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RWI welcomes applications for a short-term consultancy (about 40 hours in total, done remotelly) of donor mapping for RWI’s Afghanistan programme and related programming.

RWI’s Afghanistan programme
RWI’s Afghanistan programme include the hosting of the (in 2022) appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan; an explicit focus of research fellows contributing to the UNSR mandate; and a series of roundtables and forums around priority issues for the UNSR. Starting 2024, the Danish and Norwegian Ministries of Foreign Affairs joined Sida as donors with a pooled-funding set-up to support the programme. The expanded support allowed RWI to both scale up existing strategies and to add new ones, where engagement with Afghan HRDs is a key new component.

The current programme phase, 2024-2026, which this review concerns, continues to support the mandate of UNSR Richard Bennett, who is also Visiting Professor at RWI.

The programme aim is to contribute to better-informed strategies and initiatives to promote and protect human rights in Afghanistan, with the long-term objective of strengthening conditions for inclusive governance, peace, and respect for human rights and gender equality in the country.

Concretely, we do this by supporting:

1. Increased access to concrete recommendations and potential solutions, aimed to more effectively promote human rights and gender equality in Afghanistan;
2. Increased scholarship and academic discourse on the human rights situation, including in relation to gender equality, in Afghanistan;
3. Maintained and/or enhanced capacities of Afghan researchers to produce high quality research that contribute to monitoring, promoting and protecting human rights in Afghanistan; and
4. Increased capacities of Afghan human rights defenders and civil society to work for human rights, gender equality and inclusive governance in Afghanistan, including through engagement with UN mechanisms.

More information is available at https://rwi.lu.se/afghanistan-programme/

The programme is managed from the RWI Headquarters in Lund, Sweden. During the first years, 2021-2023, the programme was funded by Sida. The current programme phase, 2024-2026, is jointly funded by Sida (2024), the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2024-2025), and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2024-2026). New donor contributions are required to secure full funding of the work plan 2026, where to date approximately 5 MSEK are secured, out of an ideal annual budget of 23 MSEK. While new projects might be considered, RWI’s priority and preference are contributions to the joint fund supporting the programme and programme goals.

Scope of the Assignment
The consultant will develop a map of donors and funding options of relevance to the programme goals, and/or to related areas of work on human rights in Afghanistan, including support to Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council.

The mapping should include:

• Official development assistance funds from governments (ODA), including strategies and thematic focus areas, and time frames of ODA strategies.
• Private donors
• Funds available from regional/ intergovernmental bodies (e.g. the EU) or international organisations, including the United Nations.

For each donor, information about conditions, limitations, eligibility, and processes and deadlines for application should be included, as well as maximum amounts where specified.

The report should also include any considerations and/or recommendations from the consultant on what options could be most feasible for the joint fund, aiming to increase the 2026 work plan budget (i.e. up to the 23 MSEK), as well as for complementary projects.

It should be noted that RWI, as an academic institute, generally does not conduct advocacy or human rights promotion of confrontational nature, but focuses on research, education and forums, based on international law and principles (human rights law and humanitarian law). For a general idea of RWI’s work and theory of change, in addition to the description provided in the introduction of these terms of reference, see https://rwi.lu.se/theory-of-change/

Advocacy is, however, part of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, which is supported by the RWI programme. For a description of the mandate, see: https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-afghanistan

Timeline and deliverables
Draft mapping report – 7 February January 2025

Presentation to RWI – 10 February (followed by feedback from RWI)

Final mapping report – 20 February

Budget
RWI will pay a maximum fee of SEK 20 000 for the assignment.

Cost efficiency will be part of the criteria for selection of the consultant (meaning that a lower price implies a better rating), along with an assessment of the expected quality of outcomes, based on the information included in the application. RWI will make the selection based on the best value for money, considering both price and the assessed ability of applicants to deliver with quality.

Qualifications

• Thorough understanding of development cooperation
• Good understanding of the structures and functioning of donorship for human rights related programming from governments and private actors.
• Understanding of joint donorship for efficient programming.
• Good understanding of human rights in law and/or practice, and of the international human rights system.
• Experience of strategic fund raising is meriting, as is knowledge about human rights actors and programming in and about Afghanistan.

Application Process
To apply, please submit via the Apply button: a letter explaining your qualifications of relevance to the assignment; a draft plan for how the assignment will be carried out, your CV and a proposed fee for the services.
Applications will only be accepted through this platform.

The deadline for applications is 26 January 2025, but due to the urgency of this recruitment, candidates will be evaluated on a rolling basis.

For questions, contact: Helena.olsson@rwi.lu.se

The Raoul Wallenberg Institute promotes diversity and welcomes applications from all qualified persons, regardless of race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, age, disability or other protected status under the law.

We look forward to receiving your application!