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Recruitment of an expert(s) to produce a "Practical guide on the role of non-state actors of justice and security in the reform of the sector security in West Africa"

• 04-10-2019

 

Terms of reference

Toolkit for Security Sector Reform and Governance in West Africa

 

Tool 7:

The role of non-state justice and security actors in security sector reform

 

Invitation to tender

 

Geneva, September 30, 2019,

 

Dear Sir / Madam,

 

We kindly request submissions under the tender for the recruitment of an expert(s) to produce a "Practical guide on the role of non-state actors of justice and security in the reform of the sector security in West Africa".

Submissions can be submitted electronically until October 30, 2019, to the following address:africa.programme@dcaf.chYour submission must be in English or French and have a minimum validity of 60 days.

The proposed services will be reviewed and evaluated based on the completeness and compliance of the bid with the criteria specified in the Terms of Reference. The bid that meets all the requirements and has the best quality / price ratio will be selected for award of the contract. DCAF reserves the right to modify (upward or downward) the valuation of services, up to a maximum of twenty-five percent (25%) of the total amount of the offer. Please ensure that your proposal is signed in PDF format.

The bid that meets all the evaluation criteria and has the best quality / price ratio will be selected for award of the contract. Any offer that does not meet the requirements will be rejected.

DCAF requires that each potential service provider prevent and avoid conflicts of interest. DCAF has zero tolerance for fraud and other prohibited practices and undertakes to prevent, identify and deal with all such acts and practices against DCAF, as well as third parties involved in DCAF activities. DCAF expects all service providers to adhere to the DCAF Code of Ethics, available at:

www.dcaf.ch/sites/default/files/publications/documents/DCAF_Code_of_Ethics_web_0.pdf.

 

We thank you and look forward to your submission.

Regards,

 

Anne Bennett, Head of Division,

DCAF-Sub-Saharan Africa (SSAD)

Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2E,

1202 Genève (Suisse)

 

Annex 1: Description of the call for tenders

 

Background

The Toolkit was developed by the Geneva Center for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) at the request of ECOWAS. The Tools are written by West African experts and have been reviewed by an Editorial Committee of world-renowned researchers and practitioners.

Implementing partner

ECOWAS

Brief description of the services required

1. Propose a 2-page plan (sections, subsections) before the contract is signed; the assignment will be confirmed based on DCAF's acceptance of the proposed scheme;


2. Provide a complete draft of the Tool containing approximately 20,000 words;


3. Produce a final version of Tool 7, ready for review, maximum 2 months after the acceptance of the proposed scheme;


4. Ensure that Tool 7 in the Toolkit is policy-oriented, with practical guidance that is user-friendly, adapted to the regional context (ECOWAS Member States) and based on best practices;


5. Guarantee high quality content of the Tool;


6. Review the draft tool based on comments from reviewers and the publisher within two weeks of receipt of these comments.

Documents to be submitted to participate in the call for tenders

1. A CV (maximum 3 pages) of the expert(s) who will draft the aforementioned work;


2. A list of publications by the expert(s).

Place of delivery

ECOWAS Zone

Specific condition

The author(s) must assert the nationality of one of the member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Expected start date

Upon signature of the contract

Bid Validity (from the last day of submission of bids)

60 days

Terms of payment

The remuneration for this assignment is a lump sum of CHF 4.000 paid in a single payment upon submission and after validation by DCAF of the quality of the deliverable. An author contract will be established and signed to clarify the contractual arrangements.

Evaluation Criteria

• Expertise of the author(s);


• Quality of the writing;


• Methodology and adequacy to the conditions of the Toolkit.

Person (s) to review / inspect / approve the completed services / services and authorize payment

The DCAF Sub-Saharan Africa Division head.

Contact persons for inquiries

(Written inquiries only)

Fiona Schnell, F.schnell@dcaf.ch

 

ANNEX 2: TERMS OF REFERENCE

 

Proposal for the drafting of a practical guide on the agency of non-state actors of justice and security in security sector reform

-

Toolkit for Security Sector Reform and Governance in West Africa

 

CONTEXT

About the Toolbox

DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance is developing a Toolkit for Security Sector Reform and Governance in West Africa, an eight-part publication aimed at supporting the implementation of the regional normative framework of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the reform and governance of the security sector.

 

What is the Toolbox?

The objective of this resource is to support the implementation of the regional normative framework of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the reform and governance of the security sector. By providing practical advice and guidance based on regional experience and tailored to the West African context, the Toolkit aims to facilitate policy design, as well as the implementation and management of the sector reform processes. security (SSR) at the national level.

 

Who is the Toolbox for?

The Toolkit has been developed as a resource for the ECOWAS Commission and all national stakeholders within ECOWAS Member States, including the executive, the parliament, the judiciary, statutory oversight institutions and civil society. It can also be useful to other actors involved in West African security sector reform (SSR) processes, such as international partners.

