UNDP Global Mission Statement:
UNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP is on the ground in 166 countries, working with national counterparts on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.
UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement:
UNDP supports stabilization, State-building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIROA), the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive arms of the State, Ministries, Government agencies and commissions at the national and sub-national levels. UNDP has played a role in the management of the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA), which supports the Government in developing and maintaining the national police force and in efforts to stabilize the internal security environment. Major demobilization, disarmament and rehabilitation and area-based livelihoods and reconstruction programmes have taken place nationwide. UNDP Programmes in Afghanistan have benefited from the very active support of donors. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN system to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground.
Organizational context:
UNDP Afghanistan’s Governance for Peace (G4P) Programme Unit supports the Afghan Government in implementing its strategies for Governance, Rule of Law, developing its institutional capacity and providing services to the Afghan population. This includes supporting the implementation of the Afghanistan National Strategy for Combatting Corruption.
Following the successful implementation of the Project Initiation Plan (PIP) for Anti-Corruption “Development Plan for a Nation-Wide Anti-Corruption Project”, implemented from January 2018 to June 2019, UNDP is now managing and delivering the Anti-Corruption, Transparency and Integrity Openness National (ACTION) Project. The ACTION project contributes directly to the targets of the broader Governance, Rule of Law and Human Security portfolio and works in close coordination with other projects in this pillar and other development actors.
ACTION programmatic engagement includes technical support to the Anti-Corruption Justice Centre (ACJC). The ACJC has been established by Presidential Decree No. 53, dated 30 June 2016 in order to enhance the fight against major corruption crimes through achieving a more efficient way to expedite, integrate and co-ordinate detection, investigation, prosecution and implementation of court decisions. The jurisdiction of the ACJC is focused on the most serious crimes of corruption either by the amount involved or by the rank of the state official alleged offender.
The ACJC is a joint centre which includes:
- Major Crimes Taskforce – Reports to Ministry of Interior
- General Prosecution Directorate – Reporting to Attorney General’s Office
- Primary and Appeal Courts – Assigned by the Supreme Court
- Executive Directorate – Reports to the Attorney General’s Office
The ACTION Project overall objectives are:
- Increased public trust in Rule of Law in Afghanistan, improved transparency, accountability and integrity, and better restoration of the social contract between the Afghan state and its citizens, especially vulnerable groups, including women;
- Assist in the Restoration of the Afghan Social Contract: One of the main objectives of this project to facilitate collective action against corruption, and work towards a corruption-free environment. Corruption damages the social fabric and contributes to a vicious cycle of poverty and conflict. Raising awareness among all actors that everyone is collectively responsible for systemic corruption, and that everyone needs to work together to address it and creating options for collaborative engagement can contribute to a restoration of the social contract between citizen and state.
- Improve Development Effectiveness: This project will also help to achieve the broader objective of tackling corruption to improve development effectiveness. Corruption within Rule of Law institutions affects reforms across the sector. Improvements to processes that improve transparency and accountability are likely to have additional positive effects, such as improved accessibility and affordability for citizens, but also less wastage of resources, and improved aid effectiveness for donors.
The ACTION Project includes the following output:
“The Anti-Corruption Justice Centre has improved technical and operational capacities to effectively adjudicate Corruption Cases”.
By the end of the project period, police, prosecutors and judges co-located at the Anti-Corruption Justice Centre (ACJC) will receive measurable improvements to their technical capacities and ability to investigate violations. ACJC administrative and management staff will be better able to provide core office functions. In addition, by the end of this project, critical equipment and logistics gaps will have been filled, in support of sustainable long-term ACJC operations.
Between July 2019 and October 2019, a strategic need assessment of the ACJC was conducted to assist in increasing the capacity to investigate, prosecute, adjudicate and administrate cases under the jurisdiction of the ACJC. The need assessment identified criminal justice needs; administrative and logistics needs; security and infrastructure needs; communication needs; and policy and legislative needs.
Organizational context of the position:
Under the overall supervision of the ACTION Project Manager and in consultation with Capacity Building Specialist of ACTION project, the National Consultant for capacity building of ACJC will be responsible to work directly with the Anti-corruption Justice Center (ACJC) on conducting the institutional capacity assessment and support implementation of the capacity building program.