Post Title:International consultancy for evaluation of the Juvenile Justice Alternatives Programme (JJAP) in Tajikistan
Duration of contract:August-November (41 w/d)
Office locationDushanbe, Tajikistan
Closing date:18August,2014
TERMS OF REFERENCE
COUNTRY:TAJIKISTAN
UNICEF COUNTRY PROGRAMME:2010-2015
PROGRAMME TIME PERIOD:2010-2014
PERIOD OF EVALUATION PROCESS: AUGUST – NOVEMBER, 2014
This evaluation is to be conducted as part of the agreement between UNICEF and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to carry out an end of project evaluation of the Juvenile Justice Alternatives Programme (JJAP) covering the period of 2010-2014.
1.CONTEXT
The Committee on Child Rights in its 2010 concluding observations to Tajikistan,recommended the establishment of a juvenile justice system in full compliance with international juvenile justice standards. To bring the law and practice into compliance with these standards, the Commission on Child Rights, under the Government of Tajikistan, has adopted a national Plan of Action for Juvenile Justice System Reform for 2010-2015. The Plan outlines the steps to achieve the four main objectives: to improve coordination and monitoring of the juvenile justice system; to create a child-friendly, child-rights compliant juvenile justice system in law and practice; to create effective rehabilitation and reintegration programmes in the community; and, to develop the welfare and rehabilitation services in the closed detention centres. These objectives are set to support children under the age of eighteen and to assist them in reintegrating into society following their release.
The Tajikistan Criminal Code was amended in 2004 and foresees non-custodial sentences for first-time offenders between the ages of 14 to 18 who were convicted of minor offences. The adoption of the new Criminal Procedural Code in 2009 brought to extension of guarantees for children and a separate chapter for children in conflict with the law. Even though Tajikistan has made positive steps in bringing the juvenile system in line with international standards in the last years, there is still a long way for further reforms.
Short SituationAnalysis on Juvenile Justice in Tajikistan
Monitoring visits of UNICEF staff to the implementation districts[1] has revealed that children in conflict with the law are primarily children in single-parent families, children of migrant workers, and children from economically disadvantaged families.
Offending by juveniles in Tajikistan had a tendency to decline until 2010, according to administrative data provided by the Government for TransMonee database. In the period between 2008–2010, the number of juvenile offences decreased by 42%. But, between 2010 and 2012, juvenile offences increased by 76%. While the rate of offending is growing, it remains relatively low in comparison with some countries in CEE/CIS region. On average, 69% of all offences committed by juveniles are crimes against property (theft and robbery). According to data from the Ministry of Interior, of 725 children who committed crimes in 2013, 515 do not study or work. The number of girls involved in the juvenile justice system remains relatively low in comparison with boys ranging from 1,5% to 5% in 2009-2011 (data on children in contact with police)[2].
While the number of convicted juveniles decreased sharply in 2006 - 2008, it increased in 2012 by 41%; and while the number of juveniles serving prison sentences declined drastically from 2007 to 2009, it has increased significantly in 2012. The number of children in closed facilities following adjudication in 2012 was 132 % higher than in 2008.
A study:“Torture and ill-treatment of children in justice system”[3]indicated that children in conflict with the law are more likely to be subjects of torture and ill-treatment. The study found thattorture is commonly used in the process of arrest, with the aim of extracting a confession from children. According to the report, one primary reason that torture prevails in Tajikistan is the poor state of forensic science, which results in convictionsthat mostly rely on a confession. This, in turn, provides a continued incentive for torture. In 2012,an article on torture has been introduced in the Tajik Criminal Code. The first police officer accused under the new article was sentenced for seven years of imprisonment for torturing a boy in conflict with the law.
Although material conditions in the juvenile section of the pre-trial detention centre have improved in 2011, some juveniles detained in the centre were still reported to be first time offenders charged with minor offences.
The juvenile prison-colony for boys offers few organized activities with no cultural or recreational events. Vocational trainings for children are being organized with support from UNICEF and in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour. In 2013, 20 boys serving sentence in the juvenile colony went through the training on welding practice and received certificates upon successfully passing the exams.
Since 2013, psychologists have been employed in the juvenile colony for boys, but the capacity to assess the requirements of prisoners and provide programs adapted to their needs is inadequate, and conditions in parts of the facility are sub-standard. Prisoners in the juvenile prison must use military postures. Contrary to international standards, solitary confinement is used as a disciplinary measure. According to some children, collective punishment is practised in the colony. There is no independent procedure for examining complaints. Most children to be released from the colony do not receive appropriate support for their return to the community.
During the past years, a network of community-based centres to prevent offending and to support social reintegration has been established by the Government of Tajikistan, with support from UNICEF. These centres are now in the process of being transferred to local government entities and the Departments of Education. To provide the policy framework for the Centres for Additional Education (CAE)[4] to implement the community-based programmes, UNICEF has supported the Ministry of Education and Sciencein revising the regulations governing these centres. A recent survey[5] shows that, while the services provided by community-based centres benefit the children referred to them, the number referred is small and the impact of these centres on the prosecution of juveniles (i.e. diversion) has not been significant. The effort to take this project to scale and transfer responsibility to the government has met with difficulties.
