Background

Purpose

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide support in the implementation of the EU Council Decision 2018/1788 in support of the implementation of the Regional Roadmap on combating illicit arms trafficking in the Western Balkans and SEESAC disarmament and arms control activities in South-East Europe reducing the threat of illicit small arms and light weapons and their ammunition

Objective

To contract an expert to contribute to the Needs assessment of the capacities of the Criminal Police Services of  Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia for countering illicit arms possession and trafficking.

Background information

The South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC) is a joint initiative of the UNDP and the Regional Cooperation Council. As such, it is an integral part of UNDP’s work in the Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (ECIS) region and has, since 2002, worked primarily to strengthen the capacities of national and regional stakeholders to control and reduce the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons, and thus contribute to enhanced stability, security and development in South Eastern and Eastern Europe. SEESAC also has a distinguished record working closely with national Ministries to mainstream gender equality and this aspect will remain central to the programme.

Going forward, SEESAC will maintain its long-standing work in South-Eastern Europe the small arms and light weapons and gender equality in security sector reform fields, under the framework of the RCC. The programme will continue and, where possible, scale up the innovative work it has pioneered in fostering confidence between rule of law providers within southeast Europe, as well as in the fields of innovation, security and technology. In addition, SEESAC will increasingly focus on sharing the capacity it has developed over the years through line ministries and UNDP offices in order to address community and other security needs beyond the sub-region and provide guidance on introducing gender equality into the security sector. 

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to international peace and security by combatting the threat posed by the widespread accumulation and illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons and their ammunition in and from SEE. At the same time, it enhances regional stability by working within the framework of the RCC and in partnership with other relevant initiatives. The project is directly contributing to the implementation of the EU Security Strategy, the EU SALW Strategy, EU Strategy Against Illicit Firearms, Small Arms & Light Weapons & Their Ammunition , the Arms Trade Treaty, the UN Programme of Action, the International Tracing Instrument, UN Firearms Protocol, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and will specifically enhance regional cooperation in combating the threat posed by the spread of SALW and their ammunition. Specifically, the project is contributing to the implementation of the South East Europe Regional Implementation Plan Combatting the Proliferations and Impact of Small Arms and Light Weapons and the Roadmap for a sustainable solution to the illegal possession, misuse and trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and their ammunition in the Western Balkans by 2024. The project results are also directly contributing to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal 16 on peaceful and just societies, in particular targets 16.1 (Significantly reduce all forms of violence and death rate everywhere) and 16.4 (significantly reduce illicit arms flows). 

SEESAC is currently implementing the Council Decision 2018/1788 in support of the implementation of the Regional Roadmap on combating illicit arms trafficking in the Western Balkans; and the Council Decision 2019/2111 in support of SEESAC disarmament and arms control activities in South-East Europe in reducing the threat of illicit small arms and light weapons and their ammunition. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work

Under the overall direction of the SEESAC Project Manager and direct supervision of SEESAC SALW Project Specialist, the Consultant will be expected to perform the following tasks:

• To participate in a 5-day field visit in each jurisdiction and provide input contributing to a detailed Needs assessment of capacities for countering illicit arms possession and trafficking of the Criminal Police Services of  Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, based on the existing methodology (Annex 1), from the perspective of criminal investigations on countering illicit possession and trafficking of firearms and other gun related crimes.

Deliverables

The following deliverables will be required from the Consultant:

All deliverables will have to be in English language and quality reviewed, approved and accepted by the SEESAC Project Manager  in consultations with SEESAC SALW Project Specialist.  Payment will be made upon acceptance of deliverables.  

Competencies

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP.
• Good research and analytic skills;
• Ability to express ideas clearly, to work independently and in teams;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• BA in law, political, or social sciences or related field.

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of experience in criminal investigations in the field of SALW control;
• Proven experience in conducting analysis and reporting on issues related to criminal investigations and/or SALW control;
• Proven extensive knowledge of SALW control issues
• Experience in working with governments, especially law enforcement institutions;
• Good knowledge and understanding of the public sector;
• Proficiency in using Microsoft Office Suite.

Language skills

• Excellent knowledge of spoken and written English is required.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested individual consultants must submit, via UNDP Website: UNDP in Serbia under section “Jobs” no later than 21 March 2021, the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. Proposal, explaining why they are the most suitable for the work and describing approach to work.
2. Financial Proposal specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference. Financial Proposal template can be downloaded from the following link: http://www.undp.org.rs/download/ic/Confirmation.docx.
3. Personal CV including date of birth, contact information (phone number, home adress, e-mail address) and past experience in similar projects.

