Procurement Notices

Countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Kosovo*

Description of the Assignment:

The overall objective of the consultancy is to, under the supervision of the Regional Project Manager and in cooperation with the relevant UNDP project teams, conduct an update of UNDP’s 2019 regional needs assessment report on institutional capacities and needs in the area of victim/witness support (with special attention to gender-responsive justice for women victims and survivors of armed conflicts) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. In addition, the consultant will conduct a separate in-depth assessment report on institutional capacities and needs in the area of victim/witness support in Kosovo.

The consultancy shall result in an extensive Inception Report which shall properly inform the further implementation of the project activities as well as establish a basis for the project team to adjust project activities in line with the findings of the assessment.  For this purpose, the selected consultant shall undertake the following duties and responsibilities:

• Conduct desk research of relevant legal and institutional frameworks in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Montenegro, Serbia, and Kosovo regarding the work of victim/witness support offices pertinent to the provision of support services to victims and witnesses in war crimes cases with special attention to gender-responsive justice for women victims and survivors of armed conflicts.  The desk research shall also consider EU accession reports (2022 Enlargement package (europa.eu) in light of the individual countries’ assessments regarding the subject matter.  Furthermore, the activity shall also include an in-depth review of the open-source data regarding victim/witness support services including but not limited to publicly available reports of the national authorities, monitoring and analytical reports of relevant international organizations, as well as international and local think tanks and CSOs,
• In coordination with the UNDP Project Teams, conduct in-person interviews (online interviews only if in-person interviews are not possible) with the representatives of the relevant national institutions in BiH, Montenegro, Serbia, and Kosovo, (WVS services, courts, prosecutors’ offices, law enforcement agencies, ministries of justice and other ministries), civil society organizations (CSOs) including victims’ associations, international stakeholders (especially those implementing capacity development projects) and other relevant collocutors. The consultant will seek to identify possible problems, gaps, needs, and areas for improvement in the organization and functioning of witness/victim support services and other institutions involved in witness support in war crimes proceedings (law enforcement agencies, ministries, etc.), their skills and technical and logistical capacities, operational protocols and policies, communication with witnesses and victims, co-ordination and co-operation with other institutions and with civil society, and any other relevant issues. Special attention will be dedicated to existing procedures and skills for handling sensitive victims/witnesses, especially victims of CRSV crimes, and gender aspect and sensitivity in the work of the witness/victims services.  The analysis should particularly investigate cross-border witnesses/victims in the region – from legal frameworks to identifying many practical challenges in assisting witnesses crossing borders to testify before a foreign jurisdiction. One of the topics to be addressed will be the role of civil society organizations in the provision of witness/victim services. The consultant’s analysis should result in an assessment of needs and recommendations for interventions to address those needs, possibly including some of the following; amendment of existing or adoption of new legal instruments (national laws and bylaws, bilateral or multilateral inter-state agreements and technical co-operation protocols), adjustment or development of standard operating procedures, adoption of changes to institutional and governmental policies, changes in organization and management of witness support services, training and other forms of skill building for witness/victim services and other state or non-governmental actors, development or expansion of technical resources and provision of equipment, development of partnerships between institutions and civil society, etc.;
• Coordinate activities with UNDP Consultant engaged to conduct gender analysis and ensure integration of the analysis in the Inception Report; 
• Produce an updated analytical report based on the research and interviews, with recommendations for further actions (legislative, institutional, capacity building, infrastructure improvement, etc.) of the victim/witness support services of BiH, Serbia, and Montenegro;
• Produce a comprehensive analytical report on the victim/witness support services of Kosovo.

Period of assignment/services: 15 March – 14 April 2023

Proposal should be submitted directly in the portal no later than indicated deadline.

Any request for clarification must be sent in writing via messaging functionality in the portal. UNDP will respond in writing including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry.

Please indicate whether you intend to submit a bid by creating a draft response without submitting directly in the system. This will enable the system to send notifications in case of amendments of the tender requirements. Should you require further clarifications, kindly communicate using the messaging functionality in the system. Offers must be submitted directly in the system following this link: http://supplier.quantum.partneragencies.org  using the profile you may have in the portal. In case you have never registered before, you can register a profile using the registration link shared via the procurement notice and following the instructions in guides available in UNDP website: https://www.undp.org/procurement/business/resources-for-bidders.  Do not create a new profile if you already have one. Use the forgotten password feature in case you do not remember the password or the username from previous registration.