Mapping and Analysis of Family Language in African Union Agreed Language and Human Rights Mechanisms

1. Background

Fòs Feminista. Fòs Feminista is an International Alliance of more than 200 partners across 40 countries working on the sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice (SRHRJ) of women, girls, and gender-diverse people. In 2026, Fòs Feminista completed a three-decade mapping of how "family" has been used in United Nations agreed language — reviewing 1,441 excerpts across 180 UN documents from 1994 to 2025. That mapping found that a substantial, underused body of UN agreed language already centers individual rights, gender equality, and diverse family forms, offering feminist advocates a propositional foundation to build on rather than only a defensive posture against anti-rights mobilization around "family."

This mapping has not yet been extended to the regional level. The African Union (AU) has its own distinct body of human rights instruments, agreed language, and political dynamics relevant to family, gender equality, and SRHR — including the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol), one of the most progressive regional instruments globally on women’s rights, alongside AU mechanisms with an active record on ending child marriage and other harmful practices. At the same time, the AU is not insulated from anti-rights and anti-gender actors seeking to co-opt family language in multilateral outcomes.

As such, Fòs Feminista is seeking a consultant to conduct a systematic mapping and analysis of family-related language across African Union agreed language and human rights mechanisms to produce a rigorous, regionally grounded evidence base for use in African Union-level advocacy.

2. Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of this consultancy is to produce a systematic, evidence-based mapping of how "family" is defined, referenced, and used across African Union agreed language, in order to:

• Identify where existing AU agreed language already reflects rights-based, gender-equal, and diverse understandings of family, distinguishing this from areas where family language is used restrictively or left unaddressed.
• Produce a citable evidence base to inform feminist advocacy in African Union-level negotiations.
• Identify patterns specific to the African regional context — including but not limited to child marriage, female genital mutilation and other harmful practices, inheritance and marital property rights, and care — grounded in the region’s own instruments and mechanisms.
• Analyze whether language has changed over time, assessing whether it reflects advancement, regression, or stagnation in relation to gender equality and SRHR, and identifying the instruments, sessions or political context associated with such shifts.
• Generate concrete recommendations and draft rights-based language proposals for use in AU Summit declarations, Specialized Technical Committee outcomes, and other AU negotiating processes.
  

3. Scope of Work

The consultant will review family-related language across the following African Union instruments and mechanisms, at minimum:

• The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981) and its jurisprudence.
• The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol, 2003), with particular attention to its marriage, family, and inheritance provisions.
• The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990).
• Decisions, declarations, and resolutions of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government and the Executive Council.
• Resolutions, General Comments, and Concluding Observations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).
• General Comments and Concluding Observations of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC).
• The Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (2004) and subsequent AU gender policy instruments.
• The Plan of Action on the Family in Africa (2004), adopted by the AU Assembly to mark the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family, and its 2010 mid-term review.
• The Continental Policy Framework on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (2005, endorsed by the AU Assembly in January 2006) and the Maputo Plan of Action for its operationalization, including subsequent iterations (2007–2010 and the revised 2016–2030 Plan).
• Outcome documents of relevant AU Specialized Technical Committees, including those on Health, Population and Drug Control; Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment; and Social Development, Labour and Employment.
• Materials and declarations associated with the AU Campaign to End Child Marriage.
• Agenda 2063 and associated flagship programmes, where family-related language appears.

The consultant, in consultation with Fòs Feminista, will propose a final document list and inclusion timeframe during the inception phase (see Section 5).

4. Specific Tasks

• Review Fòs Feminista’s existing mapping and adapt methodology to the African Union context, in consultation with Fòs Feminista.
• Define inclusion criteria, search terms, and a document timeframe appropriate to AU instruments, accounting for the African Union’s founding in 2002 and, where relevant, continuity with instruments of its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
• Systematically identify and retrieve relevant documents across the proposed mechanisms.
• Extract all excerpts referencing family (and relevant equivalent terminology across the AU’s working languages, as feasible) into a structured, coded database.
• Code excerpts thematically, drawing on categories established in the UN-level mapping, while remaining open to additional categories specific to the African regional context.
• Assess the political and normative implications of each excerpt (positive, neutral, or negative) from a feminist, rights-based perspective, consistent with the coding logic used in the UN-level mapping.
• Analyze how family-related language has evolved over the mapping period, identifying patterns of advancement, regression, or stagnation in relation to gender equality and SRHR, and the specific instruments, sessions, or political context associated with such shifts.
• Draft a mapping report presenting findings, methodology, illustrative excerpts with full citations, and the trend analysis described above.
• Generate concrete recommendations and draft rights-based language formulations suited to AU negotiating contexts, grounded in specific cited instances of existing agreed language.
• Provide updates and present final findings to Fòs Feminista and relevant partners.

5. Deliverables

• Inception report, including proposed methodology, document list, inclusion criteria, and timeframe (due at the end of the inception phase).
• A structured spreadsheet database of coded excerpts, consistent in format with Fòs Feminista’s existing UN-level mapping database (mechanism, document title, citation/symbol, date, page reference, excerpt text, and thematic codes).
• A draft mapping and analysis report, for Fòs Feminista review and feedback. This should already include a set of concrete recommendations and draft rights-based language proposals for AU negotiating contexts, cross-referenced to specific cited excerpts.
• A final mapping and analysis report incorporating feedback, including an executive summary suitable for external advocacy use.
• A presentation of findings (virtual or in-person, to be agreed) to Fòs Feminista and partner organizations.

6. Indicative Timeline

The following is an indicative timeline of approximately 10 weeks; the final schedule will be confirmed with the selected consultant during contracting.

• Weeks 1–2: Inception phase — methodology, document list, and workplan finalized.
• Weeks 3–4: Document identification, retrieval, and excerpt extraction.
• Weeks 4–6: Thematic coding and analysis.
• Weeks 6–8: Draft mapping report submitted to and reviewed by Fòs Feminista.
• Weeks 8–10: Revisions, finalization, and presentation of findings.
  

7. Required Qualifications and Experience

• Advanced degree (Master’s or higher) in law, human rights, gender studies, African studies, political science, or a related field.
• Demonstrated knowledge of African Union human rights mechanisms and regional legal and policy frameworks, including the Maputo Protocol.
• Prior experience conducting legal, policy, or content analysis of agreed language, treaty text, or comparable normative documents.
• Experience applying feminist or rights-based analytical frameworks to legal and policy texts.
• Strong written communication skills in English; working proficiency in French, Arabic, and/or Portuguese is highly desirable given the African Union’s official languages.
• Prior experience on gender equality, SRHR, or family law in the African regional context is strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with qualitative data analysis tools (e.g., Dedoose, NVivo, or comparable software) is an asset.
  

8. Reporting and Supervision

The consultant will report to an assigned Senior Advocacy Officer and will maintain regular check-ins (proposed bi-weekly, to be confirmed) throughout the assignment to review progress against the agreed workplan.

9. Application Process

Interested candidates should submit the following by October 16, 2026:

• A current CV or resume.
• A cover letter outlining relevant experience and interest in the assignment.
• A brief proposed methodology and workplan (no more than 3 pages), including any suggested adaptations to the approach described above.
• A financial proposal, inclusive of a proposed daily or total consultancy rate.
• A relevant writing sample (e.g., a legal or policy analysis, research report, or comparable output).

10. Budget

The total consultancy fee for this assignment is USD 6,000–7,000, inclusive of all costs. Candidates should submit a proposed budget within this range as part of their application; Fòs Feminista will confirm the final consultancy fee during contracting.