ASF is looking for a consultant/group of consultants to conduct An Evaluative Research on Sustainable Reintegration and Its Impact on Peacebuilding Developments and the Consolidation of Peace.

Project Empowering Civil Society for Inclusive Development.

Objective of the assignment

This call for applications is directed to a research consultant or team of experts to design the methodology, conduct a desk and field Evaluative Research on Sustainable Reintegration Strategies and their Impact on Peacebuilding Developments and consolidation of Peace. This is aimed at informing the design and operationalisation of an effective sustainable reintegration which are necessary for influencing peace-building and consolidating sustainable peace.

specific outcomes; -

• Understanding returnees/ex-combatants' reintegration experience by category based on gender and other demographic traits.
• Understanding the potential obstacles that might impede effective sustainable reintegration of returnees.
• Identifying the key stakeholders and their roles in facilitating effective sustainable reintegration processes.
• Developing recommendations for a more effective and sustainable reintegration process.

Profile Essentials

• Advanced degree in law, social sciences, or political science
• Experience in development research/ policy analysis
• Country expertise
• Proven publication record
• methodological and research skills
• Fluency in English
• Ability to write clearly and concisely
• Excellent interpersonal skills;
• Excellent planning and prioritisation skills;
• Proven ability to adapt the research plan to challenges and opportunities emerging during the research
• Proven ability to multitask and work under tight deadlines

Availability:  An equivalent of 21 working days spread through July to September, 2025.

Contract and deadline

Please submit applications by the 20th August, 2025 at 12.00 noon.

● A cover letter expressing interest in carrying out the consultancy

● A CV demonstrating relevant skills and experience and names of at least 2 references, preferably from organisations with which the consultant (s) has conducted similar types of work.

● Indicative budget for consultancy fees, detailing the activities, number of days, and daily rate

● Sample of similar work done in the past (optional)

● Declare flexibility and availability in agreement with the ASF for the project implementation period from  July to September 2025.

● The documents should be submitted to Jimmy Wamimbi at oug-job@asf.be, copy to Jwamimbi@asf.be, Iwanying@asf.be, under the subject line Consultancy- Evaluative Research on Sustainable Reintegration in Uganda.

Overview of Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF)

ASF is an independent international non-governmental organisation founded in Belgium in 1992, whose mission is to contribute to the establishment of institutions and mechanisms that allow for access to independent and impartial justice, and which are capable of guaranteeing the protection of fundamental rights (civil and political, economic and social), including the right to fair trial.

For more than 20 years, ASF has been implementing programs to facilitate access to justice for the most vulnerable population in fragile states or transition contexts, including:, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tunisia, and Uganda, among others. The Ugandan Field office was established in 2007. For more information, visit www.asf.be

ASF is an equal opportunity organisation which does not discriminate in employment and personal practices based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, age, disability, HIV status, family medical history, or genetic information. ASF will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics.

Overview of the Consultancy

With support from Belgian Development Cooperation, ASF in Uganda is currently implementing a Transitional Justice project entitled “Empowering Civil Society for Inclusive Development, 2022-2026.” The project aims at fostering civic participation and ensuring that Ugandan decision-makers operate a paradigmatic shift towards rule of law and human rights-based democratic governance and inclusive development. This project has two components, one on the governance of natural resources and the other on Transitional justice under three key result areas, namely;

R1- Grassroots organisations and CSOs improve their methods of engagement with duty-bearers

R2- CSOs and LASPs can accompany local populations to access remedies

R3- CSOs influence decision-makers (national and international) to adopt positive reforms.

There has been a commitment from the Government of Uganda to address widespread human rights violations and war crimes committed during the conflict. Even with a huge milestone such as the adoption of the Transitional Justice policy in 2019, implementation remains a challenge, leaving a huge reparations vacuum for victims and survivors. The project conceives transitional justice as the recognition of the dignity of individuals, the redress and acknowledgement of violations, and the aim to ensure non-recurrence. This Evaluative research, therefore, seeks to establish empirical data to inform reform and practice necessary to influence sustainable reintegration processes and sustainable peace.