There are no juvenile or children’s courts. Following a decree of the Council of Justice, more than 20 district courts assigned special judges who receive continuous training to prepare them to hear cases involving children, including cases of accused juveniles. Child-friendly investigation and courtrooms are established in IsmoiliSomoni (in Dushanbe), Khujand and Kurgantyube courts. There are plans to establish four more rooms in 2014.
2.JUVENILE JUSTICE ALTERNATIVES PROGRAMME (JJAP)
Juvenile Justice Alternatives Project (JJAP) was established with support from UNICEF and technical assistance from the Children’s Legal Centre (Essex) in 2004, in the Sino district of Dushanbe. At that time,JJAPconsisted of establishingcommunity-based centres with the intentto provide diversion and alternative services to children in conflict with the law and at-risk of offending, as well ashaving a steering group composed of members of the referral bodies to oversee project implementation.
The evaluation of the project in 2008[6] showed a 42% decrease of criminal offending among children in Sino district where the project had been implemented since 2004.
The evaluation concluded that the Juvenile Justice Alternative Project (JJAP):
- Provided quality support and services to children and their families which impact positively not just on the child’s offending behaviour but also on their family situation and life chances;
- Could be expanded to work with a larger number of children who commit both minor and more serious offences; and
- Is a valuable and effective model for preventing offending and reoffending among children that could and should be rolled out throughout Tajikistan.
By 2009, the JJAP had expanded and there were5 such centres in Tajikistan (two in Dushanbe and three in Sughd province).
The effectiveness of the project, as documented by the evaluation,led to an agreement between UNICEF and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to launch a project titled `Juvenile Justice Alternatives Project` with the intention to expand these centres to 32 districts throughout the Tajikistan. The project was launched in 2010 with a project duration of four years (01.01.2010-31.03.2014) and has a total budget of 2,179,016.00 USD.In 2011, as result of the mid-term evaluation of the `Juvenile Justice Alternatives Project`[7], an agreement was reached with SDC to keep the number of project sites to 15 and work towards more sustainability and higher level ownership by the government. Due to lack of government capacity to implement the JJAP based on Centres for Additional education (CAE), in 2013 some of the districts dropped out from the list of supported districts. Currently there are 8 centres implementing the JJAP which cover 12 districts.
In addition to the service delivery component, capacity building of law enforcement bodies, judges, staff of closed facilities, and service providers was undertaken by the project. The special child-friendly investigation and courtrooms have been established in IsmoiliSomoni district of Dushanbe, Khujand and Kurgantyube city courts. The office of Ombudsman is supported in establishing a special Department for Children’s Rights, etc.
The SDC-funded project intended to achieve the key resultsby the end of September 2014 (initially agreed for March, but afterwards extended to September). These key results are in line with the goal of the Government’s five-year vision that is set out in the National Plan of Action on Juvenile Justice System Reform for 2010-15 to establish a child rights compliant juvenile justice system in Tajikistan.
The following outlines the key components of the partnership between SDC and UNICEF, on JJAP:
Key Results and Expected Outcomes
The theory of change, which laid ground for the current project, and foresees a long-term goal supported with key results and expected outcomes, is reflected in the log-frame, excerpts of which are presented below (the full version of the log-frame is attached as annex to the current ToR):
Long Term Goal
To support the development of a child rights compliant juvenile justice system in Tajikistan that prevents offending and re-offending among children and responds effectively to the needs of each child in a manner that respects their human rights as set out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, international framework of juvenile justice and the Constitution of Tajikistan.
Key results/outcomes / Expected Outputs- National policy ensures that the juvenile justice system in Tajikistan is in greater compliance with international standards and norms (enabling environment)
2Juvenile justice alternative practices (from here onwards will be referred to as the community based programmes) exist in 15 districts and Courts, Prosecution, Police and Child Rights Units reduce the use of deprivation of liberty for children in conflict with the law by referring children to these practices (supply and quality of services) / 2.1 By end 2013, specialised judges, police
officers, prosecutors and the Child Rights Units in 15 districts are using diversion and alternatives to deprivation of liberty by referring children in conflict with the law who committed minor and medium offences to alternative services and restorative measures instead of institutional care
2.2 By end 2012, centres for additional education in 15 districts are providing rehabilitation services to children in conflict with the law and at risk
3Programmes for preventing juvenile offending and re-offending are adopted and implemented by relevant bodies (supply of services) / 3.1 By end of 2012, a comprehensive prevention program is adopted by the relevant bodies, including MoI, MoE, CRUs, youth committees, and others.
3.2 By end of 2013, children at risk of offending especially children below the age of criminal responsibility are involved in community based programs in the 15 districts
3.3 By end of 2013, children from the 15 project districts who are released from closed facilities receive support in the community based programs
Interventions
With a view to achieving the above-mentioned outputs and outcomes, the following interventions were designed and have been supported:
KEY RESULT 1
Support To Policy Development And Implementation
This key result foresees revision of the national legislation and strengthening the coordination mechanisms. A special department was established under the Ombudsman Institute to follow up on child rights issues. The judicial system was supported to establish 3 child-friendly courtrooms (with 4 upcoming courtrooms), assign and train 20 specialized juvenile judges. UNICEF supported the Government to develop curriculum and training materials for the national training institutes for police, prosecutors, judges and lawyers, as well as establish a national group of trainers on juvenile justice.
