Consultancy to develop and integrate CRSV concepts and principles into the Police Curriculum to ensure training of police personnel in line with the SSNPS Action Plan and responsive to sexual violence in conflict

On 11 October 2014, the President of the Republic of South Sudan, H.E Salva Kiir, signed a Joint Communique with the United Nations in which he committed on behalf of the Government to prevent and address conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) crimes. The Joint Communique contains a set of practical and political commitments to prevent and end the use of rape and sexual violence in a conflict, which include the development of specific action plans for the South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS) and South Sudan People Defence Force (SSPDF) formerly Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), and the to ensure proper investigations of sexual violence crimes, the establishment of accountability mechanisms, ensuring that perpetrators of sexual violence are excluded from amnesty provisions and that sexual violence is explicitly addressed in the peace process and, as an aspect of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.

In the Joint Communiqué, further detailed the Government of South Sudan commits to the following measures: (i) issuing and enforcing clear orders through the military and police chains of command prohibiting sexual violence; (ii) developing action plans specific to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) now the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and the South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS); (iii) reflecting sexual violence provisions in ceasefire and peace agreements and ensuring adequate monitoring of these provisions; (iv) addressing sexual violence concerns in security sector reform processes; (v) fighting impunity of perpetrators and enhancing survivors’ access to justice through enhancing the legal framework and capacity of prosecutors and judges; (vi) ensuring the provision of appropriate services for survivors of sexual violence, and (vii) speaking out publicly against sexual violence in conflict and increasing efforts to raise awareness about these crimes.

Paragraph 29 in Resolution 2467 and 2459 urges, “[t]he SSPDF, SPLA-IO, SSNPS and other armed groups to prevent further commission of sexual violence, urges the GoSS and the SPLA-IO to implement the joint and unilateral commitments and action plans they have made on preventing conflict-related sexual violence with a focus on prevention, accountability, and enhancing assistance to victims, and strongly urges the leadership of the organised forces to issue specific command orders regarding prevention of conflict-related sexual violence, and demands the GoSS show concrete steps to hold those responsible within its ranks accountable for crimes of sexual violence; [.]”

On 19 November 2019, the SSNPS launched its Action Plan on addressing CRSV, which outlines concrete and time-bound measures to prevent and respond to CRSV in South Sudan. The Action Plan is comprised of five pillars focusing on a) Prevention; b) Accountability; c) Protection of victims, witnesses, and judicial actors; d) Communication; and e) Monitoring and Evaluation. Concrete and time-bound measures include nationwide training of Police, enhanced civil-police coordination on justice systems and comprehensive vetting processes meant to exclude perpetrators of sexual violence crimes from recruitment/integration into the SSNPS.

To date, the organised forces and armed militias continue to be listed in the annexe to annual reports[ of the Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence for being credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape and other forms of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict in South Sudan. The 2020 verified report by United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) documented 193 cases of conflict-related sexual violence affecting 142 women, 46 girls and 5 men. Perpetrators included community-based militias, civil defence groups and other armed elements. The South Sudan People’s Defence Forces were implicated in 27 per cent of the incidents. Cases were also attributed to members of the South Sudan National Police Service and the National Security Service.

Various measures have been taken to ensure the full implementation of the Joint Communiqué, including developing the SSNPS Action Plan. The justice system has been strengthened by establishing the GBV Court that increases access to justice for survivors of sexual violence. As of now, the UNDP Access to Justice and Rule of Law, in coordination with the UNMISS Rule of Law Advisory Section (RoLAS) and other UN agencies, has supported national accountability mechanisms through different streams to ensure the full implementation of the Joint Communiqué, including the establishment of GBV Specialised GBV Court, National Coordination Office for the Police Special Protection Unit to support survivors of Sexual Violence, provided logistical support to facilitate investigations of SGBV and other violations through the implementation of mobile courts, and the provision of assistance and advice to the South Sudan National Police Service to increase capacity to investigate and prosecute SGBV and CRSV.  This ongoing support provides a rationale for the operations and handling of CRSV cases to be strengthened and to provide a holistic roadmap for SSNPS personnel for the prevention and response to CRSV in South Sudan

Building on this, UNDP, and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) have received an allocation from the Global Focal Point for the Rule of Law (GFP) to integrate CRSV concepts and principles into the Police curriculum to ensure training of police personnel to combat CRSV in line with the SSNPS Action Plan.  

