Contract for Individual Consultant (other Specialists) Request for written proposal

Transcription

1 Contract for Individual Consultant (other Specialists) Request for written proposal Improvement of legal framework, closer in line with international standards Reference: STMJO/LF/2016/06 Date: 16 December 2015 Request to submit a written proposal for a work assignment with UNESCO UNESCO is inviting written proposals from Individual Consultants for the work assignment described in attachment A. To enable you to prepare a proposal for this assignment, please find attached the following documents: (a) Terms of Reference (see attachment A); (b) UNESCO s contract for Individual Consultants; the contracting modality used for these assignments (attachment B); (c) Background material concerning the work assignment (attachment C) Your written proposal should comprise: 1) A Technical Proposal (maximum of 25 pages) should consist of: - An up-to-date curriculum vitae (according to the enclosed template, attachment D), A description of a proposed approach and methodology for undertaking the assignment; A description of the main deliverable and milestones related to the assignment; A work plan with a detailed time frame; Comments on the Terms of Reference if any (in brief); Vendor Registration form (enclosed template, attachment D).

2 2) A negotiable lump sum amount to be charged for the assignment, which should be quoted in United States Dollars or in Euros. Please show any travel costs separately. Note: For consultants who are non-residents of Jordan only, the estimated travel cost should include the cost of airline tickets and the applicable DSA for Jordan. Internal transportation within Jordan can be arranged closely with UNESCO Amman Office. Your proposal and any supporting documents must be in English. UNESCO places great emphasis on ensuring that the objectives of the work assignment, as described in the Terms of Reference, are met. Accordingly, in evaluating the proposals for the assignment, attention will focus first and foremost on the technical elements. From those proposals deemed suitable in terms of the criteria in the Terms of Reference, UNESCO shall select the proposal that offers the Organisation best value for money. NB: UNESCO will evaluate the proposed fees against its standard international consultant rates for similar assignments. Your proposal should be submitted by no later than close of business (18:00) on January 23, proposals should not exceed 5MB. The address is: b.tatomir@unesco.org, with cc to r.arafeh@unesco.org To ease the tracing and facilitate quick processing, kindly use the following script Consultant legal framework as the subject. Submissions will be acknowledged by upon receipt but ONLY selected expert will receive further notification and correspondences. It is the individual s responsibility to ensure that his/her proposal is received by the deadline. Thank you for your interest in this UNESCO assignment; and we look forward to receiving your proposal. Staff member responsible for the assignment: Ms. Biljana Tatomir Senior Project Officer, UNESCO Office in Amman 2

3 Attachment A Terms of Reference 1. Background and Objective UNESCO implements the EU-funded three-year project Support to Media in Jordan aiming for increased freedom, independence and professionalism for the Jordanian media. The Support to Media in Jordan project was designed to support the Government s effort to implement the media reforms expressed in the Media Strategy. The project builds on a Media Strategy adopted by the Government of Jordan in 2011, and the Action Plan. The project focuses on the media sector in Jordan as a platform for democratic dialogue and a crucial instrument to transparency and accountability in a democratic society. The project aims to address these areas following an inclusive and highly participatory approach. Its primary objective is to strengthen an enabling regulatory and institutional environment and to build the capacity for an independent, quality based media sector serving the entire population. The project is based on a holistic, two-phase approach and is implemented in close cooperation with the media community in Jordan, including state and non-state stakeholders. Phase one focused on the following results: Media study, stakeholder driven review of implementation of the media strategy and detailing of action plan. Activities of phase one included a thorough analysis of the media landscape on the basis of UNESCO s Media Development Indicators (MDI; focusing on the economic sustainability of the media structures; the professional and technical capacity of private and public media; media and journalist associations; regulatory mechanisms; existing media legislation and international standards), a comparative analysis of relevant structures and models from 28 EU Member States, a review of the implementation of the media strategy and a detailed action plan, the update of detailing of the action plan and procedures for the implementation of the strategy. The review and action plan of the media strategy took place through a comprehensive stakeholder process with the media sector and the relevant government representatives discussing the implementation of the media strategy and the results of the analysis. The project is now in the Phase Two that in addressing the findings as well as recommendations of the above mentioned study, will work in the following areas: Improvement of legal framework, closer in line with international standards Entry level journalism education Systematic quality training for media professionals Independent self-regulatory mechanism 3

