ASSESSMENT OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM FOR RELIGIOUS MINORITIES

IN PAKISTAN

TERMS OF REFERENCES (TORs)

For Engaging a Qualified Individual or Firm to conduct an External Evaluation of the Religious Minority Program

Program Title:          Religious Minority Program

Organization:            Legal Aid Society

Location(s):               Sindh

1.     Consultancy Background

The Legal Aid Society (LAS) is seeking the services of a qualified individual or firm to conduct a comprehensive external evaluation of its Religious Minority (hereinafter RM) program being implemented across 08 districts of Sindh; Karachi, Hyderabad, Dadu, Shaheed Benazir Abad, Sanghar, Khairpur, Sukkur, and Larkana, from September 1, 2020 till September 30, 2024. The aim of this evaluation is to assess the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and sustainability of the Program in achieving its stated goals and objectives which must be completed in the span of 2.5 months.

2.     Organization Background:

The Legal Aid Society (LAS) is a not-for-profit organization working on its mission to connect vulnerable & disempowered end users of justice with effective and expedient services for the delivery of justice.  LAS is working under the Chairmanship of Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, former Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. LAS’s interventions have been aimed at increasing access to justice for the vulnerable and marginalized communities at provincial and federal level.  

In Sindh, religious minorities often face discrimination on the basis of their beliefs which results in otherization among minorities and majorities; our research on the Legal Needs Assessment of Religiously Marginalized Communities (RMCs) shows that non-Muslims are often subjected to the entrenched bigotry of the actors of justice sector which leads to the lack of trust among RMCs on justice system and widens the gap between end users of justice and justice delivery system.

In line with this, LAS is implementing a Program in Sindh (Karachi, Hyderabad, Sanghar, Dadu, Khairpur, Larkana, Shaheed Benazir Abad, and Sukkur) to assess the legal needs of RMCs in Sindh and protect their freedom of religion and belief (FORB). We have two-tiered approach for the above stated problem; through community awareness sessions and deployment of community-based paralegals we create the need at demand-side and to fill in the demand of access to justice we train and sensitize justice sector actors and create evidence-based research products to design pragmatic interventions at supply side.

The overall goal of implementing supply and demand side interventions to increase the access to justice for the religiously marginalized communities is planned to achieve through following objectives;

• Sociolegal empowerment of RMCs through education, support, strategic litigation, and establishment of peace committees to create awareness and build legal knowledge.
• Pragmatic, data-backed interventions in Blasphemy law and its implementations are designed through studying the trends, causes, and perceptions of blasphemy incidents.
• Enhancing capacity of civil and criminal law actors through dissemination of specific legal knowledge and laws

3.     Objectives of the Evaluation:

The primary objective of this evaluation is to assess the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and sustainability of the Program in achieving its stated goals and objectives. Specifically, the evaluation aims to:

1. Evaluate the extent to which program activities have contributed to inform the exact nature of justiciable needs of religious minorities in Sindh to the relevant stakeholders.
2. Assess the efficiency of the program in terms of resource utilization and cost-effectiveness.
3. Determine the relevance of the program in addressing the needs of the target beneficiaries and the broader context
4. Identify strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and lessons learned throughout the Program implementation.
5. Examine the sustainability of the program and its potential for long-term impact
6. Provide actionable recommendations for enhancing the Program's impact, scalability, and sustainability in the future.

4.     Scope of Work:

This comprehensive program evaluation should cover the duration of the program from September 1, 2020 to September 31, 2024 using qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate implementation and performance and to make recommendations for the projects LAS will implement under same thematic area. The evaluating firm/ consultant must engage key stakeholders from the justice sector, CSOs, NGOs, and government organizations such as the Sindh law departments, minorities affairs department, home department, and auqaf, religious affairs, zakat & usher department for the necessary data collection. The scope of work for the external consultant shall include, but not be limited to, the following tasks:

• Desk Review: Conduct a thorough review of Program documents, including proposals, work plans, progress reports, monitoring reports, research reports, policy papers, baseline evaluation, endline evaluation and any other relevant materials to gain a comprehensive understanding of the Program's design, implementation, and outcomes.
• Stakeholder Consultations: Engage with key stakeholders including Program staff, beneficiaries, partner organizations, government officials, judiciary, IOs, and other relevant actors. Conduct interviews, focus group discussions, surveys, or other appropriate methods to gather insights on stakeholder perspectives, experiences, and feedback regarding the program.

List of stakeholders for key informant Interviews:

• Senior management at LAS, Program Design team
• Trained members of judiciary
• Assembly Members and Government Officials
• Members of District Peace Committees
• Trained Police Officials

List of Beneficiaries for Key Informant Interviews/Focus Group Discussions:

• Community beneficiaries
• Community-based paralegals

• Data Collection: Collect both quantitative and qualitative data to assess the Program's performance against predetermined indicators and targets. Conduct field visits to Program sites to observe program activities firsthand, interact with beneficiaries, and validate information gathered through desk review and stakeholder consultations.
• Data Analysis: Carry out comprehensive data analysis including quantitative analysis using data interpretation and visualization software, thematic analysis, and comparative analysis with similar programs in other contexts, if applicable.
• Evaluation Report: Prepare a comprehensive evaluation report documenting findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on the assessment conducted. The report should adhere to professional standards of evaluation and clearly articulate the methodology used, data sources, limitations, and implications for future programming. A 2-page brief summarizing the findings of the evaluation to be submitted along with the comprehensive report.

5.   Timeline of the Evaluation:

The total evaluation duration is of four months between 1^st September 2020 and 30^th September 2024. The evaluator will submit the deliverables as per the given timelines.

6.     Qualifications and Experience:

• Thematic area experience/knowledge: preferably in areas related to the Humanitarian Law and access to justice.
• Qualification: A postgraduate degree in evaluation, economics, law, social sciences, Program management, or public policy.
• At least five years experience in conducting evaluations in development sector programs, particularly in the Rule of Law.
• Fluency in English and Urdu is required.
• Strong analytical and writing skills
• Knowledge of the contextual legal and social knowledge related to religious minorities is preferred.