Therefore, through this consultancy, the project further aims to reinforce ongoing CRSV prevention and response mechanisms by developing the CRSV curriculum and integrating it into the National Police training curriculum. 

Purpose of the Consultancy

The national consultant will be tasked with supporting the South Sudan National Police Service to review and integrate CRSV concepts and principles into the existing Police Curriculum to ensure training of police personnel is in line with the SSNPS Action Plan and responsive to CRSV. 

Scope of Work

To strengthen the SSNPS accountability mechanisms for sexual violence by ensuring the effective integration of all aspects and forms of sexual violence into the SSNPS’s training curriculum disciplinary measures, in line with SSNPS Action Plan on CRSV, and under the overall leadership of UNDP Chief Technical Advisor, the incumbent will:

• Consult with SSNPS key CRSV team, including the Assistant IGP for Training, Police legal Directorate, and other relevant national and international partners working in Juba on the SSNPS training curriculum design.
• Identify and record the SSNPS’s practices relevant to the prevention and response to sexual violence, with an emphasis on the liability and transparency of the existing complaints instruments, existing command orders and structures, procedures to verify information and complaints related to sexual violence, applicable disciplinary measures, existing internal oversight mechanisms, training materials, guidelines/recruitment procedures and protection of a whistle-blower procedure.
• Review all the SSNPS’s existing training curriculum, legal and policy frameworks, and practices to identify where CRSV concepts and principles have been integrated and any gaps on where they can be integrated.
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• Review some of the International and regional best practices in prevention of CRSV by the civilian Police for inclusion in the curriculum.
• Revise the SSNPS training curricula ensuring CRSV concepts and principles are adequately integrated.

Deliverables

• An inception report on a desk review of documents relevant to an understanding and execution of the assignment and elaboration of a methodology, work plan, list, and contacts of key stakeholders to be engaged.
• A draft on Police Training curriculum integrating CRSV concepts and principles 
• Final Revised Police Training curriculum with CRSV concepts and principles 

Corporate Competencies

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability.
• Demonstrates diplomacy and tact in dealing with sensitive and complex situations.
• Strong communication, team building, interpersonal, analysis, and planning skills.

Professionalism

• Effective communication
• Problem-Solving skills
• Demonstrated ability to negotiate and apply good judgment.
• Shows pride in work and achievements.
• Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, and achieving results.

Planning & Organising

• Organises and accurately completes multiple tasks by establishing priorities while considering special assignments, frequent interruptions, deadlines, available resources, and multiple reporting relationships.
• Plans, coordinates, and organises workload while remaining aware of changing priorities and competing deadlines.
• Establishes, builds, and maintains effective working relationships with staff, partners and beneficiaries to achieve the planned results.

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Law, Political Science, Gender Peace and Security or Development studies.

Experience:

• Minimum three years of relevant experience of working with the rule of law institutions or criminal justice system and in the area of sexual violence in conflict.
• Experience in working with specialised law enforcement units/departments on sexual violence prevention.
• Demonstrate practical experience in developing policies, training manuals, standards and guidelines for institutional capacity building or operations in relevant areas.
• Demonstrated experience in working with a variety of stakeholders from all key stakeholders.
• Basic gender understanding, skills, experience, and commitment.
• Strong writing and oral communications skills.
• Strong analytical skills, including in the identification of key issues and how they relate.

Language:

• Ability to communicate clearly in written and spoken English.
• Knowledge of Arabic, both spoken and written, will be a distinct advantage.

Evaluation Criteria 

Offers received will be evaluated using a Combined Scoring method, where the qualifications and proposed methodology will be weighted 70%.

Criteria to be used for rating the qualifications and methodology

Technical evaluation criteria (total 70 points)

• Experience in working with and supporting the capacity-building programmes of the criminal justice system, especially in areas of responding to and managing CRSV/GBV cases [25 marks].
• Experience developing policies, Curricula, guidelines, and training trainers concerning capacity building on the management of CRSV/SGBV cases [35 marks].
• Proposed methodology [10 marks].

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70 points in the Technical Evaluation will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Financial evaluation (total 30 points)

All technically qualified proposals will be scored out of 30 based on the formula provided below. The maximum points (30) will be assigned to the lowest financial proposal. All other proposals receive points according to the following formula: p y (/z)

Where:

• p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated
• y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal price of the lowest-priced proposal
• z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.