4 Media and information literacy (MIL) Diversity and pluralism in the media Strengthening community media UNESCO Office in Amman, active since more than a decade in the field of mediadevelopment in Jordan, implements the project in close cooperation with the Jordanian stakeholders. The funding for this project is provided by the European Union (EU), within the framework of an agreement signed between UNESCO and EU. For more information on the project, please visit: Democratic reform has been on the agenda in Jordan for decades and media reform has naturally been an important part of that debate. Over the quarter of a century since the restoration of parliamentary elections following the 1989 April uprising there have been important democratic gains, including regular democratic elections. There have also been important steps forward in terms of media freedom, and the country now enjoys a lively and reasonably diverse media environment. At the same time the overall framework for media development still has progress to make in important ways to measure up to international standards, as set out in UNESCO s Media Development Indicators (MDIs). Recently launched MDI Assessment Jordan provides a detailed review of the different parts of the overall environment for media freedom, in accordance with the MDI methodology, identifying the various strengths and weaknesses and pointing the way to reform needs. The Constitution includes strong guarantees for freedom of expression and of the media. However, these do not fully measure up to international guarantees inasmuch as they protect only the right to impart, and not to seek and receive, information and ideas, and fail to place sufficiently strict conditions on restrictions on freedom of expression. The Constitution also lacks guarantees of the right to information, defined as the right to access information held by public bodies. Significant and positive commitments to legal and policy reform were included in the National Agenda ( ). While some have been implemented, many are not yet put into effect. Jordan was a regional leader in terms of being the first country in MENA to adopt a right to information law, but the 2007 Access to Information Law could be improved and efforts to implement it have been limited. The legal framework also includes extensive rules on secrecy, which seriously undermine the impact of the Access to Information law. In some cases, the government of Jordan has engaged in extensive consultation around media law and policy reform. In other cases laws have been adopted with less public consultation. For its part, civil society has sometimes provided quality inputs into law and policy reform processes, although not consistently. The legal framework includes a number of unduly restrictive rules on the content of what may be published or broadcast in the media including broad and harsh criminal defamation laws with only limited defences, and extensive limitations on 4

5 freedom of expression to protect national security, the courts and religious feelings. The practice of media workers being tried before military courts (i.e. the State Security Court) for certain types of crimes which also allows for detention pending trial is also problematic from a freedom of expression perspective. In terms of media regulation, the law provides strong and largely effective protection for the right of journalists to keep their confidential sources secret. At the same time, there are a number of areas where the system of media regulation is not in line with international standards. These include: The lack of independence of the Jordan Media Commission, along with the system where that final decision-making regarding the licensing of broadcasters rests with the government. Legal limitations on who may practise journalism or be considered to be a journalist, leading to a situation where a large number of individuals who would normally be considered to be journalists are excluded from membership of the Jordan Press Association and are formally banned from working as journalists. Licensing of newspapers. Undue controls and limitations on websites, including news websites. These measures are exacerbated by efforts on the part of a number of actors both public and private to exert an influence on the integrity of media output, which has been described as soft containment. The MDI study recommendations related to the legal framework conducive to freedom of expression, diversity and pluralism of the media encompass: Efforts could be made to try and reinvigorate attempts to meet the commitments in the National Agenda on media reform. In due course, consideration could be given to amending the constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and of the media to: a. extend the protection of these rights to everyone and to the rights to seek and receive information and ideas; b. provide for more robust limitations for any restrictions on freedom of expression and of the media; c. prohibit the licensing of the print and online media; and d. provide explicit protection for the right to information. In due course, consideration could also be given to amending the Constitution to make it clear that treaties ratified by Jordan have the force of law and take precedence over ordinary national laws in case of contradiction. The Jordanian Access to Information (ATI) Law needs to be substantially revised so as to bring it into line with international standards and better national practice and public bodies in Jordan should take the appropriate steps to implement the ATI Law properly. Laws providing for secrecy, in particular the Protection of State Secrets and Documents Provisional Law, need to be reviewed and amended, as necessary, to bring them into line with international standards. 5

