Natural Justice says, No to Xenophobia

                            

                      

In the aftermath of the 2008 xenophobic violence in South Africa; 62 deaths and 670 injuries were reported. Additionally, between 80 000 and 200 000 foreign nationals where left displaced. Seven years on, an iteration of the 2008 xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals erupted in the KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa. The ensuing violence resulted in clashes between mostly African foreign nationals and South African locals in Durban leaving 6 people dead, livelihoods were lost and many more people injured and displaced, with the violence spreading to Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg and other parts of South Africa.

We at Natural Justice are saddened by the recent attacks on foreign nationals. We strongly condemn these attacks. We support the anti-xenophobia initiatives taken by the South African civil society and government. We believe ‘South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity’. (Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996) 

Call for Applications: The Natural Justice Environmental Law Fellowship Program; India office (deadline extended to 5th May 2015)

Natural Justice: lawyers for communities and the environment; India office is inviting applications for The Natural Justice Environmental Law Fellowship Program. The Fellowship Program is designed for committed young lawyers and individuals from other backgrounds to get a chance to engage in the fascinating space of environmental law and communities. The Fellowship offers an exciting opportunity to lawyers and others who are passionate about learning to use domestic and international environmental law to secure the rights of communities to their lands and resources. The Fellows will be exposed to a range of creative ways of using environmental law, including community-based legal empowerment; research, reflection and writing around critical issues; legal opinions and submissions; and environmental law education.

The deadline for applications has been extended to 5th May 2015. The numbers of vacancies are 4 positions; the Fellowship duration is one year starting from July 2015. Please email your application to Alphonsa Jojan (alphonsa(at)naturaljustice.org.za) and Revati Pandya (revati(at)naturaljustice.org.za) with ‘Natural Justice Environmental Law Fellowship’ in the subject line. The selection process will be in two stages. At the first stage applicants are required to submit their application, consisting of a letter of interest, a resume with two referees and a writing sample. A Natural Justice panel will interview shortlisted applicants at the second stage before a final decision is made. There will be two rounds of interviews in the second stage. Natural Justice Fellowship Program 2015

A guide to Public Interest Litigation in Kenya Official Launch

The new Constitution of Kenya ratified in 2010 significantly expanded the role public interest litigation may play within the country, not only with its automatic inclusion of international law and recognition of socio-economic rights, but also with its expansion of who may file a claim as well as the ability to include compensation among desired reliefs. In this backdrop, Kenyans for Peace with Truth & Justice, the Africa Center for Open Governance and the Katiba Institute developed A guide to Public Interest Litigation in Kenya to equip public interest litigators with the knowledge and tools to be able to take advantage of these promising new developments. Natural Justice International Legal Fellow Jennifer Ingram attended the official launch of the new handbook on March 27, 2015 in Nairobi, which included among its speakers Head of the Constitution Advisory Support Unit of the United Nations Development Programme in Nepal Professor Yash Pal Ghai, Executive Director of the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists George Kegoro and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association Maina Kiai.

A guide to Public Interest Litigation in Kenya

To download A guide to Public Interest Litigation in Kenya, visit http://kptj.africog.org/a-guide-to-public-interest-litigation-in-kenya/.

Natural Justice Kenya Trains Local Zanzibar NGO on Community Protocols

Community members plan a storyboard.

Photo: Mwambao Network

The community protocols (CP) process is a potentially powerful tool for communities facing threats to their cultural identity, livelihoods and resources. Vulnerable to these threats, some coastal communities in Zanzibar may be able to use the process to build their capacity, thereby enhancing their ability to deal with issues as they arise.

The Mwambao Coastal Community Network (Mwambao), a Tanzanian network formed to promote sustainable community-based management of coastal resources, invited Natural Justice Kenya to its headquarters in Zanzibar to discuss how the CP process might be used by the communities it serves.

Natural Justice Lawyer Gino Cocchiaro, accompanied by International Legal Fellow Jennifer Ingram, conducted a training for the Mwambao team on March 30-31, 2015 in Zanzibar. Explaining the CP process, activities and discussions focused on whether CPs are a viable option for empowering the communities Mwambao serves.

The training was part of the consultancy work Natural Justice offers those seeking to learn from its experiences in community legal empowerment for social and environmental justice. For more information on Natural Justice Kenya's work, contact gino(at)naturaljustice.org.