BackgroundIn November of 2012, UNDP engaged a Management Review Team (MRT) to assess its Law andOrder Trust Fund of Afghanistan (LOTFA). The MRTreport recommended changes to the Terms ofReference (ToR) of theUNDP-LOTFA Steering Committee (SC). The changes proposed by the MRTare intended to strengthen the engagement of all UNDP-LOTFA stakeholders in planning, decision-making, and monitoring. This is especially important in view of the efforts that UNDP-LOTFA ismaking to promote MoI involvement in the prioritization and planning of activities that will supportthe reform agenda of the Minister of Interior, and that will fit within the 10- and 2-year plans thatare being elaborated in cooperation with the International Police Coordination Board (IPCB).The draft ToRs proposed below is intended to strengthen the SC and its method of working so as toachieve the objectives envisaged by the MRT report. Proposed changes are on an interim basisduring the Phase VI-extension (April 1 to December 31, 2013).Final decisions on UNDP-LOTFA’sgovernance model will be elaborated in the Phase VII document to be presented to the SC at thelatter quarter of 2013. These ToRsinteraliareflect activities covering the three Pillars in UNDP-LOTFA.

Terms of ReferenceComposition of the SCThe Steering Committee is co-Chaired by the Minister of MoI and the UNDP Country Director.Full members include:Ministry of InteriorMinistry of FinanceFunding partners, currently including: Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, European Union,Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, South Korea, Switzerland,United Kingdom, and United States of America.

On approval of SC other stakeholders may participate in Steering Committee. Currently approvedobserver members are theIPCB, European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL), NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization Training Mission in Afghanistan (NTM-A) and Combined SecurityTransition Command Afghanistan (CSTC-A) or their successor missions.The SC shall appoint a Technical Committee (TC) to technically assess all proposals put forward byUNDP-LOTFA/MoI and any other actors eligible for LOTFA funding. The TC will be the principlemechanism for technical assessment of projects prior to their submission to the SC. TORs of the TCis elaborated in Annex 1.

Advises and guides the process of development, review and implementation of policies withinthe remit of UNDP-LOTFA, consistent with the MoI 10-year vision. This function shall beundertaken in coordination with international partners (IPCB, EUPOL, NTM-A and CSTC-A) andrelevant national authorities, including but not limited to Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry ofDefense (MoD), Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Attorney General's Office (AGO) and the NationalSecurity Council (NSC).Ensuresalignment of UNDP-LOTFA priorities with MoI 5-year strategy, the revised NationalPolice Plan (NPP) and the 2-year transition plan.Oversees the UNDP-LOTFA/MoI agreed procedures and mechanisms for control and mutualaccountability.II.Guide and assess performance of UNDP-LOTFA

Periodically examines reports submitted by the Monitoring and EvaluationUnit of UNDP-LOTFAon joint performance of UNDP-LOTFA and MoI.Providesguidance and recommendations on performance reviews carried out by UNDP-LOTFAthrough external evaluators.Establishes mutual responsibilities and accountabilities with MoIas agreed and identified priorto implementation consistent with Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework.Approve projects as recommended by the TC

Reviews and approves project proposals recommended and submitted by the TC.Is satisfied that TC and UNDP-LOTFA have ensured compliance to all agreed NationalImplementation Modality (NIM) procedures.Regularly reviews projects and ensures that any adjustments are in line with agreed UNDP-LOTFA remit and relevant MoI policies and strategies, with guidance from the TC.Ensure management of funds

Provides oversight on the utilization of UNDP-LOTFA funds.Establishes rules for donor fund allocations, including percentage of funds that can beearmarked among the UNDP-LOTFA Pillars and allocated to the UNDP-LOTFA ProjectManagement Unit (PMU).Periodically reviews planning resource requirements to authorize re-allocation of earmarkedfunding among the UNDP-LOTFA Pillars/PMU.V.Ensure expenditures are in line with programs

Oversees compliance of procedures agreed by UNDP-LOTFA with government (MoI and MoF)regarding basis for reimbursement of MoI expenditures.Reviews and approves reimbursement to MoI by UNDP-LOTFAas submitted on a quarterlybasis by the MoF’s Treasury Department.3

Ensures UNDP-LOTFA amendments or changes to its work plansare presented to the SC in atimely manner.Reviews quarterly expenditure reports in relation to program outputs.Review and approve relevant reports as presented by the UNDP-LOTFA ProjectManager

Reviews trends and issues identified in the quarterly reports prepared by the Monitoring Agentand presented by the UNDP-LOTFA Project Manager to the Steering Committee.Ensures that key findings and issues of concern reported by the Monitoring Agent result incorrective measures and periodically reviews their implementation.Reviews and approves quarterly and annual narrative reports in relation to program outputsand seeks clarifications where relevant, recommending remedial action where necessary.Ensures lessons-learned from implementation of projects by UNDP-LOTFA/MoI aredocumented, discussed and disseminated to relevant stakeholders.Review audit and evaluation reports

Reviews findings of audit reports and Monitoring Agent.Ensures audit recommendations are implemented by UNDP-LOTFA and periodically reviewstheir implementation.Ensures audit recommendations on MoI are communicated to relevant departments andstakeholders for follow up.Reviews evaluation reports and ensures relevant findings are documented.Ensures relevant project components are reprogrammed by UNDP-LOTFA/MoI and itsimplementation is periodically reviewed.Miscellaneous

Annex ITerms of Reference of the Technical Committee1. Composition of the Technical CommitteeUNDP-LOTFA Steering Committee shall appoint a Technical Committee (TC) to assess all proposalssubmitted by UNDP-LOTFA. The TC shall be comprised of two representatives from the Ministry ofInterior (MoI), one from Ministry of Finance (MoF), three from donor countries (selected by donormembers of the SC on rotational basis), and UNDP-LOTFA as ex-officio members (Project Managerand Pillar Managers as appropriate).

2. Key functions of the Technical CommitteeOn behalf of full Steering Committee (SC) reviews UNDP-LOTFA proposals and ensures that theymeet the following criteria:oalignment with strategic goals and plans of MoI;ogender is placed at the center of all activities where relevant;oconsistent with the Rule of Law;ovalue for money;osustainability;otransparency;oaccountability;Ensures how projects intend to adopt the National Implementation Modality (NIM) to buildownership, knowledge transfer, capacity elevation on matters related to procurement, services,goods, human resources, programming and budgeting.Assesses and recommends to the SC for approval.

2.1 Coordination with UNDP-LOTFA SecretariatOnce projects have been vetted, they will be transmitted by UNDP-LOTFA Secretariat toSteering Committee for approval at the next scheduled SC meeting.UNDP-LOTFA Secretariat will ensure to circulate proposals recommended by TC at least twoweeks prior to SC scheduled meetings.

3. Meeting Calendar (01 April 2013 – 31 March 2014)

Meeting objective

TC meetings forproposals vettingSC regular quarterlymeetingsReview and approvalof project proposals

Meeting objective

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