Terms of Reference for Consultant to carry out Baseline Assessment

Transcription

1 Terms of Reference for Consultant to carry out Baseline Assessment STRENGTHENING SPECIALIZED PROSECUTOR S OFFICE INVESTIGATION, PROSECUTION AND MANAGAMENT OF COUNTER- TRAFFICKING CASES Page 1 of 7

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3 Title of TA intervention Request No. 1. Background Strengthening Specialized Prosecutor s office investigation, prosecution and management of counter-trafficking cases. TA/029/2016 The following is a call to carry out a baseline assessment (BA) for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the framework of the ACP-EU Migration Action (hereinafter the Action ). Background on the Action and its organisational set-up can be found in the Action s website Context of TA intervention: The Dominican Republic is country of origin, destination and transit of migrants. One out of three persons in the DR has plans to leave the country in the next three years (LAPOP 2014); over one and half million Dominicans, 16% of Dominican population, live abroad and 5% living in the DR is foreigner. Trafficking in persons and Smuggling of migrants is a major national concern. In 2003, the Dominican Republic enacted Law criminalizing Trafficking in persons and Migrant smuggling, following the signature in 2000, of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) (Palermo Convention). The Convention would be ratified later in 2006; the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children being ratified in 2007 and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air in In 2010, the respect for human dignity as the foundation of the Dominican State is clearly stated on the Dominican Constitution; also the prohibition of any kind of slavery, trafficking or human trafficking is constitutionalized. To develop the legal mandate, two inter-institutional entities have been decisive: the Inter-Agency Committee protection of Migrant Women (CIPROM) (Decree No of 1999)1 and the Interagency Commission on Combating Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (CITIM) (Decree No of 2007). The latter drafted and promoted the implementation of the First National Plan against trafficking Combat against TiP has been included in the National Human Rights Plan. In 2015, with the support of IOM, two protocols were launched to guide an integral approach to victim s assistance: 1) Protocol to assist and refer Children Victims of Trafficking; and 2) Protocol to identify assist and reintegrate survivors of Trafficking in Persons. Key government agencies have created specialized units against trafficking in persons with the support of IOM. The specialized units in the Ministry of Women s Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have had a crucial role in prevention and protection policies; for instance, the Ministry of Women promotes prevention against trafficking in persons in orientation points in 52 local level offices of the Ministry of Women s affairs Page 3 of 7

4 To enhance the investigation and prosecution the National Police, the Migration Directorate and the Attorney General's Office and the three largest Prosecutors Offices (Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional and Santiago) have also created specialized units. In particular, the role of the Specialized Prosecutor against the Smuggling of Migrants and Trafficking in Persons (PETIMTP by its Spanish acronym)3 has set in motion a positive shift towards a comprehensive policy to combat trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling. A harmonized approach to investigation and prosecution, with an intensive training of all parties involved, has resulted in an increase of convictions. Between January 2014 and March 2015, 18 cases have been prosecuted against traffickers and 45 against smugglers. Nevertheless, increase in number of cases and victims as well as gaps on information sharing between the different agencies call for the creation of a secure case management/information management system that will also ease the production of statistics for relevant indicators. Following the article 12 of Law , PETIMTP prioritized this need in their Annual Plan4 and has prepared a preliminary needs assessment and design of the interface. With support of IOM, the training of public workers, especially consular officials, managers of the Children and Adolescents Protection System and justice system officials including the military forces (CESFRONT) and the police has been prioritized. This includes the inclusion of the issue of trafficking in the permanent curriculum of the National Judicial College and the National School of Public Prosecutions and a comprehensive training of prosecutors and investigators in the National School for prosecutors. In 2016, the Prosecutor s office will create a Criminal Investigation Unit to give support to Specialized Prosecution Offices such as the PETIMTP. Personnel will be recruited by public competition and receive specialized training. Though investigation on TiP, migrant smuggling and forged documents expertise exists in the DR, developing the training curricula on TiP and Smuggling of Migrants curricula as well as holding joint trainings with other agencies will be an innovative and helpful initiative. The requesting office is the Procuraduria Especializada contra el Trafico Ilicito de Migrantes y la Trata de personas - Prosecutor against the Smuggling of Migrants and Trafficking in Persons (PETIMTP by its Spanish acronym) 2. Description of the BA assignment 2.1 Objectives The general objective of the study is to increase the effectiveness of counter trafficking and migrant smuggling investigation, prosecution and handling of cases GO I, EO 1.1. Act. 2 Create a software to handle Information and Statistics, using as a reference the Registration and Statistics of TiP crime and others system (line3) Page 4 of 7

