CEHRO seeks to engage a qualified consultant to develop and adapt a training manual and training modules and facilitate a capacity-building training for law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and relevant regulatory institutions.

የኢትዮጵያ የሰብዓዊ መብቶች ድርጅቶች ህብረት

(ኢሰመድህ)

Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations

(CEHRO) 

Consultancy for the Development of Training Manual and Delivery of Capacity Building Training for Law Enforcement Agencies on Media Law, Freedom of Expression, and the Safety of Journalists

July, 2026

1. About CEHRO

The Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations (CEHRO) is a Consortium of 27 civil society organizations working in the areas of human rights, democracy, and sustainable peace in Ethiopia. Over the past eight years, CEHRO has been actively engaged in strengthening civic space and promoting an enabling environment for civil society organizations through coordinated advocacy, capacity development, and evidence-based policy engagement.

CEHRO serves as a national platform for human rights CSOs to collectively amplify their voices, engage policymakers, and advance rights-based discourse in Ethiopia. A core strategic priority of CEHRO is enhancing the institutional and technical capacity of its member and partner organizations, particularly in the areas of advocacy communication, policy influence, and media engagement.

Further information about CEHRO can be accessed at: https://cehro.org/

2. Context

As Ethiopia’s media landscape continues to evolve, strengthening cooperation and mutual understanding between media professionals and public institutions remains important for promoting freedom of expression and the safety of journalists. In particular, enhancing awareness and application of relevant legal and human rights standards can support effective engagement between law enforcement institutions and the media while contributing to an enabling environment for responsible journalism.

Law enforcement institutions play a critical role in safeguarding freedom of expression and ensuring the protection of journalists while maintaining public order and enforcing the law. However, gaps remain in understanding international standards on freedom of expression, media law, journalist safety, and the role of law enforcement actors in democratic societies.

To address these challenges, CEHRO is currently implementing a project focusing on building legal and advocacy frameworks for media protection in Ethiopia. The project aims to strengthen legal protection mechanisms and advocacy frameworks that support media freedom, freedom of expression, and the safety of journalists in Ethiopia through capacity building, legal assistance, stakeholder engagement, and public awareness interventions.

In this context, CEHRO seeks to engage a qualified consultant to develop and adapt a training manual and training modules and facilitate a capacity-building training for law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and relevant regulatory institutions.

3. Objectives of the Assignment
   • General Objective

The overall objective of this assignment is to enhance the capacity of law enforcement actors to better understand, interpret, and apply international standards and national legal frameworks relating to media law, freedom of expression, and the safety of journalists in their daily professional practice.

• Specific Objectives
• Adapt and contextualize relevant UNESCO resources, particularly the Global Toolkit for Law Enforcement Agents, into a structured and user-friendly training manual aligned with the Ethiopian legal and institutional context.
• Develop comprehensive training modules that translate international human rights standards into practical guidance for law enforcement officers in their day-to-day responsibilities.
• Deliver a participatory training session for law enforcement officials and relevant stakeholders that promotes dialogue, practical learning, and improved understanding of media-related legal frameworks.
• Generate insights and recommendations that can support improved collaboration between law enforcement institutions, media actors, and other relevant stakeholders.

4. Scope of Work

The consultancy will focus on two closely linked components: the development of a training manual and the delivery of a capacity-building training for law enforcement actors on media law, freedom of expression, and the safety of journalists.

In terms of content development, the consultant will be responsible for preparing a contextualized training package that is grounded in UNESCO resources and aligned with the Ethiopian legal and institutional environment. This includes adapting relevant materials into a structured training manual and supporting modules suitable for law enforcement audiences. The content is expected to be practical and accessible, ensuring that international standards are translated into guidance that can be meaningfully applied in operational contexts.

The training package will be expected to reflect the following substantive areas:

• International and regional standards on freedom of expression and safety of journalists, presented in a way that is relevant to law enforcement responsibilities and decision-making contexts.
• Ethiopian legal and policy frameworks related to media regulation, criminal procedure, and constitutional guarantees on freedom of expression, ensuring coherence between international standards and domestic law.
• Practical illustrations of common challenges and interactions between law enforcement officers and media practitioners, drawn from real-life or contextually relevant scenarios.
• Gender-sensitive and rights-based considerations, with attention to the specific risks and vulnerabilities faced by journalists, particularly women journalists, in different operational contexts.

