UHRC/OHCHR Joint Project to Monitor Military Courts' Compliance with the Decision to End Trial of Civilians and Ensure Transfer Cases to Civilian Courts is in Accordance with International, Regional and National Human Rights Standards.

Background:

In 2006, the Constitutional Court in Uganda Law Society V. AG (Constitutional Petition No. 18/2005) declared the trial of civilians in military court martial unconstitutional, a decision that was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court on appeal in AG V. Uganda Law Society (Constitutional Appeal SCCA No. 1/2006) in 2009.   Recently in September 2011, UPDF Defence and Army Spokesperson announced that a directive had been issued by the UPDF administration to cease the trial of civilians in court martial. On this basis, the Uganda Human Rights Commission whose mandate is to protect and promote human rights as guaranteed by the Constitution and other binding human rights instruments, in collaboration with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights-Uganda office whose mandate includes providing technical assistance to the competent authorities in relation to measures to promote and protect human rights in the country, will undertake a joint project to monitor the operation and process of transfer of civilian cases from court martial system to ordinary civilian courts to assess the effective implementation of the UPDF directive, the operation and functionality of the court martial system to determine the extent of compliance to established standards of fair trial and due process with a view to identify capacity gaps and recommend appropriate procedural and institutional reforms. 

Objectives:

The Uganda Human Rights Commission in collaboration with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Uganda (OHCHR) seek to engage a Ugandan National consultant to implement specific activities under this project and in particular the following:

• Conduct research on the operations of the court martial system in Uganda in order to assess the military courts’ compliance with the national, regional and international human rights instruments and principles of fair trial guarantees and the due process of the law.
• To monitor the status of the proposed transition process and procedure of transfer of civilian cases to the ordinary court system and ascertain whether it conforms to established principles of fair trial and due process.
• The consultant in close collaboration with UHRC/OHCHR will also assess the Court martial trials where military personnel are tried and prosecuted for human rights violations in response to the right to effective remedy with a view to inform necessary institutional reforms and strategies
  

Methodology:

• The consultancy will be both field-based and in Kampala to be implemented within 2 months period. The consultant will work in close relationship with UHRC/OHCHR task force assigned to this project in both Kampala and Regional Offices. 
• The Consultant will conduct interviews with different stakeholders within the military court administration, criminal suspects still in custody of court martial system or transferred to civilian courts, members of relevant justice law and order sector institutions, civil society actors, and International NGOS with the aim to obtain information on the nature and operation of the court martial system and understand the current status of cases and key challenges. 
• The consultant will also participate in a series of technical meetings along with UHRC, OHCHR, members of the relevant justice law and order sector institutions, CSOs and International agencies to consult and obtain their views on the development of a proposal for an appropriate transfer strategy of pending cases. 
•  The information obtained will be compiled into an analytical report, which will highlight on international human rights standards related to the trial of civilian suspects in military courts, recommendations of international human rights bodies and the current context in Uganda including recommended actions to take by the project implementing institutions.
  

Scope of work:

Under the overall supervision of the Uganda Human Rights Commission and the UN Human Rights Office in Uganda, the consultant will be required to:

• Monitoring: The national consultant will support a monitoring strategy to analyse the functioning of the court martial system and procedures for handling civilians with a view to verify the current status of cases involving civilians and aspects relating to institutional compliance with human rights standards.
• Stakeholder meetings: Engage in bilateral meetings to consult relevant stakeholders on the proposed transfer strategy and provide feedback on field findings.
• Compilation of findings: Make use of the findings and interview results to compile an analytical study report on court martial system with specific recommendations on legal and institutional obligations, the current institutional capacity and appropriate transfer strategy for pending cases.

Required Outputs:

The Consultant will be required to produce an analytical study report on the findings of the project, highlighting current practices of court martial system and assessment of levels of compliance with human rights laws and principles including trials of military personnel involved in alleged human rights violations. Cite challenges faced and key issues on the current situation of civilian cases and transfer process as well as institutional capacity within the ordinary justice system. The consultant will be required to produce this report in accordance with the specific required output as well as specific recommendations for appropriate transfer strategy to enhance fair trial guarantees and principles of natural justice and possible interventions by UHRC and OHCHR.

Timeframe:

• July 16th 2012 - Signing of contract
• July 19th – Submission of work plan and calendar of events - 40% disbursement of fee
• July 20th – 31st, 2012 – Desktop research and meeting convened
• August 2012 – Field-based consultations and meetings
• September 14th 2012 - Presentation of final Analytical study report – 60% disbursement of fee.

Reporting:

The consultant will be directly supervised by the Director, Monitoring and Inspections of the Uganda Human Rights Commission and the UN Human Rights Office in Uganda until completion of the assignment.

Required Experience:

• At least seven years experience in criminal justice practice preferably with proven understanding of the functioning and procedures of the court martial system in Uganda.
• Experience and proven record of working on projects including designing and development analytical research reports using relevant methodologies and tools.
  

Required Competencies:

• Demonstrable analytical, writing, research and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work with a wide range of government and civil society counterparts and donor and UN partners.
• Knowledge and experience in human rights will be an added advantage.
• Understanding of UHRC and OHCHR’s mission, policies and processes.
  

Education:

• A degree in law with specialised experience in criminal justice practice and procedure.  
• Advanced degree in International Human Rights Law would be an asset.
  

Application procedure:

Applicants are required to submit the following:

• A Job Proposal: Letter of Interest, stating why you consider yourself suitable for the assignment.
• Brief methodology on the approach and implementation of the assignment.
• Personal CVs highlighting past experience in similar projects.
• Work references - contact details (e-mail addresses) of referees.
• Financial proposal indicating consultancy fee (lump sum fee) and a breakdown of expenses (unit price together with any other expenses) related to the assignment.

Eligible consultants are required to submit application and a detailed CV/Resume at http://jobs.undp.org.

Please note that the system will only allow you to upload one document, therefore all the technical and financial proposals are to be attached to the CVs and uploaded together at once. Those who applied before are not eligible and should not re-apply.