Request for Proposals: Impact of State of Emergency Measures on Human Rights Defenders

In response to the global pandemic COVID-19, democratic and non-democratic countries have imposed the state of emergency in de facto and declared forms. By invoking the state of emergency, states have enacted legislative and administrative measures that restrict the enjoyment of human rights and curtail civic freedoms of human rights defenders. Although the state of emergency is temporary by its mere nature and enables countries to respond to unexpected situations, states have shown a tendency to continue operating under states of emergency’s restrictive measures in the past.

In response to increasing concerns regarding the impact of COVID-19 state of emergency measures on human rights defenders, the American Bar Association Center for Human Rights (Center) will publish a report on COVID-19 state of emergency restrictive measures and their impact on the work of human rights defenders (including but not limited to activists, journalists, lawyers, judges, pro-democracy advocates, and union leaders), and the protection of civic space. The report will be consisted of five chapters, addressing the impact and exploring effective responses, including strategic litigation, to these restrictive measures.

The Center is seeking a contractor to draft a chapter in the aforementioned report. The chapter will focus on the impact of de facto and declared state of emergency measures imposed in relation to COVID-19 pandemic on the work of human rights defenders (including but not limited to activists, journalists, lawyers, judges, pro-democracy advocates, and union leaders). The contractor will implement desk research to document how these restrictive measures have adversely impacted human rights defenders around the world. The chapter will examine the typology of declared and de facto state of emergency measures at the local and national levels and how they curtail the legitimate work of human rights defenders specifically.

The contractor will preferably hold a legal education (J.D., LLM, or Master’s in International Law), have a proven record of analytical research, and be proficient in English. The consultancy is expected to start in January 2021 and end in March 2021. The level of effort is estimated at 15 working days. Interested candidates are asked to submit a proposal detailing methodology, cost analysis, and resume to lana.baydas@americanbar.org by Monday, December 14 at 5:00pm EST. Please copy sonali.dhawan@americanbar.org.