitative data collection methods at country level. Therefore, as an initial step, a consultant is being hired to
explore various methodologies for producing a global estimate of the number of child soldiers. The proposed
1
“A child associated with an armed force or armed group” refers to any person below 18 years of age who is or who has
been recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys and
girls, used as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies or for sexual purposes. It does not only refer to a child who is taking
or has taken a direct part in hostilities.
methodologies will be presented and discussed at a meeting of experts convened by the ILO and UNICEF in
New York, on 29-30 March 2016 (dates TBC).
Purpose of the assignment
The purpose of the assignment is to propose several possible methodologies for determining global and
country estimates of the number of child soldiers in different geographic situations of armed conflict.
For each country of concern, the consultant will propose suitable methodologies that are reliable, efficient and
cost effective, that could be used to produce a national estimate of the number of child soldiers within a
specified time frame.
Tasks
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Identify and define concepts and definitions concerning child soldiers that have implications for the
typology of measurement methodologies.
Build a typology of the various conflict situations in which children are being recruited and used (e.g.
depending on the stage of the conflict and access to recruiters, geographical areas concerned and children
released).
Conduct a review of previously released global and national estimates of the number of child soldiers and
document the methodology and processes used to produce them.
Conduct an analysis of existing methods and tools (both qualitative and quantitative) on their relevance,
appropriateness, effectiveness, efficiency and quality of data collection methods used to measure the
prevalence of child soldiers in different settings.
Identify and map the various stakeholders with potential reach in each country of concern to provide
estimates on the numbers of child soldiers.
For each country concerned, propose methodologies to produce a national estimate of the number of child
soldiers that is reliable, efficient and cost effective. Possible methodologies to be examined include
household surveys, school surveys, surveys of recruiters, survey of released children, surveillance systems
and national polls.
Propose and justify the use of various methodologies to determine the estimates of the number of child
soldiers in each country of concern taking into account access and security issues.
Submit a discussion paper to ILO and UNICEF on proposed research methodologies for 16 countries where
an in-depth assessment of the estimated number of child soldiers will be conducted to assess the number
of child soldiers.
Make a presentation of the results to the technical validation experts meeting that will be convened in
New York in March 2016, to assess the feasibility of the proposed methodologies to measure the
estimated number of child soldiers in each country of concern.
Review the discussion paper to incorporate comments from the meeting and submit final report to ILO and
UNICEF.
Deliverables
The consultant will deliver the following products:
1) An inception report developed and submitted to the ILO and UNICEF
2) A discussion paper on feasible and practical quantitative methodologies to assess and determine the
global estimate of the number of child soldiers, developed and submitted to the ILO and UNICEF on 31
March 2016. This report will contain the following elements:
- Concepts, definitions and implication for measurement in various conflict situations in which
children are being recruited and used by armed forces and armed groups.
- A mapping of existing data collection sources on the number of child soldiers.
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Description of the characteristics of current conflicts: stage and intensity, and parties to conflict
using children.
Mapping of existing quantitative information on the number of child soldiers, description of how the
data was collected and assessment of reliability
Feasible methodologies that can be used in specific countries to assess the number of child soldiers.
This will include both the merits, limitations and challenges in the use of the different
methodologies.
3) Facilitate the technical validation experts meeting on the different typologies of methodologies that
can be used in different conflict contexts to determine the global estimate of the number of child
soldiers
Time frame
15 January – 31 March 2016
The first draft of the discussion paper will be submitted on 26 February 2016.
The final draft of the discussion paper will be submitted on 15 March 2016.
The discussion paper will be presented at a technical validation experts meeting in New York on 29-31 March
2016 (dates TBC).
Required qualifications
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Master or PhD in demography, epidemiology or related social sciences.
Significant experience in conducting quantitative research
Understanding and knowledge of the use of children in armed conflict would be an advantage
Proven experience and track record of timely and high quality completion of assignment
Excellent research and writing skills in English
Definition of supervision arrangements
As this assignment is a part of the joint initiative with UNICEF, a joint management team consisting of ILO and
UNICEF representatives (research teams and technical specialists) will be established to oversee and manage
different phases.
The contract will be issued by the ILO. The external collaborator will be directly supervised by the ILO
Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch who will be responsible for daily communication with the
external collaborator and oversight over the progress of the assignment.
ANNEX
LIST OF COUNTRIES CONCERNED
Tier I – Countries on the agenda of the UN Sec. Council including active conflicts and fragile situations (16
No.)
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Afghanistan
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Central African Republic
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Colombia
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DRC
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Iraq
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Libya
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Mali
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Myanmar
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Nigeria
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Philippines
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Somalia
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South Sudan
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Sudan
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Syrian Arab Republic
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Ukraine
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Yemen
Tier II - Countries of concern (6 No.)
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Burundi
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India
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Israel/State of Palestine
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Lebanon
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Pakistan
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Thailand