Result of Service

The consultant will perform the following substantive duties and responsibilities:

a) The consultant will develop a new template for Asset Recovery and Return Guides, after an analysis of existing practices and guides already published on the StAR Initiative website (G20 countries and additional jurisdictions).

b) The consultant in collaboration with the StAR officer will support outreach efforts to discuss with and incentivize an initial set of countries that have Asset Recovery Guides published on the StAR website to agree to update their guides using the template developed under the project and to continue to publish them on the StAR Initiative website.

c) The consultant will develop, in consultation with national authorities and under the guidance of the StAR officer, Asset Recovery and Return Guides for the countries that agree to partner with StAR under this project, using the information already provided by these countries in existing UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism Reports (UNCAC IRM reports), the StAR data collection study on international asset recovery efforts in corruption cases and in other evaluations, such as FATF reports. The consultant may also work with participating countries to collect any information or updates to legislation or other resources, such as open sources of information or public records that can support asset recovery MLA requests, that complement the data that the StAR Initiative already collected in the above-mentioned evaluation sources.

Confidentiality:
• The consultant shall respect States parties laws at all times and abide by all relevant United Nations rules, in particular in terms of confidentiality.
• The consultant will be required to maintain the strictest degree of confidentiality on the information to which he/she will be exposed. Any materials or information, whether written, audio-visual or oral must be used exclusively for the purpose of this assignment and are not to be shared with anyone outside of defined delivery channels on a need-to-know basis.
• No statements will be made to any third party regarding any matter associated with any engagement with the countries that agree to partner with StAR under this project, unless authorized explicitly and in writing by the StAR Secretariat.
• The consultant shall manage information, reports, documents and electronic media obtained, accessed or reviewed under this ToR in a secure manner and location. The privacy, safe keeping, security and integrity of those documents are matters for which the consultant will be responsible.

Work Location

Home-based

Expected duration

21/10/23–31/01/2024

Duties and Responsibilities

Background of the assignment:

The StAR Initiative (StAR) is a partnership between the World Bank Group and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that supports international efforts to end safe havens for corruptly acquired assets. StAR works with developing countries and financial centers to prevent the laundering of proceeds of corruption and to facilitate more systematic and timely return of corruptly acquired assets. StAR advocates that developed and developing countries share a joint responsibility in tackling corruption and that international collaboration and collective action are needed to facilitate asset recovery.

The StAR Initiative works with developing countries and financial centers to prevent the laundering of the proceeds of corruption and to facilitate more systematic and timely return of stolen assets. To achieve these goals, the StAR Initiative works with jurisdictions to improve legal frameworks on asset recovery and to provide training, guidance and practical assistance on asset recovery-related issues.

In the 2021-2024 workplan, the StAR Initiative will continue to deliver its programme through work streams:

a. Country engagement, by:
i. Building the capacity of policymakers and practitioners in requesting countries to effectively identify, freeze or seize, confiscate and ultimately recover stolen assets;
ii. Facilitating international cooperation between requesting and requested countries.

b. Policy influence and partnerships, to:
i. Ensure that asset recovery remains an international policy priority, including by providing “hard facts” on actual progress at the global level on asset recovery;
ii. Ensure that relevant international standards (and their monitoring mechanisms) evolve over time to address the known and new/emerging gaps and require countries to have in place the tools needed to recover stolen assets;
iii. Learn from networks of practitioners on upcoming topics within anti-corruption and asset recovery, seek to support the work of those networks, and, through our engagement, to amplify StAR’s voice globally.

c. Knowledge and innovation to contribute new thinking and research on corruption and asset recovery related topics to the global debate. This work additionally serves as input to the country and policy work, while also building upon it.

In 2021, UNODC received funding for the US State Department (INL) to support a project on “Enhancing information-sharing and capacity building in the area of asset recovery: Regional Consultations, Asset Recovery & MLA Guides”. The project has three components: 1) to facilitate a series of meetings with practitioners from select jurisdictions (requesting States and financial centers) to share knowledge and good practices in asset recovery; 2) facilitate consultations on specific asset recovery cases; and 3) the development of Asset Recovery and Mutual Legal Assistance Guides.

Accordingly, StAR needs to recruit a consultant to support the implementation of component 3 of this project and support countries in the development of Asset Recovery and Return guides.

Qualifications/special skills

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in business administration, international relations, international commerce, social science, law, political science, international relations or criminology is required. A first level university degree in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• At least 15 years work experience in the area of criminal law, specifically on law enforcement or prosecution of criminal cases and in seeking and obtaining international legal cooperation is required;
• Professional experience in conducting legal research and drafting, reviewing, and editing of technical documents, in particular mutual legal assistance requests is required;
• Active work experience in seeking and obtaining international legal cooperation in the last 5 years is desirable;
• Proven skills and experience in international cooperation and mutual legal assistance in criminal cases is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.