In order to apply please merge above listed documents into a single PDF file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded.

Financial Proposal

Lump sum contracts

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount in USD, for each deliverable as per TOR. Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.  The financial proposal should be provided in the Breakdown of Cost by Deliverables table in the Offeror’s Letter.

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination, personal security needs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services including travel and accommodation costs in case field visits are required).

Evaluation

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight 70%

* Financial Criteria weight 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 point would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner. Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org.

Additional Information:

• Individual Contract (IC) will be applicable for individual consultants applying in their own capacity.  
• Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) will be applicable for applicants employed by any legal entity. Template of RLA with General Terms and Conditions could be found on: http://www.undp.org.rs/download/RLA%20with%20General%20Terms%20and%20Conditions.doc. In the case of engagement of Civil servants under IC contract modality a no-objection letter should be provided by the Government entity. The ‘no-objection’ letter must also state that the employer formally certifies that their employees are allowed to receive short-term consultancy assignment from another entity without being on “leave-without-pay” status (if applicable) and include any conditions and restrictions on granting such permission, if any. If the previous is not applicable ‘leave-without-pay’ confirmation should be submitted.

Engagement of Government Officials and Employees

• Government Officials or Employees are civil servants of UN Member States.  As such, if they will be engaged by UNDP under an IC which they will be signing in their individual capacity (i.e., engagement is not done through RLA signed by their Government employer), the following conditions must be met prior to the award of contract: 

              (i)      A “No-objection” letter in respect of the individual is received from the Government employing him/her, and; 
              (ii)     The individual must provide an official documentation from his/her employer formally certifying his or her status as being on “official leave without pay” for the duration of the IC. 

• The above requirements are also applicable to Government-owned and controlled enterprises and well as other semi/partially or fully owned Government entities, whether or not the Government ownership is of majority or minority status.   
• UNDP recognizes the possibility that there are situations when the Government entity employing the individual that UNDP wishes to engage is one that allows its employees to receive external short-term consultancy assignments (including but not limited to research institutions, state-owned colleges/universities, etc.), whereby a status of “on-leave-without-pay” is not required.  Under such circumstance, the individual entering into an IC with UNDP must still provide a “No-objection” letter from the Government employing him/her.  The “no objection” letter required under (i) above must also state that the employer formally certifies that their employees are allowed to receive short-term consultancy assignment from another entity without being on “leave-without-pay” status and include any conditions and restrictions on granting such permission, if any.  The said document may be obtained by, and put on record of, UNDP, in lieu of the document (ii) listed above.

Annex I

Methodology for the Needs Assessment of capacities of Criminal Police Services and Investigation Departments of the Western Balkan Region

The Roadmap for a sustainable solution to the illegal possession, misuse and trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and their ammunition in the Western Balkans by 2024 is developed in close cooperation with all relevant institutions of the region under the auspices of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of France and SEESAC’s technical support. The purpose of this Roadmap is to serve as a guiding and consensual document developed and owned by the regional authorities, in achieving a sustainable solution to the illegal possession, misuse and trafficking of SALW/firearms, and its ammunition, in the Western Balkans. Official adoption of this document took place at the EU-Western Balkans Summit in London on 10 July 2018.

In order to support the WB jurisdictions European Union adopted the Council Decision (CFSP) 2018/1788 of 19 November 2018 in support of the South-Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC) for the implementation of the Regional Roadmap on combating illicit arms trafficking in the Western Balkans, OJ L293/11, 20.11.2018.One of the components of the EU Council Decision envisages Needs assessment of the criminal-police services of the Western Balkans in countering illicit arms trafficking and possesion.

The overall objective of the mission is:

• To assess the current situation, identify the existing gaps and challenges faced by the criminal police (as relevant) in all 6 jurisdictions in effectively combating the illicit trafficking of firearms, and identify concrete recommendations for further capacity building and support.

There are three specific objectives in order to achieve the overall objective which are:

• Identification and analysis of the legislative and strategic framework
• Assessment of the administrative and institutional capacities including criminal analysis, tasking and coordination, investigation and cooperation with different institutions
• Stocktaking of the existing technical equipment, including software programs and hardware devices, required for detection of illicit firearms and ammunition, investigations in the field of illicit possession and trafficking of firearms, performing efficient data collection and processing during in the framework of ILP and other criminal police activities.

1. Analysis of the Legislative and Strategic Framework

2. Assessment of the Administrative and institutional capacities

3. Stocktaking of the technical equipment

*Reference to Kosovo should be understood to be in the context of the Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).