Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA)

Deadline: 9 May 2021 (COB)

Background

Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) is a public interest environmental law organization that exists to promote environmental justice in Southern Africa through sustainable and equitable utilization of natural resources and environmental protection. Through the organization’s Responsible Business and Investment thematic programme area, ZELA has been advocating for corporate accountability on human rights within the natural resources sector. Over the years, ZELA has been advocating for companies operating within Zimbabwe’s natural resource sector, to carry out human rights due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their negative human rights and environmental impacts as an important aspect of corporate responsibility to respect and avoid infringing on human rights of affected communities. ZELA is a proponent of community participation in human rights due diligence initiatives as the organisation believes that it is crucial for those most affected by corporate activities to be involved in the identification, prevention, mitigation, and remediation of negative human rights impacts of corporate operations.

It is against this background that ZELA is seeking a consultant to develop a model policy paper on community engagement on human rights due diligence, to inform corporate due diligence processes in mining and renewable energy value chains.

Main objective of the assignment

The objective of the assignment is develop a model policy paper that provides practical and relevant guidance to corporations along the mining and renewable energy value chains on community engagement on human rights due diligence initiatives to prevent, mitigate and/or address negative impacts of corporate activities on impacted communities. The model policy paper is thus intended to provide guidance on human rights due diligence and applicability in Zimbabwe with regards to community engagement.

Specific terms of reference

The consultant will be expected to: Carry out a desk review of existing literature on human rights due diligence and community engagement; Undertake a desk review of the duties and obligations of companies along the mining and renewable energy value chains from national, regional and international perspectives on human rights due diligence; Map out the issues and identify the priorities for community engagement in business and human rights due diligence along the mining and renewable energy value chains; Proffer recommendations on avenues to promote community engagement in business and human rights due diligence along the mining and renewable energy value chains; Provide case studies on the subject based on communities’ lived realities; Develop a ready to publish model policy paper on community engagement in business and human rights due diligence along the mining and renewable energy value chains.

Key deliverables

Working closely with the ZELA focal persons, the following deliverables are expected: Submit an Approach paper or Inception report for review by ZELA; Produce a final, reviewed, and edited model policy paper.

Timeline

The assignment will be conducted from the 14th May to the 7th July 2021.

Applicant requirements / Relevant qualifications

The ideal candidate should: Be a holder of bachelor’s or a Masters’ degree in law, human rights or a related field; Show proven ability to clearly and concisely express ideas and concepts in written form; Demonstrate familiarity with concepts such as business and human rights, human rights due diligence and community engagement; Demonstrate ability to research, analyse and synthesise information; Have experience in developing model policy papers on human rights.

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