5 2.2 Specific objectives The specific objectives of the present baseline assessment are to: 1. Provide an overview of the state of affairs on the specific subject of the request of the Dominican Republic prior to the actual implementation of the TA intervention, to be used as a reference against which to compare the results achieved through the TA intervention and with the objective of evaluating its impact and contribution to the improvement of the initial situation. Specifically, this should also include a review of the funds transfer policy and mechanisms and a short assessment of the sustainability of the proposed TA intervention; 2. Offering inputs and guidance useful to fine-tune TA intervention. Hence, the baseline assessment will help further defining the work plan for the TA intervention; 3. Identifying the major stakeholders and Non State Actors (NSAs) 5 working in the thematic area of the request (remittances i ); this will result in the identification and mapping of potential NSAs in the Dominican Republic that might be asked to submit target project proposals through a dedicated facility of the Action. 2.3 Requested services The baseline assessment consultant is envisaged to carry out the following activities: 2.4 Required outputs 1. Closely coordinate and consult with the IOM Action Staff in Brussels, Belgium, so as to contact the IOM Regional Coordinator (RC) in the region and the IOM Country Office in the Dominican Republic where the TA intervention is envisaged to take place. 2. Closely coordinate with IOM Action Staff the action plan for the Baseline Assessment activities and steps to be taken prior their implementation. 3. Desk review of reports, statistics and other literature available or produced by the IOM and other international/regional, government or NSAs organisations in order to derive quantitative and qualitative baseline data. 4. Data (quantitative and qualitative) collection via telephone, skype calls, s etc. with the main TA intervention s beneficiaries, as well as other relevant stakeholders, including the European Union (EU) Delegation and NSAs. Specifically, verify the degree of relevance/duplication with past or current initiatives in the same sector of intervention. 5. Define appropriate baseline assessment indicators that will help establish the state of play in the relevant sector and, subsequently, monitor and evaluate the outcome of the TA intervention. 6. Identify, map and classify, and where possible establish direct contact with the NSAs active in the Dominican Republic and in the sector of the TA intervention, outlining their potential to serve as beneficiaries of direct support provided under the Action. 7. Based on the above and additional research if needed, produce a Baseline Assessment Report as per designated template. The main output of this assignment is the Baseline Assessment Report as per designated template. The baseline assessment consultant will also produce a 5 See Page 5 of 7

6 Baseline Assessment Dissemination Report as per designated template; s/he might as well be asked to deliver a presentation to relevant stakeholders in relation to the findings of the baseline assessment. Photographic documentation of events, meetings, conferences, etc. organized during the implementation of the BA assignment should also be provided. The assignment will be carried out by one (1) baseline assessment consultant in close coordination with the IOM Action Regional Coordinator (RC) for the Caribbean. However, all required outputs are the responsibility of the baseline assessment consultant. 3. Consultant s profile No 1 Key qualifications - A minimum of a Bachelor s, preferably a Master s or above university degree, in social sciences or another field related to the services; - At least 5 years of working experience acquired in government, non-governmental sector, research, academia, consulting or related. Experience in one of the following fields: monitoring and evaluation, research, statistics, TiP would be an asset; - Demonstrated experience in carrying out baseline assessments; - Demonstrated experience in the use of quantitative and qualitative research methods and related reporting; - Prior experience in one or more of the ACP countries from the Caribbean region or with Trafficking in Persons is a distinct advantage; - Demonstrated ability to deliver quality work under tight timeframes; - Excellent communication and report writing skills and fluent command of Spanish and English. 4. Location and duration 4.1 Start Date The earliest starting date for the assignment will be the (TBC). 4.2 End Date The assignment should be completed by no later than (TBC). 4.3 Location and Foreseen Field Visits It is foreseen that part of this assignment will be performed in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, while the rest will be conducted from the home-based station of the baseline assessment consultant. 5. Reporting 5.1 Language All reports and communications under this assignment will be written in Spanish. 5.2 Submission timing The draft Baseline Assessment Report is due on (TBC) and the final report is due on or before (TBC). 5.3 Format The draft and final Baseline Assessment Reports should be submitted electronically by to ACPEUmigrationaction@iom.int. i Please find here a non-exhaustive list of activities that NSAs to be identified should have experience in: - Offering scholarships for migrants children left behind (example: short term project covering primary and secondary education costs for children of migrants); ACP-EU Migration Action IOM Offices 20, rue Belliardstraat Page Brussels of 7 Belgium Tel: +32 (0) acpeumigrationaction@iom.int

7 - Providing small grants for small businesses or for education (incl. vocational training) to families of migrants (ex. projects providing vocational training courses for relatives of migrants); - Creating and disseminating communication campaign /development of tools for improving financial literacy and planning of families/individuals receiving remittances (ex. production and dissemination of a booklet in local language about how to best save and plan with received remittances); - Supporting existing diaspora projects in that country to improve education/vocational training, health/social services for their country of origin (ex. complementary grant for setting up a hospital department, a vocational school, etc.). Page 7 of 7