Baseline for Pre-Trial Detention Project (National Consultant) – Avocats Sans Frontières

Avocats Sans Frontières

Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) is an international NGO specialising in the defense of human rights and support for justice. ASF has field offices in Burundi, Chad, Central African Republic, Indonesia, Morocco, Central African Republic, DRC, Tunisia and Uganda. Website: www.asf.be

ASF brings over 25 years of experience in delivering legal aid worldwide. On issues of detention, ASF has consolidated an institutional strategy that combines a legal approach offering people in custody access to justice and a review of the legality of their detention, with a contextual analysis of the social, economic and political approaches to detention that lead to excessive deprivation of liberty.

About the Project

In Uganda, the administration of justice has developed negative practices and attitudes that limit the realization of the rights for people in conflict with the Law. In spite of a protective legal framework, systematic deviations from the legal standards of arrest, remand and pre-trial detention have become ordinary practices in the work of law enforcers and magistrates.

The project’s rationale is to restore procedural rights in the practice of criminal justice, as an entry point for greater adherence to human rights and the Rule of Law in Uganda. Therefore, the project’s approach is a holistic one, going beyond addressing detention issues in the administration of justice in silo.

The overall goal of the project is to contribute to the realization of the Rule of Law in the administration of Justice in Uganda.

To do this the following specific objectives and results are expected:

Specific Objective: To foster the protection and promotion of constitutional and procedural rights in the administration of justice, with a focus on situations of detention

Expected Result 1: Enhanced capacity for civil society to advocate for the protection of constitutional and procedural rights

Expected Result 2: Strengthened provision of legal aid services to uphold procedural rights in the administration of Justice

Expected Result 3: A stronger engagement with central institutions to influence policy

Baseline Objectives

The principal objectives of the baseline will be to establish a baseline for the Pre-Trial Detention (PTD) population in selected prisons, to highlight the socio-economic profile of detainees and to provide an overview of the grounds for detention in the country. This baseline will consult with the key target groups which will subsequently inform the design of legal aid services that will be provided under the scope of this project. The baseline will be carried out in five of the project’s targeted districts.

More specifically, the baseline will seek to explore the following:

• Trends and patterns of detention
• Provide evidence on uninformed aspects of detention, including the reasons for arrest and detention of marginalized and vulnerable groups
• Evaluate the capacity of targeted actors
• Report on project indicators

Methodology

The consultant will be responsible for designing the baseline methodology which will consist of a mixed-methods approach, including a literature review, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. Where possible, the research team will draw upon existing research and data. The consultant will present the selected methodology in an inception report. This will detail the objectives, the selected participants, the methodology as well as the tools used for data collection. All of these will be reviewed and approved by designated persons at ASF.

Timeline and Deliverables

The selected consultant will be expected to deliver the following:

• Briefing with the ASF team;
• Submit an inception report outlining the methodology, target groups, timeline, and tools;
• Analysis of the data collected and production of a draft evaluation report for review by ASF and partners;
• A Final Report that includes the following:
  • Table of contents
  • Abbreviations
  • Executive summary
  • Background information
  • Methodology
  • Research findings structured around the main objectives of the baseline
  • Conclusion
  • Recommendations
  • Appendices, which include all associated documents
  • A PowerPoint presentation highlighting the key findings of the baseline

Profile of the consultant

• The consultant should have the following skills and experience:
• Excellent knowledge of project evaluation methods and techniques (at least 5 years experience), including collecting, analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, and writing evaluation reports;
• Proficiency in English, knowledge of local languages is a comparative advantage;
• Master’s degree in law, justice, detention, and/or human rights;
• Experience working on detention, rights-based programming and access to justice themes in the context of Uganda;
• Good knowledge of the roles and functions of different actors involved in matters of detention in the context of Uganda
• Familiarity, contextual knowledge of, and experience working in Uganda.