Addis Ababa
Lawyers for Human Rights
Background Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR)’ is an Ethiopian civil society organization re-registered on September 19, 2019 before the FDRE Civil Societies Organizations Agency in accordance with Proclamation No. 1113/2019. The objectives of the organization is to promote and advocate human rights among others through increasing the participation and contribution of lawyers in the area of human rights via trainings and other capacity building activities and  supporting and helping lawyers across the nation to exchange ideas, information and experience for better protection of human rights and prevalence of human rights; litigating before courts and other relevant organs to ensure protection and promotion of human rights recognized under the FDRE Constitution and other laws; creating awareness  for justice organs about international human rights instruments ratified by Ethiopia; providing free or low cost legal services for victims of human rights violation particularly disadvantaged communities; lobbing the government to enact new laws or amend existing ones to give full protection for human rights; and familiarizing the idea of human rights defenders (HRD) among the lawyers.  To achieve its objectives LHR has implementing varying projects by undertaking law and policy monitoring, conducting research and advocating based on the findings of researches. Currently LHR plans to hire a consultant that will conduct research on the implications of the recognition of a right to safe, clean, health and sustainable environment as human rights under the recently adopted UNHCR Resolution. The right to healthy environment has been recognized at international level for the first time by the 1972 Stockholm Declaration.  This has paved the way for the recognition of such right at national and regional levels. The right to healthy environment is included in regional human rights treaties and environmental treaties binding more than 120 states. Besides, it enjoys constitutional protection in more than 100 states and also incorporated into the environmental legislation of more than 100 states. However, right to a health environment is not yet recognize in a legally binding international instrument because of the reluctance of states to recognize it in a binding instruments. Human rights and environmental protection are interrelated, interconnected, and mutually responsive as both of them intended to the well-being of humanity. Clean, healthy and safe environment is the pre-condition for the enjoyment of fundamental human rights. The right to clean, healthy and safe environment is intractably related to the right to life, rights to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, to an adequate standard of living, to adequate food, to housing, to safe drinking water and sanitation. The right to seek; receive; and impart information, to participate effectively in the conduct of the government and public affairs and in environmental decision-making and to an effective remedy, is vital to the protection of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Despite this human rights law and environmental law were treated as a separate body of law. International human rights instruments do not also explicitly recognize per se the right to clean and healthy environment as a human right. Rather such right has been inferred impliedly from other rights. On October8, 2021, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a Resolution 48/13 that recognize the right to clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a human right by a vote of 43 in favor, none against and 4 abstentions. The adoption of the resolution solidifies the idea that the right to a healthy environment should be universally protected. Despite the recognition of this right by UN human rights institution through its resolution is a good move; the content of the human right to safe, clean and healthy environment, the implications of the recognition of such right as human rights, right holders and duty bearers of such right are an area which is under researched. Besides, even if Ethiopia recognize environmental rights in its constitution and environmental policy, and all subsequent legislation, the kind of approach Ethiopian environmental authorities follows to protect the environment is not also researched i.e. whether it is human rights approach. Accordingly, LHR is looking for a consultant who would conduct a research on implication of the right to safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment as human rights. Objectives The principal objective of the research is to examine the importance of the recognition of the right to safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment as human rights. In doing so the research should address at least the following issues:International, Regional and National Environmental instrument on the right to safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment International and regional human rights instruments on the right to healthy environment The relationship between human rights and environmentThe recognition of a human right to clean and health environment by UNHRCThe implications of the recognition of the right to safe, clean, healthy and sustainable  environment as human right by UNHRCThe right holders, content and duty bearer of the right to safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environmentThe place of the right to clean and health environment under the Ethiopian Laws and policesInstitutions working on the protection of the right to clean and healthy environmentThe importance of  human right approach to the protection of environment in Ethiopia The role of civil societies in the protection and monitoring  of the human right to safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment Methodology While the researcher is expected to design appropriate research methods, the following could be mentioned as guides:Quantitative and qualitative analysis of data and legislationsSurveysFocus group interviewsSecondary data analysisResponsibilities of the expert Conduct the research on the implications of the recognition of a right to safe, clean, health and sustainable environment as human rights under the recently adopted UNHCR Resolution;Design appropriate methodology for addressing research objectives; Produce a publishable quality research reports within one months from the date of award;Present the finding of the research work in a workshop to be organized by LHR;Undertake the assignment with due ethical considerations Responsibilities of LHR provide guidance and technical assistance to the expert; provide timely feedback on the work of expert;oversee the work of the expert; process payment in a timely manner Reporting The expert is required to submit a progress report every two weeks in writing. The report shall be between 30-40 pages excluding annexes. It shall be written in Times New Romans with 12 font sizes, 1.5 spacing and footnote citation.