Service (to be performed): Develop an assessment report on the compliance of Viet Nam’s legal framework with relevant multilateral environmental and crime-related agreements and treaties to address wildlife trafficking from Africa to Viet Nam.
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Location of Service provided: On-site and selected province/city
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Duration of Service’s performance: July 2025 – December 2025
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I. Background:
According to seizure data compiled by WCS Viet Nam, between January 2018 and June 2025, at least 173.9 tons of wildlife products, including pangolin scales, ivory, rhino horns, and big cat parts, were confiscated in 124 seizures in Viet Nam and other countries linked to the Africa - Viet Nam trafficking route. These figures underscore Viet Nam’s significant role as a hub in the global transit and consumption chain of illegal wildlife trade (IWT) that has been recognized as a transnational organized crime.
Recognizing the scale and complexity of IWT and its convergence with other serious crimes such as cybercrime, corruption and money laundering, the CITES Conference of Parties (CoP) 19 in 2022 urged Member States to review and amend national legislation so that IWT-related offences are treated as predicate offences under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) for strengthening enforcement and criminal justice responses.
Viet Nam has been a Party to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1994. The country’s legal system has been rated by the CITES Secretariat to be in Category 1 – legislation that is believed generally to meet the requirement for implementation of the CITES. While Viet Nam has made notable progress in strengthening its legal framework on wildlife protection, legal reviews and practical implelmentation still indicated that significant gaps remain combating organized and transnational wildlife crime.
Viet Nam ratified UNTOC in 2012 and has since completed a 10-year implementation review. The national review report released in 2024 highlighted the incomplete incorporation of UNTOC provisions into domestic laws, which hamper enforcement efforts and inter-agency coordination in addressing transnational crime. In response, Document No. 7580/VPCP-NC of the Office of the Government, issued in October 2024, instructed ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial authorities to intensify the implementation of Decision 605/QĐ-TTg dated April 18, 2013, including the task of reviewing and finalizing regulations to ensure alignment with UNTOC.
In parallel, Viet Nam is also a State Party to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), having ratified it in 2009. In 2019, UNCAC Resolution 8/12 called on countries to enhance anti-corruption measures related to environmental crimes. Viet Nam completed its 2016–2021 cycle UNCAC review in 2023. The review report revealed shortcomings in the legal framework for managing criminal proceeds and recommended revisions to ensure full compliance. Following this, the Government of Viet Nam adopted Resolution No. 167/NQ-CP in 2023, which outlines a national anti-corruption strategy for 2030. This includes reviewing and amending mechanisms related to the management of assets tied to crime, corruption, money laundering, and terrorism financing.
Viet Nam has been included on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s grey list since June 2023. In response, the Government of Viet Nam committed to implementing 17 priority actions listed in Decision No. 194/QĐ-TTg dated February 23, 2024, on the national action plan in combating money laundering and countering terrorist financing. However, by September 2024, 16/17 actions remained unfulfilled, mostly related to legal framework reform and international cooperation. The Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) has further noted that penalties for money laundering under the 2015 Penal Code (revised in 2017) are not proportionate or dissuasive. These weaknesses contribute to Viet Nam’s continued grey-listing and undermine efforts to address wildlife-related financial crimes.
In this context, WCS Viet Nam is looking for a consultant group to develop an assessment report on the compliance of Viet Nam’s legal framework with relevant multilateral environmental and crime-related agreements and treaties to address wildlife trafficking from Africa to Viet Nam.
II. Objectives:
A group of consultants will work with WCS Viet Nam and its project partners to:
- Review the consistency of Viet Nam’s laws and policies with relevant provisions of CITES, UNTOC, UNCAC, and FATF Recommendations, particularly those related to tackling wildlife crime;
- Highlight shortcomings or inconsistencies in the current legal framework that hinder effective investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of serious and organized wildlife crime;
- Provide concrete recommendations to amend, supplement, or draft new legal provisions to ensure full compliance with international standards to dismantle transnational wildlife trafficking networks
III. Description of work:
Activities
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Outputs/ deliverables
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Completed by
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Allotted time
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Payment schedule
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1. Discuss and agree with WCS Viet Nam on the assessment framework.
