Independent Evaluator for ICMP project, ‘Assisting Libya in Establishing an Inclusive and Rule-of-Law based Process to Account for Missing Persons’ At International Commission on Missing Persons

Organization Profile

The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) is a treaty-based intergovernmental organization with Headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands. Its mandate is to secure the cooperation of governments and others in locating missing persons from conflict, human rights abuses, disasters, organized crime, irregular migration and other causes and to assist them in doing so. It is the only international organization tasked exclusively to work on the issue of missing persons.

In Libya, a significant challenge persists in accounting for missing persons. Between 10,000 and 20,000 persons are estimated to be missing because of conflict, instability, and human rights violations, whereas an unknown number of persons have gone missing while crossing or leaving Libya on migratory routes. This issue encompasses a broad timeframe, spanning from individuals missing during Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year rule, including conflicts like the 1977 war with Egypt, the 1979 war with Uganda, and wars with Chad in the 1980s, to those missing as a result of the internal conflict 2011 which resulted in Gaddaffi’s death, and the so-called “Second Libyan Civil War,” which began in 2014. More recent events, such as the discovery of victims in mass and clandestine graves in 2020 and the plight of migrants traveling through Libya, further compound this complex problem. The catastrophic flooding in Derna in September 2023, which left more than 4,345 dead and 8,500 missing according to the latest estimates, has significantly augmented the number of missing Libyans.

Libya’s initial Commission dealing with missing persons was established following the 2011 conflict. In 2012, the Ministry for the Affairs of the Families of Martyrs and the Missing (MAFMM) was created to address this issue. ICMP initiated a program in late 2012, working with Libya to develop institutional, legislative, and technical capacity for impartially accounting for missing persons, following the rule of law. This program continued until 2014, when security concerns necessitated its conclusion.

In late 2020, ICMP was asked to assess Libya’s missing persons process, including its institutional, legal and technical capacities to address the issue of disappeared and other missing persons. Completed in January 2021, the assessment showed that, despite commendable efforts undertaken by various institutions, current legal, institutional, and technical provisions to account for missing persons are inadequate. The assessment also highlighted the need for immediate action to pave the way towards a process of effective investigations of missing persons cases and eventual accountability as well as to provide answers to families of the missing. In 2021 and 2022, ICMP received grant funding to launch projects with activities inside and outside of Libya that support Libyan authorities to establish an effective and sustainable missing persons process based on the rule of law.

Background of the Consultancy

ICMP seeks an evaluator (national or international) to undertake a remote final evaluation of its project, ‘Assisting Libya in Establishing an Inclusive and Rule-of-Law based Process to Account for Missing Persons.’ The project, covering an implementation period from September 2021 to October 2024, aimed to present an integrated action to assist Libyan authorities and others in locating and identifying missing persons using advanced forensic techniques, building a foundation for rule-of-law institutions that successfully and impartially investigate missing persons cases to international standards, and enabling families of the missing and other civil society actors to engage in a sustainable and rule-of-law-based missing persons process.

The consultancy is requested:

• To assess the project’s achievements (or lack thereof) while evaluating for relevance, coherence, efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability;
• To allow ICMP to act upon any weaknesses and reflect on lessons learned for implementing future projects; and,
• To provide meaningful evidence that will highlight how and in what ways ICMP can maximize its contributions given Libya’s current and expected contexts.

Please download the full ToR HERE.

Requirements

• Evaluation specialist with a minimum of seven (7) years’ experience in program/project evaluation in an international development context;
• Written and verbal fluency in English language;
• Experience in results-based monitoring and evaluation;
• Ability to design and plan evaluation approaches and research methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative research methods;
• Ability to manage a complex evaluation and research process in a conflict-prone setting;
• Ability to design, manage and implement primary research in challenging, unstable, environments, including previous experience in Libya / Middle East;
• Experience in conducting trauma-informed data collection;
• Ability to use relevant data analysis software;
• Relevant subject matter knowledge and experience in evaluating development programs concerning human rights and rule of law, to ensure the evaluation design and research methods are as relevant and meaningful as possible.
• Excellent analytical, facilitation and communications skills; ability to negotiate with a wide range of stakeholders and demonstrate cultural sensitivity;
• Ability to convey complex and sensitive issues in a balanced and constructive manner;
• Strong writing skills and experience in drafting concise evaluation reports with actionable recommendations;
• Ability to substantively support the dissemination of the evaluation results;
• Ability to meet strict/tight deadlines;
• Availability during Central European Time (CET) hours.

Start date: 01 August 2024