National Researcher on access of victims of war to Law 20 Reparation Scheme

In 2024, The government of Iraq announced its decision on closure of IDP camps in KRI and return of Yazidi community to Sinjar by July 2024. In parallel, the repatriation of Iraqis from NE Syria to communities in Ninewa, Salahaldin and Anbar Governorates continue to take place. Effective access to reparations provided for by the Law 20 of Compensation to Victims of Military Operations, Terrorist Operations, and Military Mistakes (Law 20), is a potent mechanism in alleviating grievances of affected communities and support process of rehabilitation and healing and rebuilding social cohesion and trust between communities and institutions.

As of 2024, victims of military operations, mistakes, and terrorism face numerous obstacles in accessing Law 20 reparation scheme.  Numerous victims of crimes committed by ISIS, and those who endured suffering in the context of liberating operations in affected areas remain to date without access to compensation schemes,  despite the fact that Government of Iraq has a robust reparations scheme for various types of human and property losses, pursuant to the Law 20, including killed  missing persons, injuries and property losses. 

Iraq’s compensation scheme for victims of military operations, terrorist operations, and military mistakes through Law 20 is marred with significant barriers accessing the law benefits, such as heavy burden of proof on victims and documents required,  long process and lack of visibility and transparency of the process, and – in case of compensation for property damage – delay in payments.

Through the scope of this consultancy, IOM aims to improve knowledge of the status of beneficiaries’ access to compensation scheme, needs, and  key barriers to access to Law 20 compensation schemes amongst victims from Ninewah, Sinjar, Anbar, and Salah Al Din.  The aim of the research is to inform IOM, the government and stakeholders on those barriers and provide recommendations both for facilitating access to compensations scheme and ensuring a  sustainable and stable returning process.

Under the general guidance of the Head of the Peacebuilding and Stabilization Division, and the direct supervision of the Reparations Officer, and in close technical coordination and guidance of the Head of the PSD Tribal engagement and Legal Teams, incumbent will perform following tasks:

Core Functions / Responsibilities

1. The consultant will conduct desk research on implementation of the Law of Compensation for victims of military operations, terrorism, and military mistakes No 20 of 2009 in different areas of return (Law 20), reports of international and national organizations and relevant IOM strategies, assessments, and related projects on access to law 20 compensation scheme. the consultant may add a research questions for further elaboration if deemed necessary. [2 weeks upon signing the contract]

2. Following desk research, the consultant will produce a methodology for the research on challenges and gaps in accessing Law 20 scheme for beneficiaries in Ninewa/Salahaldin/Anbar, and plan of field research that covers key informant interviews, FDGs and surveys in KRI and federal Iraq. These informants will include representatives of key institutions relevant for implementation of the Law 20, and relevant CSOs and UN actors. Methodology and research plan will be presented to the legal, transitional justice and tribal engagement team of IOM Iraq to ensure there is common understanding of objectives, tools, available data sources, data collection methods, and structure of the final report. [3 weeks upon signing the contract]

3. Following endorsement of the research plan, the consultant will organize, with logistical support of IOM team, and perform field research in relevant locations of assessments. The consultant will lead a team of researchers and enumerators for the field research. [5 weeks upon signing of the contract]

4. Upon completion of the research, the consultant will organize a debriefing with the Transitional Justice, Legal Team and Tribal Engagement team to discuss and present findings, conclusions, and recommendations. [6 weeks upon signature of the contract]

5. The consultant will prepare a draft assessment report based providing analytical overview of the key challenges in implementation of the Law 20 specifically in Ninewa/Salahaldin/Anbar. [9 weeks upon signature of the contract]

6. The consultant will incorporate and integrate constructive feedback provided by the TJ, TE, and legal teams who reviewed the report attended the debriefing and submit a final version to IOM and present the final report to IOM teams. [10 weeks upon signature of the contract]

7. The consultant will provide technical support in preparation of the workshop to present the findings and recommendations of the report to government stakeholders and other actors. [12 week upon signature of the contract ]

8. The consultant will provide other related forms of technical assistance in line with this ToR.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications via this link:

https://iraqdatacenter.iom.int/Vacancy/Apply/EOI2024IRQ097

In order for an application to be considered valid, IOM only accepts online profiles duly completed. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.