• The “Addressing the issue of missing persons through supporting meaningful victim participation and building responsive justice and security sector institutions“ project (or simply “Missing Persons Project”) implemented by UNSMIL and our client, is funded by the Government of the Netherlands seeks to explore possible innovative approaches to reconciliation and transitional justice in Libya. As part of the project, research is being conducted through inclusive consultations with families and documentation of violations, in order to provide tailored recommendations on addressing the fate of missing persons in Libya. After previous reports focused on Tarhuna and Murzuq, the Project aims to produce a report on the city of Derna.

• Historical grievances and social fabric play an important role in understanding the situation in Derna.. Derna’s tribal and social fabric is both diverse and unique in Eastern Libya. Derna continues to carry this legacy of marginalization, which affected the way the city endured the September 2023 Daniel Storm and its consequences. On 10 September 2023, Storm Daniel struck the north-eastern coast of Libya, causing heavy rainfall and triggering the collapse of two dams in Derna. As of 28 November 2023, the death toll stood at 4,352. At least 44,862 people were displaced, according to the IOM, while some 8,000 remain missing. Reconstruction and compensation efforts for those affected by the storm have been complicated by deep political divisions between the two governments, both of which established separated reconstruction funds for Derna and eastern Libya.

• This fragmented political landscape has resulted in a lack of coordination and effective decision making, hindering the ability to address the immediate needs of the affected population, including for providing authorization for rescue teams, forensics doctors, volunteers, and journalists. The trials for those responsible for the collapse of the two dams were criticized for various pitfalls, and most ended in the suspects being released. Reparations have also been limited, with some discrimination observed between families. Most importantly, survivors continue to be haunted by the unknown fates and burial places of their missing loved ones. Rushed burials in mass graves by local authorities and volunteers of thousands of bodies without identification in the immediate aftermath of the crisis, as well as the long time and additional resources needed to recover and identify human remains, continues to affect families who do not know where to lay their loved-ones to rest. This task has been hampered by the involvement of multiple governmental agencies, including the General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons (GASIMP), which collected 1,756 DNA samples from families of those missing. Survivors have also been left to navigate the complicated processes involved to obtain death certificates of their missing loved ones, which are needed to claim many civil, social, property and other rights and access pensions and other state assistance – with women whose husbands are missing disproportionately impacted. It is estimated that the process of matching DNA samples in laboratories with the samples of bodies exhumed from mass graves would take approximately two more years to be completed and needs additional financial and human resources.

Under the supervision of our clients Rule of Law Project Manager and UNSMIL Human Rights Team the Contractor will carry out an analytical assignment focused on Derna:

• The overall objective of the assignment is to assess the impact of Storm Daniel on families of missing persons in Derna from a rule-of-law and human rights perspective, and to formulate actionable, prioritized recommendations to strengthen institutional responses, access to justice, and victims’ rights.

Specifically, the Consultant will:

• Provide a clear and updated, rule-of-law oriented, assessment of the effects of Storm Daniel and the government’s response, particularly with regards to families of missing persons and their right to truth, justice, and reparations.

• Provide a series of policy- and program-oriented recommendations to enhance and protect these rights through targeted technical assistance to forensics and judicial authorities, through identifying their needs in Derna, as well through supporting families.

• Assess existing procedures to ensure that survivors whose relatives are missing are able to claim their civil, family, property, and economic and social rights, such as those related to child custody, inheritance, pension, and entitlements to public assistance, without the condition of having death certificates, and provide an assessment of needs in that area through focus groups discussions.

• Submit report based on a series of inclusive consultations with families, and interviews with key stakeholders on the ground, as well as sources independently collected by UNSMIL, our client, and open source existing documentation, reports prepared by local human rights groups and victims’ organisations, and other forms of evidence presented by them. The report will be elaborated through a participative process and in close coordination with relevant stakeholders, including GASIMP and families’ associations.

Apart from the report, the Contractor is expected to continuously liaise with the Project Team, and update them on progress, or any complications during the process.

This role has no team management requirement.

• The consultant is expected to travel to Tunis to attend and support the facilitation of a workshop with the families of Missing Persons. The travel should be for 3 days/3 nights. 
  Travel fees for any mission abroad or other locations in country, which include ticket will be also paid in accordance with our clients rates, where the applicable fees are based on the most economic, direct route. Business class tickets will not be considered, if the contracted individuals wish to buy business class ticket, the additional amount of the ticket will be covered by the contracted individuals.

• Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply for this role.