National/International Legal Consultant – MIDAS Legal Assessment

The consultant will conduct a comprehensive legal assessment of the legislative, regulatory, policy, and institutional framework governing border and migration management, personal data protection and privacy, biometric data processing, information management and information-sharing arrangements, and interoperability between government information systems in Lesotho to determine the legal basis for the deployment and operation of MIDAS.

Responsibilities

• Conduct a detailed review of relevant constitutional, legislative, regulatory, and policy instruments governing border management, migration management, identity management, data protection, privacy, information management, cybersecurity, and related areas.
• Assess the adequacy of the legal basis for the collection, processing, storage, retention, sharing, protection and lawful use of border management data by competent authorities.
• Examine the legal mandates and powers of competent authorities involved in border management, migration governance, identity management, law enforcement, and national security.
• Undertake consultations with relevant governmental and non-governmental stakeholders involved in border management, migration governance, identity management, data protection, information and communications technology, law enforcement and national security.
• Assess institutional coordination and oversight mechanisms, identify challenges, gaps, and priority needs, and validate preliminary findings and recommendations.
• Examine the mandates, functions and responsibilities of institutions involved in the collection, management, sharing, protection and oversight of border management data.
• Analyze institutional roles and responsibilities; coordination and accountability mechanisms; data governance and oversight arrangements; safeguards governing access to, use, disclosure and sharing of border management data; institutional capacities and challenges affecting effective data governance.
• Assess the legal, regulatory and institutional arrangements governing the exchange of border management data within and between competent national authorities and with external partners.
• Pay particular attention to inter-agency information sharing mechanisms; interoperability between border management, identity management, civil registration and law enforcement systems; legal safeguards governing data exchange; cross-border sharing of personal and biometric data; applicable requirements, limitations and safeguards relating to international data transfers.
• Assess the adequacy of existing legal and institutional safeguards relating to the protection of personal and biometric data processed for border management purposes.
• Consider lawfulness of processing; data protection principles; processing of sensitive personal information and biometric data; purpose limitation and data minimization requirements; rights of data subjects; retention and disposal requirements; security and confidentiality safeguards; oversight and accountability mechanisms; remedies and redress mechanisms.
• Assess the alignment of the national framework with applicable regional, continental and international obligations, standards and good practices, including ICAO standards and recommended practices, African Union legal instruments, SADC Model Law on Data Protection, relevant SADC protocols, international human rights instruments, refugee and migration-related conventions ratified by Lesotho, and internationally recognized principles and standards relating to privacy, data protection and biometric data processing.
• Identify legal, regulatory, institutional and operational gaps affecting effective border management data governance and provide recommendations to strengthen the national framework.
• Develop recommendations including legislative and regulatory reforms; institutional strengthening measures; governance and accountability mechanisms; information-sharing and interoperability arrangements; data protection and privacy safeguards; standard operating procedures and cooperation frameworks; priority implementation actions.
• Prepare an inception report, draft legal assessment report, conduct validation workshop, finalize legal assessment report, and develop an action plan and recommendations matrix with a roadmap for implementation.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in: Law, International Law, Public Law, Human Rights Law, Information Technology Law, Data Protection Law, Related field
• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in legal and regulatory analysis.
• Experience conducting legal assessments for government institutions.
• Demonstrated knowledge of migration governance and border management.
• Experience in data protection, privacy, cybersecurity or ICT regulation.
• Experience working with international organizations or development agencies.
• Experience in Southern Africa or SADC region is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of biometric identification systems, border management information systems, or digital identity systems is an advantage.
• Strong legal drafting skills, analytical ability, policy analysis expertise, research skills, knowledge of data protection principles, knowledge of migration governance frameworks.
• Professionalism, integrity, accountability, teamwork, effective communication, cultural sensitivity
• Proficiency in English, which will be evaluated during the selection process, including written and/or oral assessments.

Skills

• Legal Analysis
• Regulatory Analysis
• Legal Assessments
• Migration Governance
• Border Management
• Data Protection Laws
• Privacy Law
• Cybersecurity Regulation
• ICT Regulation
• Legal Drafting
• Policy Analysis
• Research Skills
• Data Protection Principles
• Biometric Identification Systems
• Border Management Information Systems
• Digital Identity Systems
• International Organization Experience
• English Language Proficiency

Languages

English