Ultimately, this consultancy will enable the IBSM to monitor and evaluate its initiatives more effectively. It will improve reporting to donors and West African states, enhance transparency and accountability, and contribute to regional stability and security.
While instability has been a recurring theme in the Sahel and West Africa, violent events have become more frequent and deadly in recent years and their underlying dynamics have grown increasingly complex, including an ever-growing nexus between terrorism and organized crime.
Violence continues to escalate not only in the Sahel but spills over to the Gulf of Guinea countries (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo). Remarkably, in this context more than 40% of violent events and fatalities occur within 100 km of a land border, and 10% of deaths from political violence occur less than 10 km from a border.[1]
For terrorist armed groups and organized crime networks border areas are of high strategic relevance. They skillfully exploit inadequately controlled borders and lack of coordination between neighboring countries to elude state security forces. For transnational organized crime networks the control of cross-border trafficking routes is essential for their operations and, in turn, their profits.
For terrorist armed groups, proximity to borders facilitates hit-and-run tactics while the absence of state security forces in remote border areas allows them to forcefully subdue local communities and exploit the vulnerabilities of these communities. Also, organized crime can be a source of income for terrorist armed groups, which cooperate with organized crime networks when it is opportune for both sides.
The situation in peripheral border areas is further aggravated by the following factors, which all fuel radicalized narratives spread by violent extremist groups:
At the same time, over 90% of the migration movements in West and Central Africa remain intra-regional. Intra-regional cross-border trade, mostly small-scale in nature, constitutes 12% of West-Africa’s trade value, and is thus an important driver for cross-border movements in the region. Regional co-operation, trade, and free movement of people and goods therefore play out in a more precarious and unstable context, to which local governments must adapt.[2]
Against this backdrop, the need for unified action to promote stability in West African border areas has never been more urgent. At the same time, a twofold window of opportunity is emerging that offers momentum for realizing a more unified approach in this context: Firstly, West African states have recently demonstrated an unprecedented willingness for security cooperation across borders. This most notably reflected in the Accra Initiative and the G5 Sahel, but also in international formats such as the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) West Africa Working Group and the Anti-IS Coalition Africa Focus Group (AFFG). Note bene: After the coup in Niger in July 2023 and the regional political consequences, it remains to be seen what level of security cooperation between the Central Sahel states and the coastal states can be preserved or rekindled. Secondly, key donor states are in the process of adapting their policies and project portfolios to the new challenges in the region while simultaneously acknowledging the need for more coordination and harmonization of efforts. Hence, both the West African states and the donor states agree that more effective governance of shared border areas and strengthened capabilities in the field of integrated border management are a key element of a joint response to the growing violence and instability along the shared frontiers.
The Integrated Border Stability Mechanism (IBSM) is a response to the urgent need for more unified and focused action in the field of Integrated Border Management (IBM) and Border Security, Biometrics, and Battlefield Evidence (3B) capacity-building as well as more effective joint cross-border approaches in this context. In the last couple of years, this need was regularly emphasized by West African governments and regional organizations, international donors, and implementing agencies. By improving coordination and cooperation among relevant national, regional, and international stakeholders, the IBSM aims at specifically supporting West African states, donors, and implementing organizations in facilitating joint action and executing regional and national strategies and policy frameworks in support of stability in border areas. Thereby, the IBSM focuses on five interlinked and complementing objectives:
1) supporting the development and/or operationalization of legal and policy frameworks and enabling effective border governance,
2) improving border management infrastructure,
3) strengthening IBM/3B capacities and improving cross-border cooperation, including support for operational level cooperation structures such as the Accra Initiative and the G5 Sahel,
4) supporting capacity development in migration management and cross-border mobility,
5) ensuring community engagement in areas directly affected by IBM capacity-building projects.
Given the importance of the IBSM and the need for a more coherent and efficient approach to immigration and border governance in West Africa, the development of a comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) plan is essential. The IBSM aims to address complex challenges such as terrorism, organized crime, and the management of migration, which are critical for regional stability and security. As a coordination mechanism, the IBSM serves as a docking station for donor funding, necessitating a unified M&E framework to track progress across various projects and ensure accountability. A robust M&E plan will allow for the systematic collection, analysis, and reporting of data, providing clear insights into the effectiveness of the initiatives implemented under the IBSM. This, in turn, will facilitate better decision-making, optimize resource allocation, and highlight areas requiring improvement. Furthermore, by defining common indicators and standardizing reporting processes, the M&E plan will enhance transparency and accountability, allowing donors and West African states to assess the impact of their investments accurately. The ability to demonstrate tangible outcomes and progress will strengthen donor confidence and foster continued support. Ultimately, this comprehensive M&E plan will not only improve the efficiency and coherence of border governance programs but also contribute significantly to the overarching goal of enhancing regional stability and security.
The Tasks to be Accomplished:
The responsibilities of the consultant encompass five key stages: (i) Inception Report detailing the methodology and work plan, (ii) Development of a comprehensive M&E Plan for the IBSM, including common indicators and data collection methods, (iii) Development of training materials and documentation, (iv) Delivery of trainings to the IBSM staff, and (v) Final report summarizing the consultancy process, stakeholder inputs, and recommendations for implementation.
The deliverables are detailed below and spread out over a period of 90 consecutive days between the 1 August 2024 and 31 October 2024.
Deliverables
Deadline
Initial meeting with the IBSM to define the details of the consultancy.
D+1
Inception Report
D+15
Data collection – preliminary report
D+60
M&E Plan
D+60
Validation of results with IBSM Members
D+65
Development of Training Material
D+75
Delivery of Training to IBSM members
D+85
Final Report
D+90
Debrief meeting with IOM
D+90
5.Education, Experience and/or skills required
EDUCATION
LANGUAGE
EXPERIENCE
SKILLS
The duty station of the consultancy will be home based and may involve 2 to 3 missions in West Africa (Dakar, Abidjan and/or any other destination as relevant to the assignment).
Values
Core Competencies – behavioural indicators
Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications via email to recrutementdkr@iom.int indicating ROWCA-HR-24-012-CFA on the subject line, by 18 July 2024 .
For applications to be considered, applicants are asked to submit applications with a cover letter (no more than one page long) specifying motivation and qualifications for applying, as well as a detailed resume/CV, functional e-mail address and mobile telephone number. Incomplete applications will automatically be rejected.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Posting Period:
From 4 July 2024 to 18 July 2024
Tagged as: International Organization for Migration, Senegal
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