Background

For indigenous peoples in Cambodia, securing rights over their lands and resources is a sine qua non-condition for their long-term well-being and a precondition for them to be able to continue to exist as distinct peoples. Secure land and resource tenure is one of the most basic human rights for indigenous peoples and is a key feature of the international recognition of their human rights.

In Cambodia, the 2001 Land Law is the principal legal framework for formalizing customary ownership of indigenous peoples through the granting of collective land titles (CLTs). The Land Law recognizes the collective land management practices of indigenous peoples and the need to safeguard their right to maintain their traditional ways of life which are closely associated with the use of land and resources under their customary use. As of December 2016, 14 indigenous communities in Cambodia have obtained a CLT.

The process to obtain collective land title is cumbersome and costly. Some estimates indicate that the total costs for one title may be as high as 70.000 USD per community. In practice, this has meant that communities are entirely dependent on the financial and technical support of NGOs and donors to formalize their collective right to land. In terms of duration, estimates suggest that it takes indigenous communities close to four years to obtain title. As the process is very long, many indigenous community members withdraw from it during the land registration process, thereby slowing down the process even further. Notwithstanding, collective land titles remain the most important tool by which indigenous communities can assert their rights against external land encroachment.

To explore the hypothesis that it might be more difficult for members of indigenous communities with collective title to access finance, OHCHR seeks to undertake an in-depth review of some indigenous communities that have received CLTs and compare their level of access to finance to that of typical rural Khmer villages. The review will include relevant lessons from good international practices regarding access to finance of indigenous persons and peoples (i.e. on both an individual and collective basis).

Based on the findings, the study will present action-oriented recommendations to stakeholders involved in supporting indigenous communities with collective land titles, including Government authorities at the national and sub-national levels, UN agencies (OHCHR included), NGOs and indigenous communities. Recommendations will also be directed at lending institutions and informal money lenders, with the view of ensuring that indigenous peoples with CLTs are not excluded from economic opportunities to develop their lands and improve their livelihoods as they wish after they obtain collective land titles.

While the specific communities that will be covered in depth by the present study will be jointly selected by the consultant and OHCHR, the 14 indigenous communities that have received CLTs are expected to be surveyed.

 

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant is expected to deliver the below outputs:

  1. Review available literature and data on access to finance and indebtedness among rural Khmer to serve as a basis for comparison with members of indigenous communities with CLTs.
  2. Conduct in-depth household interviews with members and non-members of the previously selected indigenous villages in Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri and Kratie with collective land titles. The questions for the  interviews shall be formulated by the Contractor in coordination with OHCHR and will be designed to gather information on the impact of the allocation of the collective land title on the livelihoods, well-being and land tenure security of families living in these villages, in particular the opportunities and challenges community members have to access finance for the development of their land, their levels of indebtedness; their capacity for financial management; and  the proportion of families who abandoned their CLT for a private land title or who are considering doing so.
  3. Interview at least ten representatives of financial institutions, including microcredit providers, banks, saving groups, and informal  money lenders to document the level of access to loans by indigenous communities with collective land titles to develop their lands and livelihoods, and to assess whether these institutions have policies in place on the use of collective land title as collateral.\
  4. Draft final assessment (max. 20-25 pages excluding annexes)

Interested Offerors must visit this link http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=37100 to download Individual Consultant Procurement Notice, Terms of Reference, and Document Templates to be included when submitting this online application.

Competencies

Functional competencies

  • Ability to work quickly and responsively.
  • Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity.
  • Strong organizational and planning skills.

Corporate competencies

  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards.
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of OHCHR and the United Nations.
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
  • Treats all people fairly without favouritism.
  • Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: 

University Degree in a relevant field, such as law /political sciences / human rights / anthropology /agronomy is essential, a higher degree an advantage

Experience:

  • At least 10 years of experience working in human rights, in particular relating to indigenous peoples and land, including at least 5 years of experience working on land and/or indigenous peoples’ issues in Cambodia
  • Experience in conducting household surveys
  • Experience in conducting interviews
  • Experience in conducting focus group discussions
  • Experience drafting public reports

Language: 

Excellent written and oral English; knowledge of Khmer is an asset.

Interested Offerors must visit this link http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=37100 to download Individual Consultant Procurement Notice, Terms of Reference, and Document Templates to be included when submitting this online application.

UNDP reserves right to reject any applications that is incomplete.

Please be informed that we don’t accept application submitted via email.

Interested Offerors are required to submit application via UNDP jobsite system as the application screening and evaluation will be done through UNDP jobsite system. Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single file. Your on-line applications submission will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary. Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

Any request for clarification/additional information on this procurement notice shall be communicated in writing to UNDP office or send to email sereyvattana.chan@undp.org and cc procurement.kh@undp.org . While the Procurement Unit would endeavor to provide information expeditiously, only requests receiving at least 5 working days prior to the submission deadline will be entertained. Any delay in providing such information will not be considered as a reason for extending the submission deadline. The UNDP's response (including an explanation of the query but without identifying the source of inquiry) will be posted in Individual Consultant (IC) Procurement Notice page as provided above. Therefore, all prospective Offerors are advised to visit the page regularly to make obtain update related to this Individual Consultant (IC) Procurement Notice.