 

How is the Toolbox organized?

The Toolkit consists of eight thematic publications, called Tools:

Tool 1: Political Leadership and National Ownership of Security Sector Reform Processes

Tool 2: Security Sector Reform Programming

Tool 3: Good financial governance of defence and security institutions

Tool 4: Effective Management of External Support to Security Sector Reform

Tool 5: Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector

Tool 6: Involving Civil Society in Security Sector Reform and Governance

Tool 7: Non-State Justice and Security Actors and Security Sector Reform

Tool 8: Integrating Gender in Security Sector Reform and Governance

 

Who is behind the project?

The Toolkit was developed by theGeneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) at the request of ECOWAS. The Tools are mainly written by West African experts and have been reviewed by an Editorial Committee of world-renowned researchers and practitioners. The members of this Committee are West African security sector reform and governance experts with long experience and excellent knowledge of the region. The production of the Toolkit was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway and the Swiss Confederation.

 

Tool 7: The role of non-state justice and security actors (NSA) in security sector reform

Tool 7 derives from the initial observation that non-state justice and security actors are often the missing link of security sector reform processes and more generally of security sector governance systems.

Yet, field-based evidence suggest that they play a more important role. At the same time, the African Union and ECOWAS’s normative frameworks for security sector reform and governance consider these actors as integral parts of the security sector. If the need to acknowledge the existence-influence of NSA and include them more in SSR-GSS processes is now better understood, there are still many unanswered questions and risks that remain on what to do concretely with this acknowledgment on a programmatic basis. This situation is clearly illustrated by the challenges posed by NSA’s roles in security provision (incl. human rights compliance), the stakes of relations between State and non-state actors (incl. delimitation of competencies, areas of mutual cooperation), the disparity of standards between NSA’s mechanisms and the associated challenge of dealing with customary law and normative pluralism to promote best practices. These are some of the issues that Tool 7 is seeking to address.

Across West Africa, the presence of non-state actors specifically engaged in security related activities can be consider as informal actors that provide services and can either weakens or reinforces the security of women, men, girls, boys, institutions and the state as a whole.

These may be traditional or informal justice and security actors; whose interventions provide a socially or not accepted response to security needs of the population that are not covered by the state system or simultaneously when the state is also providing services. Some of these actors are still young but many of them exist since long before the emergence of current state security systems, and remain vital, relevant and effective in many areas to date and their influence can be either as enabler or as spoiler. Given the difficulties associated with managing vast, remote or isolated territories, traditional and informal justice actors provide rural and urban populations with nearby, swift and effective access to justice and security services that meet their daily needs. As such, they can be seen as competitors to the state services, as providing some different kind of service, or as reinforcing and complementing the public service offer where state services are absent or limited.

Conversely, armed groups or militia that actively seek to undermine the state and its legitimacy, and which negatively impact human security, may also qualify as non-state security players. In addition, the emergence and rapid development of a private security sector highlights the need to strengthen the regulation of private companies offering security services on a commercial basis. Given this diversity and the weight they hold in the economy of security, the taking into account of non-state actors in SSR processes constitutes a major challenge that affects the coherence and sustainability of the national security system.

With a programmatic methodology, this tool must show the different possible ways for the state to engage these mechanisms by reaching out, acknowledgment, delimitation of competencies, cooperation, and some form of regulation or soft control. Related to the context, justice and security NSA needs to be differentiated here.

At a national level, the stakes are strategic: coherent and sustainable national security systems cannot be established without acknowledging the presence and influence of non-state justice and security actors. For example, the introduction of local policing or community policing mechanisms is likely to be compromised in the long term if it does not take the existence of neighborhood vigilantes into account from the outset. Conversely, acknowledging the regulatory role of traditional authorities in intra-community conflict may offer an alternative to settling such cases in formal courts, at least in first instance, thereby reducing the burden on the state justice system.

At the local level, the stakes are also operational: sound knowledge of the local security environment, including of traditional, informal (either legal or illegal) and commercial security actors may allow formal security institutions to distribute their efforts and resources according to an accurate mapping of unmet security needs.

Ultimately, any attempt to reform the framework in which NSA operate requires a specific approach to reform the state security sector in which it encompasses the State and non-state actors. Consequently, Tool 7 draws the attention of policymakers and national leaders of security institutions to the need to take NSA into account while designing and implementing SSR. For this purpose, the Tool provides examples from the region and offers resources to facilitate the integration of non-state actors as a constituent part of the security sector to be reformed.

 

1. Key objectives

The key objective of this Tool is to provide practical guidance and advice on integrating non-state justice and security actors into SSR/G processes in a West African context while adhering by existing AU and ECOWAS normative frameworks.