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Agreed assessment framework with WCS Viet Nam
A draft assessment report of compliance and engagement with relevant multilateral environmental and crime agreements to address wildlife crime related to trafficking
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September 2025
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To be determined according to the consultant's proposal and agreed by WCS
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Payment will be made after the activity outputs are approved by WCS
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2. Desk review to identify and synthesize key provisions in international conventions and legal frameworks relevant to wildlife crime, including but not limited to: UNCAC, UNTOC, CITES, and FATF, and their related resolutions, guidelines, and recommendations.
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3. Review and analyze Viet Nam’s current legal and institutional frameworks on combating transnational organized wildlife crime
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4. Compare Vietnamese legislation with identified international obligations and commitments to assess legal gaps, inconsistencies, and enforcement limitations. In parallel, analyze existing roadmaps or action plans to address these gaps, based on:
- UNCAC review cycles I ( 2010–2015) and Cyclce II (2016–2021);
- UNTOC 10-year implementation review (2013–2023);
- CITES: triennial implementation reports and other compliance reports that Viet Nam has submitted to CITES;
- FATF: FATF’s Money Laundering and the illegal wildlife trade (report in 2020); National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering (2012-2017 & 2018–2022); national action plans to remove Viet Nam from FATF’s grey list.
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5. Develop a draft assessment report, presenting key findings and recommendations across the following thematic areas but not limited to criminalization, law enforcement, financial investigation, international cooperation, and asset recovery… to effectively address wildlife trafficking from Africa to Viet Nam.
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6. Facilitate focus group discussions or technical meetings with relevant government agencies, legal experts and researchers to gather in-depth inputs that inform the legal analysis and strengthen the formulation of evidence-based recommendations.
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A final assessment report of compliance and engagement with relevant multilateral environmental and crime agreements to address wildlife crime related to trafficking
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October 2025
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7. Revise and finalize the assessment report based on feedback from WCS and its project partners.
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8. Prepare and present the assessment findings at a national consultation workshop organized by WCS Viet Nam.
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Research findings presented at the national consultation workshop.
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November 2025
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Total allotted time (total working days): To be determined according to the consultants’ proposal and agreed by WCS
- IV. Requirements (selection criteria):
The consultant group must meet the following criteria:
Team leader (1 person):
- Having Bachelor/Master degree in Law and other relevant fields;
- At least 10 years of experience in research and/or training on criminal law, criminal procedure law or international law;
- Proven skills in conducting legal research, policy and legal analysis;
- Strong presentation and facilitation skills;
- A solid understanding of the situation of illegal wildlife trade and efforts to counter wildlife trafficking in Viet Nam;
- Having a good command of English;
- Experienced in working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Team member(s) (1 person):
- Having Bachelor/Master degree in Law and other relevant fields;
- Having 3-5 years of proven experience in legal research/training, policy and legal analysis, comparative laws;
- A solid understanding of the situation of illegal wildlife trade and efforts to counter wildlife trafficking in Viet Nam;
- Having a good command of English.
V. Application procedure:
Interested candidate(s) are invited to send to vietnamconsulting@wcs.org before 17:00 of 17 August 2025
1. A technical proposal with detailed methods to achieve the output/deliverables mentioned in section III.
2. Personnel plan and updated CVs with relevant working experience and products of all participants to the project (link to or soft copies)
3. Financial proposal (in VND, estimated total number of working days and daily rates, including all taxes and fees such as personal income tax, VAT, etc.)
Please contact vietnamconsulting@wcs.org for suggested technical and financial templates.
Note: Only shortlisted candidate(s) will be contacted