The American Bar Association (ABA) Center for Human Rights is the ABA’s focal entity for critical human rights concerns in the United States and around the world. The ABA Center for Human Rights (the Center) works to promote and protect human rights worldwide by mobilizing lawyers to defend threatened advocates, protect vulnerable communities, and hold governments accountable under law.
The ABA CHR Justice Defenders Program is seeking a paid, remote, part-time consultant based in Ecuador or the U.S. with expertise in international labor rights norms, union-side labor law, and/or the regulation and practice of industry-level unions in Ecuador. The Program will also accept applications for pro bono work.
- Background
The Justice Defenders Program coordinates pro bono legal assistance to human rights advocates working in difficult environments and vulnerable circumstances. The Justice Defenders Program’s global reach enables it to help human rights defenders in virtually any country.
The Justice Defenders Program has recently launched its Labor Rights Initiative, which coordinates assistance to labor rights defenders and aims to advance labor rights and improve working conditions. The Labor Rights Initiative has been supporting an industry-level union and the regulation of such unions in Ecuador. The consultancy would support the efforts of this union to engage in collective bargaining practices as well as support the efforts of additional industry-level unions to advocate for regulations for industry level unions and their engagement in collective bargaining.
The consultant must be fluent in English and have familiarity with law, though a law degree is not a requirement.
- Responsibilities:
- Research and provide legal analysis of relevant Ecuadorian laws and practices related to labor law, particularly union-side labor law
- Draft and review reports and submissions to the ILO supervisory system and any other applicable international monitoring mechanisms
- Advise on litigation strategies (based on international norms and practices) in local courts
- Arrange and participate in meetings with key stakeholders in the regional and international labor rights system
- Undertake outreach and advocacy activities targeting relevant regional and international actors
- Perform other tasks as necessary and as agreed upon between the contractor and the ABA
How to apply
- How to Apply:
- Please send the following documents in a single PDF to chr.opportunities@americanbar.org and copy April Artrip at april.artrip@americanbar.org
- Statement of interest detailing your experience on international labor rights norms and Ecuadorian labor law. Maximum 1 page.
- Resume or CV
- Hourly and/or daily rate
- Level of proficiency in Spanish
- Application deadline: January 31, 2023. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.