 

1. Specific Responsibilities and Deliverables

• Produce a final version of Tool 7 in the Toolkit, ready for copyediting.


• Ensure that the Toolkit is policy-oriented, easy to use for practical guidance, adapted to the regional (ECOWAS member states) context and based on best practices;


• Ensure the highest overall content quality of the Toolkit.

Theenvisionedauthor agrees to propose a 2-page plan (sections, subsections)prior to the signature of the contract; the assignment shall be confirmed based on the DCAF’s acceptance of the proposed outline.

DCAF reserves the right to amend the proposed plan. Once the consultation is confirmed and based on the new plan, the author will provide a complete draft of the Tool containing approximately 20,000 words.

This draft shall develop major points in well-articulated sections, supported by strong evidence-based research. It shall provide practical guidance, taking into account the specificities and diversity of the West-African context, notably through context-specific examples, lessons learnt and good practices.

 

Particular pointsto consider include the following:

 

• The writing style must be clear and appropriate for the intended audience (ECOWAS Commission, ECOWAS Member States, CSOs, international partners, and other relevant SSR actors). Technical terms should be defined.


• The Tool should be made as useful and practical as possible: it should not be written as an academic or research paper, but as a practical guide on how ECOWAS and national stakeholders in the ECOWAS region can effectively integrate the challenges posed by non-state actors of security and justice sectors in their actions; and how external partners can best support this action while respecting national ownership of SSR/G.


• The Tool shall provide both policy guidance on the ECOWAS normative standard and technical guidance on the process of doing things.


• Practical writing also implies that the Toolkit provides clear guidance on the process of accomplishing tasks by systematically answering the following questions for each important point addressed: What should be done? Why must it be done? Who should do it and when? How should it be done, what are the key points to consider?


• The Tool should also provide an example of entry points for the integration of non-state actors of justice and security in SSR/G, based on good practice, experience and common sense.


• The use of Toolkit features, such as boxes and tables, is highly recommended in order to make the Tool more user-friendly and practical. These features should remain clear and on point. If they are drawn or strongly inspired from other publications, the source should be cited at the end of the box.


• The Tool must be sufficiently adapted to the West African context, notably using examples drawn from ECOWAS Member States and by reference to regional frameworks such as AU and ECOWAS policies, regional events, projects implemented in the region, etc.


• Considering the boundaries of the topic, the Tool must adequately include the cross-cutting issues of (i) local Ownership (ii) internal control, (iii) democratic control and (iv) strengthening both effectiveness and accountability of the security sector.


• The Tool should address the programmatic challenges of integrating non-state justice and security actors into SSR processes in West Africa, either through a "challenges" section or highlighting the challenges that can emerge from the different stages of this integration. Possible solutions to each of the conundrums addressed just be proposed to the reader.

In terms of structure:

• The author should provide a short paragraph about her/his profile and experience for the "About the Author" section.


• The introduction section should present the scope, significance of the Tool. It should be concise and adequately introduce the scope of the Tool,


• Instead of a conclusion, the Tool will be surrounded by a final checklist summarizing in a concise and action-oriented way, the key points of the Tool in SSR/Gin West Africa.


• There will be no annexes: any additional information that the author wishes to include will be inserted either in the main text of the Tool or in boxes/tables.


• Inspirational quotes can also be inserted in short separate boxes, where relevant.


• Each section shall be divided into clear subsections addressing specific points. Use of the sub-section should be kept to a minimum, in order to not make the structure overly difficult to follow.


• There will be no academic bibliography: bibliographic references can be added in endnotes. However, at the end of the Tool, there will be a list of "additional resources" so that users of the Tool can deepen their understanding of the agency of non-state actors in SSR/G processes.

Editorial process:

In order to meet the high editorial standards defined for this publication, the Tool will undergo the following process:

• The Tool will be written by the author based on the specifications provided by the Toolbox editor and according to the structure proposed by the Toolbox, and approved by DCAF;


• The project will be reviewed by the editors, who can advise the author on future improvements of the document;


• The enhanced project will be reviewed by DCAF experts and external reviewers specifically mandated by DCAF to produce a pre-final project;


• This version will be reviewed by an editorial Committee composed of world-renowned researchers and practitioners;


• The Tool will then be finalized by the editors and formatted for easy reading.

Please note that DCAF retains final editorial control over the product.

 

1. Timeframe and remuneration

The author must:

• Provide a draft Tool within 2 months after the acceptance of the proposed scheme from the validation of the outline by DCAF;


• Review the draft Tool based on the comments from the reviewers and editor within 2 weeks from reception of these comments.

The remuneration for this assignment is a lump sum of CHF 4.000,paid in a single settlement upon completion of the work and validation by DCAF of the quality of the deliverable. An author contract will be established and signed to further clarify contractual arrangements.

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