KEY RESULT 2
Implementation of the Scheme in 15 Districts
The key result 2 is focused on strengthening services for boys and girls in conflict with the law and at risk of offending through building the capacity of referral bodies and service providers, improving the mechanisms of referral of children to community based JJAPs and supporting children in closed facilities. Continuous training was organized in collaboration with Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice Penitentiary Department, General Prosecutor’s Office, Council of Justice, Ministry of Education and Ombudsman Office for police officers, prosecutors, practicing judges, intern-judges, staff of closed facilities, lawyers, staff of Child Rights Units and social workers.
KEY RESULT 3
Prevention of Offending and Reoffending
The result is focused on policy development for prevention of offending through supporting the adoption of plan of action for juvenile offending and re-offending, supporting the community based prevention interventions and reintegration of children released from closed institutions to prevent future engagement in criminal activity.
The Government has been supported in developing a comprehensive strategy for delinquency prevention and in drafting a Law on Delinquency Prevention among Juveniles through provision of advisory support. Both strategy and the law are in the draft version and currently are being extensively discussed by a Working Group established under the Ministry of Interior.
PARTNERS
The implementing partners of the JJAP included:
Commission on Child Rights:
-ensured coordination and monitoring of the reform process;
Ministry of Justice:
-established the interagency working group (WG) on Juvenile Justice and its coordination. The Ministry also played a leading role in ensuring that the children’s issues are included in the bigger reform agenda.
Ministry of Interior:
-collaborated in pre-service and in-service capacity building process of police officers and prevention of delinquency mechanisms;
Ministry of Education
-tasked by the National Plan of Action for Juvenile Justice System Reform to establish and replicate community based rehabilitation projects (JJAP) for children in conflict with the law, which was one of the biggest project components;
Council of Justice:
-issued a decree for assignment of special judges to hear children’s cases and establish child-friendly investigation and court rooms;
General Prosecutor’s Office:
-collaborated within the project in training of prosecutors dealing with children’s issues;
Local authorities:
-were responsible for implementation of JJAP;
Ombudsman Office:
-initiated establishment of the Child Rights Department to oversee implementation of the rights of the child in line with the UN CRC;
Tajik National University:
-initiated and was responsible for developing pre-service training package for law students and introduction of a specialization course on child rights;
NGO Child Rights Centre:
-supported the capacity building component, advocacy for diversion and service provision for children in contact with the law;
NGO Sarchashma:
-collaborated in supporting the capacity building of referral bodies and service providers.
3.RATIONALE
UNICEF and SDC agreed to carry out an end-phase independent evaluation of the project covering the four years of implementation. The primary audience for the evaluation are UNICEF and SDC, both of whomwill be guided by the evaluation results in developing further strategies for intervention in the area of justice for children. The results of evaluation are timely for ensuring evidence-based programme as UNICEF is entering a new cycle of country programme for 2016-2020. The secondary audience for the evaluation are the government partners who are responsible for policy development and justice for children reform implementation such as the Commission on Child Rights; Ministries of Justice, Interior, and Education; Council of Justice; General Prosecutor’s Office; and Ombudsman. The results of evaluation will help the government to see the strong and weak sides of the system, capacities, and opportunities for effective reform and scale up of good practices where evidenced.
4.OBJECTIVE
The objective of the evaluation is to assess the impact, effectiveness, relevance, efficiency and sustainability of the JJAP. The evaluation will be summative in nature and will provide an overall assessment of the JJAP at the end of project implementation.
The evaluation will identify the good practices and bottlenecks and extract general lessons learnt during the implementation period useful for UNICEF, donors, and the Government.
Particularly, the following Government partners would benefit from results of the evaluation:
- The Commission on Child Rights who will be equipped with a specific knowledge for effective strategizing and planning for the juvenile justice system reform;
- The Ministry of Justicewho will be well informed on lessons learnt and guided in what is lacking in legislative and practice reform;
- The Ministry of Interiorwho will be informed on the progress achieved and lessons learned on capacity development of police officers and what is to be done to support establishment of child-friendly police;
- The Ministry of Education and Science whowould highly benefit from the evaluation as it is heavily focused on CAEs and their progress with implementation of JJAP;
- The Council of Justice, for whomthe results of evaluation would reveal lessons learnt with regard to the assignment of special judges and effectiveness of child-friendly investigation/court rooms which will guide the Council of Justice in bringing the judicial system in line with international standards;
- The General Prosecutor’s Office, whowill be informed on the progress achieved and lessons learnt on capacity development of prosecutors and their role in diverting boys and girls away from judicial process;
- The Ombudsman, whowill be well informed on the gaps in the juvenile justice system and necessity to act in particular directions;
- The Local authorities, whowill be equipped with a specific knowledge for effective strategizing and planning for the juvenile justice reform at the district level.
5.SCOPE