The consultant will also be responsible for organizing and facilitating one training session for approximately 35 participants drawn from law enforcement agencies, prosecution offices, and relevant regulatory institutions. The training will serve as a practical platform to enhance understanding of media law and freedom of expression principles, and to encourage constructive engagement between law enforcement actors and media stakeholders.

5. Methodology

The consultant is expected to propose a clear, practical, and context-sensitive methodology grounded in adult learning principles. The assignment should follow a logical progression that begins with document review and adaptation of UNESCO materials, followed by contextualization, training design, and delivery.

The consultancy shall build upon UNESCO’s existing global resources, including:

• UNESCO Global Toolkit for Law Enforcement Agents: Promoting Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists
• UNESCO Rule of Law and Freedom of Expression resources
• UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity
• Relevant international and regional human rights standards
• Ethiopian legal and policy frameworks governing media, freedom of expression, and access to information

The methodology should prioritize experiential and participatory learning approaches, ensuring that participants engage actively with real-life scenarios rather than passively receiving information. Where necessary, the consultant may complement document review with targeted consultations with relevant stakeholders in order to strengthen contextual relevance and accuracy.

6. Deliverables

The consultant will be responsible for producing a set of interrelated deliverables that reflect both the preparatory and implementation phases of the assignment:

• An inception report outlining the proposed methodology, detailed work plan, and structured framework for the development of the training manual and modules, ensuring alignment with both UNESCO resources and the Ethiopian context.
• A draft training manual and accompanying training modules developed in line with the agreed scope, incorporating international standards, national legal frameworks, and practical case-based learning approaches.
• A final training package, revised based on feedback from CEHRO and UNESCO, including facilitator guidance materials, participant manuals, presentations, and practical exercises designed for interactive delivery.
• Delivery of one capacity-building training session for approximately 35 participants from law enforcement and related institutions, facilitated in a participatory and practice-oriented manner.

A training completion report documenting the implementation process, participant engagement, pre- and post-training assessment results, and key observations and outcomes from the training7.

7. Reporting and Coordination

The consultant shall report directly to CEHRO and, where appropriate, coordinate with the UNESCO Addis Ababa Office throughout the assignment. The consultancy will be implemented in close collaboration with CEHRO, beginning from the inception phase, including the refinement of the proposed methodology, work plan, and overall approach. Regular consultations will be held throughout the assignment to review progress, discuss emerging issues, and ensure that the training materials and delivery remain aligned with project objectives and UNESCO resources. All key deliverables shall be submitted to CEHRO for technical review and feedback and shall be finalized upon incorporation of comments before final acceptance.

8. Timeline

The assignment is expected to be completed within 30 days from contract signing.

9. Qualifications and Experience

The consultant is expected to possess the following qualifications and experience:

• An advanced academic degree (Master’s or higher) in law, human rights, journalism, media studies, governance, international relations, or a closely related field.
• A minimum of seven (7) years of relevant professional experience in areas related to media law, freedom of expression, journalist safety, law, human rights, or legal capacity building.
• Demonstrated experience in designing training manuals and capacity-building programs, particularly for law enforcement institutions, justice sector actors, or similar stakeholders.
• Strong familiarity with international human rights frameworks, with particular advantage given to prior experience working with UNESCO tools, including those related to journalist safety and freedom of expression.
• Proven experience in facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and delivering interactive training sessions using participatory adult learning methodologies.

10. Application Requirements

Interested applicants are invited to submit their applications demonstrating their suitability for the assignment. The application package should include the following documents:

• A technical proposal that clearly outlines the consultant’s understanding of the assignment, including a brief description of the proposed methodology and approach for developing the training manual and delivering the training.
• A financial proposal presented in ETB, providing a clear and detailed breakdown of costs, inclusive of all applicable taxes and related expenses.
• An updated CV highlighting relevant qualifications, professional experience, and assignments similar in scope or nature to the present consultancy.
• Supporting documents that may include copies of relevant academic credentials, consultancy licenses, and TIN certificates, where applicable and available.
• Samples of previous work relevant to training development, media law, human rights, or capacity-building assignments, where such materials are available.

11. Application deadline and process

Interested and qualified consultants are invited to submit their applications via email humanresources@cehro.org with the subject line: “Consultancy for the Development of Training Manual and Delivery of Capacity Building Training for Law Enforcement Agencies on Media Law, Freedom of Expression, and the Safety of Journalists” within 7 working days from the advertisement of this call.

N.B CEHRO is an equal opportunity organization. Female candidates and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.