ABA Center for Global Programs Launches a Project to Support the Protection of Environmental Defenders in East Africa

The ABA Center for Global Programs through its Rule of Law Initiative (ROLI) and Center for Human Rights (CHR) officially launched it’s a new regional program, Enhancing Protection of Environmental Defenders in Africa, on March 15-17, 2023, in Kampala, Uganda. The project’s official launch included a training and strategy meeting. The meeting was attended by all five of the consortium project partners from across the program’s three target countries: Uganda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

During the training, partners were educated and equipped with skills on financial reporting and management under the grant, monitoring and evaluation best practices, and utilization of regional advocacy mechanisms. The meeting provided a platform for ABA ROLI to share and disseminate the findings from the baseline studies conducted on the environment and situation of environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) in each of the respective project countries. These studies helped to lay the foundation of the project and guide future project interventions by the partners over the life of the program.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Ravy Uong, Program Manager for ABA ROLI’s Africa Division, noted that the project is among the ABA’s flagship programs and is being implemented in a consortium arrangement alongside its official partners: Alerte Congolaise pour l’Environnement et les Droits de l’Homme (ACEDH – DRC, Congolese Alert for the Environment and Human Rights), Advocates for Natural Resources & Development (ANARDE – Uganda), DefendDefenders (DD – Uganda), National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders Uganda (NCHRDU – Uganda), and Lawyers’ Environmental Action Team (LEAT – Tanzania).

The program aims to improve the ability of EHRDs and local communities to safely advocate for greater environmental protection at both the national and regional levels in their respective countries. ABA ROLI and CHR will work with partners to achieve this through capacity building exercises with lawyers on strategic litigation and environmental protection and with EHRDs on safe and effective environmental advocacy, awareness-building and community engagement activities, and improving environmental protection through collective action and support to local partners and burgeoning defender networks.

At the end of the three-day meeting, action points were generated which included the adoption of the constructive engagement approach with various stakeholders when executing project activities by the partners, holding a practical workshop on ABA ROLI’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning system, and expanding partners’ ability for environmental protection and advocacy. Additionally, strong consideration was given to providing efficient psychosocial support to EHRDs, and identifying issues that may form the basis for filing joint strategic litigation cases on shared environmental issues among partners and program countries.