Assessment of the national context and existing cooperation mechanisms at bilateral and regional level, cross-border and interregional cooperation mechanisms, inter-regional cooperation, including mapping of local actors and non-state actors involved/to be involved in the SAR procedure.
- Context and justification
Due to its strategic position, the Republic of Djibouti is a major transit point for significant migratory flows in the Horn of Africa. The country faces a crucial problem of irregular migration with thousands of migrants transiting every year, driven by factors such as economic opportunities, climate shocks, and so on, the conflicts and violence. According to IOM2 DTM1 data, the number of movements of people passing through the eastern road has increased significantly in recent years, from 258,000 in 2020 to 441,000 in 20223, it is one of the most important maritime migration routes in the world. Between January and December 2023, 278,6364 migratory movements were observed at all 10 flow monitoring points in Djibouti.
During their journeys migrants are exposed to protection risks, very harsh climatic vagaries, dehydration which often lead to death. Between January and June 2023, 241 deceased migrants were registered5 in Djibouti, the main causes of which are dehydration, hunger, accidents along the roads.
Djibouti plays a central role in complex and bidirectional migratory movements known as « Route de l’Est ».
Most migrants transiting through Djibouti often attempt to cross the sea to the Gulf States. According to the DTM data of’OIM, in 2023, a total of 72,056 migrants from Ethiopia arrived in Yemen via Djibouti, an increase of 81% compared to 2022 where 39,843 had been registered. To reach Yemen, migrants resort to boats of fortunes often very overloaded with often risks of shipwrecks at sea.
Irregular migration along the coast is costing the lives of many of the migrants. Incidents such as the capsizing of a boat in April 2021, which killed 44 people, underscore the urgency of strengthening the search and rescue mechanism at sea.
In addition, IOM recorded in 2022 a total of 89 missing or dead migrants along the Eastern Road, and many more deaths are not reported, including, in 2023, 88 migrants were registered.
Djibouti has made progress in protection, search and rescue at sea as evidenced by the work carried out by elements of the National Coast Guard in Khor Angar through surveillance to locate the boats of fortunes that transport migrants, registration of vulnerable migrants rescued from or from Yemen but challenges remain. The Coast Guard lacks the response equipment to effectively patrol the Djiboutian coast, which hampers search and rescue operations for vulnerable migrants.
In order to’ support the Djiboutian Coast Guard in the search and rescue operation and on funding from Japanese government, the, ’oim Djibouti will implement a project to strengthen the capacity of the Djiboutian Coast Guard to conduct search and rescue operations at sea. The aim of this project is to improve the efficiency of Djiboutian coastguard search and rescue (SAR) operations for vulnerable migrants, in accordance with international laws and standards
One of the activities of this project is to conduct an assessment of the national search and rescue context including cooperation agreements between Djibouti and other’ countries.
In order to carry out this activity,’OIM seeks to recruit a national consultant who will carry out an assessment of the national context and existing cooperation mechanisms at the bilateral and regional levels ; mechanisms for cross-border and interregional cooperation, including mapping of local and non-state actors involved or to come in the search and rescue procedure.
- General objective
The main objective of this consultation is to carry out an evaluation on the national search and rescue context and existing cooperation mechanisms at bilateral and regional levels ; mechanisms for cross-border and interregional cooperation, including mapping of local and non-state actors involved or to come in the search and rescue procedure.
- Specific Objectives
Specifically, it is’ :
- Analyze the national context of rescue and rescue operations ;
- Identify the different existing cross-border and interregional cooperation mechanisms and analyse their relevance in the current Djiboutian context ;
- Develop a mapping of actors involved in rescue and rescue operations ;
- Propose a revision of the decree establishing and awarding coast guard.
- Methodological Approach to the Study
’evaluation will adopt a participatory and inclusive approach, with a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. It will involve all stakeholders including the Djiboutian Coast Guard, other state and non-state partners involved in search and rescue operations, etc. The consultant will propose a methodological approach that should include at least the following steps :
- Preparatory phase of the Consultancy including the framing meetings, the documentary reviews (in-depth review of the reports, existing agreements etc.), and, l’ development of data collection tools and validation of data collection tools by the’ project team,
- Data collection phase in the field, including the collection of primary information through structured or semi-structured individual interviews, groups, field observations with, partners, key informants, etc, and other key stakeholders. The use of structured questionnaires to collect quantitative data and the determination of’a sampling to ensure the representativeness of the data will be necessary.
- Information analysis and interpretation and reporting phase, This phase includes the analysis and interpretation of the documents collected during the data collection phase.
- Restitution and validation phase, during which, the consultant will have to present to the IOM and the Cote guard and other key players the conclusions of the evaluation study for assessment and validation. This will be done during a half-day mini workshop where the consultant will present the conclusions. The relevant remarks and comments from the workshop will be incorporated by the consultant to be submitted to the sponsors.
It should be noted that the end of each phase will be marked by a debriefing (a mini restitution) through a brief report to be submitted to the sponsor (the’OIM team) for validation. The evaluator must comply with IOM data protection principles, and ethical guidelines when conducting the evaluation.
- Deliverable from’study
The main deliverable will be a well-structured final report containing a thorough and relevant analysis of the national context of operations and existing cooperation mechanisms at cross-border and interregional level for relief and’assistance, and, a documentary review, specific recommendations and comments as well as’a mapping of actors involved in rescue and rescue operations and a proposal to update the decree specifying the responsibilities of the Cotes Guard in Djibouti.
The report will be presented in written form 2-3 weeks after the end of the’assessment study. This report will be validated by the’ project team and the’ team of the Garde Cotes.
- Technical and functional qualifications required for the’evaluator
The national consultant sought for this study must have the following qualifications :
- Have good experience in mixed methods of social science research (qualitative and quantitative approaches) and gender-sensitive participatory approaches ;
- Have a good knowledge and experience of topics related to search and rescue, human rights, migration etc.
- Have a good knowledge of the work of the Coast Guard
- Have a good knowledge of migratory context in the’Est and the Horn of’Africa,
- Have a proven experience of writing’studies reports in French. A good mastery of’anglais would be an asset ;
- Have experience in conducting assessments/studies
- Be open to change and able to receive/integrate feedback ;
- Have good teamwork and field skills ;
- Demonstrate integrity by complying with the values and ethical standards of the United Nations and’OIM ;
- Demonstrate a great sensitivity and faculty of’adaptation to culture, gender, religion, race, nationality and AGE.
How to apply
The final’assessment will begin on April 15, 2024 and end on May 30, 2024, for a total period of 45 days. Application files should be sent only to’address [email protected]
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