Research Background and Rationale

For two decades, the conflict between the Government of Uganda (GoU) and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) caused chaos in Northern Uganda and parts of Eastern Uganda, with its impacts felt widely. Although the conflict in Northern Uganda is the most prolonged, it reflects Uganda’s history before and after independence, which has been scarred by conflicts 1. The lasting, unresolved legacies of these conflicts will continue to threaten sustainable peace unless deliberate efforts are made to alter the course.

This orchestrated campaign of violence against civilians caused a lot of displacements, 2 internally across the country and beyond the borders 3, exacerbating the already existing inequalities, destroying lives and livelihoods, disrupting the normal development processes, thereby plunging the affected communities into vicious cycles of poverty and consequently scaling up structural violence. The trauma of experiencing LRA violence and the disruption of traditional livelihoods have also altered community and family dynamics. Social support networks have been severely disrupted, and the burden of providing for the family has increasingly fallen on women. This myriad of challenges has compounded and complicated reintegration efforts, making them ineffective and thereby presenting risks of relapsing or perpetrating more scenarios of violence.

The Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation (AAR) 4, one of the significant protocols implemented by the government of Uganda after the Juba Peacenegotiations set in motion many processes focused on the establishment of truth-seeking reparations, and formal criminal and civil measures against perpetrators of serious crimes or human rights violations. This propelled the establishment of the Transitional Justice Working Group by the government under the then Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS), charged with overseeing the implementation of the transitional justice processes provided for under the Juba agreement on accountability and reconciliation.

Uganda emerged as the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to adopt its National Transitional Justice Policy (NTJP) 5 shortly after the African Union had adopted an African Union Transitional Justice Policy (AUTJP) 6. The two read together are great commitments and huge milestones in addressing Justice, accountability reconciliation needs of post-conflict Africa and Uganda in particular.

Besides the adoption of the National Transitional Justice Policy, the Government of Uganda has implemented several other legislative, institutional and policy reforms aimed at providing redress to the victims of gross violations during conflict. These include the enactment of the Amnesty Act, 2000, ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in June 2002, the creation of a special division of the high court to handle International Crimes (International Crimes Division) 7, and the enactment of the ICC Act, 2010.

Rationale.

Reintegration is a necessary step in peace building and conflict resolution, making it a huge pre-requisite for sustainable peace and national reconciliation, which is only achievable when all people and regions of the country unanimously share a feeling of peace across the social, economic, political, civil and cultural continuum. This is supported by the 1995 constitution of Uganda (as amended), which in Objective III of the National Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, where government is obliged to make every effort “…to integrate all people of Uganda while at the same time recognizing the existence of their ethnic, religious, ideological, political and cultural diversity,” and that: “there shall be established and nurtured institutions and procedures for the resolution of conflicts fairly and peacefully.” 8

In particular, this research intends to achieve the following:

• Understanding returnees/ex-combatants' reintegration experience by category based on gender and other demographic traits.
• Understanding the potential obstacles that might impede effective sustainable reintegration of returnees.
• Identifying the key stakeholders and their roles in facilitating effective sustainable reintegration processes.
• Developing recommendations for a more effective and sustainable reintegration process.

SPECIFIC TASKS

The Consultant/ team of experts must:

• Elaborate on the methodology of the research by the objective of the assignment and based on the above-mentioned monitoring frameworks.
• Conduct desk and field research by the agreed methodology.
• Elaborate and high-quality report on Sustainable Reintegration Strategies and their Impact on Peacebuilding Developments and the consolidation of Peace.

KEY DELIVERABLES:

The Consultant’s scope of work and deliverables specifically include, but are not limited to;

• Inception Report detailing the Research plan and proposed methodology, which should include: process and criteria for selecting participants to be part of the research, sample size, full methodological approach taking into consideration the objective of the assignment, and timeline for implementing the agreed methodology.
• Data sets to include: database of participants included in the research together with their contact details, qualitative data received through interviews and focus groups (recordings/transcripts in English).
• Draft report on Sustainable Reintegration Strategies and their Impact on Peacebuilding Developments and the consolidation of Peace.
• Final report on Sustainable Reintegration Strategies and their Impact on Peacebuilding Developments and consolidation of Peace, addressing the research objectives.