6 Officials and public bodies should stop using soft containment measures to exert control over the media. Private actors should also refrain from seeking to influence media content through illegitimate means. The government and Parliament need to commit to undertaking a full consultative process whenever they engage in law reform efforts that affect freedom of expression and of the media. For their part, civil society organisations should make an effort to ensure that their contributions to such consultations are as professional and high quality as possible. There is a need to adopt a comprehensive broadcasting law which should, among other things, ensure the independence of the Jordan Media Commission from both the government and commercial actors while promoting its accountability to the public, and allocate full powers to the Commission to license broadcasters. The government need to undertake a comprehensive review of laws which affect freedom of expression and the media in particular the Press and Publications Law (PPL), Audio-visual Media Law, JPA Law JPA, State Security Court Law, Prevention of Terrorism Law, Contempt of Courts Law, Penal Code and Cyber Crimes Law with a view to amending them to bring them into line with international standards. The PPL and JPA Laws need to be amended so as to remove limitations on who may practise journalism, including the prohibition on individuals who are not members of the JPA from working or presenting themselves as journalists and any conditions on who may be considered to be a journalist or editor-in-chief. The offences of libel, slander and insult to public office need to be removed from the Penal Code, in accordance with international law, and be replaced by civil defamation rules which ensure an appropriate balance between protecting reputations and respecting freedom of expression, including by providing for adequate defences to an allegation of defamation, by not providing for special protection for officials and by not allowing public bodies to sue in defamation. Military courts (in particular the State Security Court) should not have the power to hear cases relating to crimes of publication or expression involving the media or civilians, and the power to detain individuals in cases of crimes of expression should be limited to the most extreme cases such as genuine incitement to terrorism. The system of prior licensing of newspapers should be abolished. The PPL should be amended to remove websites, including news websites, from its ambit and no registration or other administrative obstacles should be imposed on the establishment of news websites. Websites should not be liable for third party comments that they simply host unless and until an authoritative decision declaring them to be illegal has been brought to their attention. Based on the analysis of the contemporary media landscape1; a review of the implementation of the current Jordan Media Strategy Action Plan, and a nation-wide 1 Based on the UNESCO Media Development Indicators (MDI) framework approved by its member states. The MDI report was officially launched on 10 September

7 stakeholder consultation2, the Support to Media in Jordan project drafted an action plan for further support to media development that was presented to the project Steering Committee and agreed upon on August Based on the Action Plan, UNESCO drafted its own work plan for Phase II of the project that was endorsed by the Steering Committee in October Objective Strengthening an enabling regulatory and institutional environment and build the capacity for an independent, quality based media sector serving the entire population. The Action plan (referred to above) points further at the objective: A legal framework in place that balances freedom with responsibility, in line with international standards 2. Purpose of the assignment Purpose of the assignment stems from the recommendations of the MDI study for Jordan as well as from the Action plan and is to review the Access to Information, Press and Publication Law and the Audio Visual Law in light of the Action plan s objectives. 3. Duties/tasks and Expected Outputs Consultant to review the current draft Access to Information (ATI) law and share the analysis with relevant bodies in Parliament and with the Government; Consultant further revising the draft if agreed with the Government and the Parliament; Consultant to develop a training module on the ATI for the public servants; Consultant to review the current Press and Publication Law and to suggest alignment with the international standards; Consultant participates at the round table organized by UNESCO to discuss recommendations; Consultant further revising the draft if agreed with the Government and the Parliament; Consultant to review the current Audio Visual law/bylaw and suggest how it could be aligned with the international standards; 2 In April and May UNESCO held eight nationwide consultations and five two-day thematic expert retreats to discuss the MDI findings and review the implementation of the current Media Strategy Action Plan 7

8 Consultant participates at the round table organized by UNESCO to discuss recommendations; Consultant further revises the draft if agreed with the Government and the Parliament. 4. Timetable and deliverables Deliverables include the: a) Review of the current draft Access to Information (ATI) law b) Review of the current Press and Publication Law and suggest alignment with the international standards c) Review of the current Audio Visual law/bylaw and suggest how it could be aligned with the international standards d) Revision of the draft ATI, PPL and AVL if agreed with the Government and the Parliament e) Development of a training module on the ATI for the public servants f) Participation at the round tables organized by UNESCO to discuss recommendations Timetable for deliverables a), b), c), e) and d) is February /March, The duration of the consultancy is expected to be of a total of three months between February 2016 and October Qualifications (a) Advanced University degree (preferably PhD) in Law, with demonstrated relevant expertise at national and specifically at international levels. (b) Minimum of 15 years hands-on professional experience in various countries context (c) Fluency in English (oral and written) is essential (d) Demonstrated ability to deliver law reviews, recommendations and comparison with the international standards (e) Past experience in drafting high-quality well-documented reports and actionable policy recommendations (f) Experience of leading/engaging in policy dialogue with senior Government officials and CSOs (g) Previous similar engagement internationally as well as in Jordan and in the Arab states. 8

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10 Attachment B Contract for Individual Consultants See separate document 10

11 Attachment C Any relevant background information/documents UNESCO Media Development Indicators report for Jordan: content/uploads/2015/10/jordanmdi_en_small.pdf 11

12 Attachment D Vendor Form and CV template See separate document 12