Professor Presents at the Geneva Toxic Free Talks at the United Nations
Professor Sarah Dávila presents at the Geneva Toxics Free Talks at the United Nations
Professor Sarah Dávila A. presented at the Geneva Toxic Free Talks hosted by the Geneva Environment Network, EarthJustice, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights on September 17, 2025. Professor Dávila, also director of the International Human Rights Clinic, shared the clinic’s support of the mandate on Toxics and Human Rights and for the support of the mandate regarding the Situation on Tsumeb, Namibia. She also shared how this multi-year collaboration with the mandate led to learning opportunities for student clinicians.
Around two years ago, Professor Dávila and United Nations Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights, Dr. Marcos Orellana, spoke about this collaboration in regards to allegations of human rights abuses received by the Mandate. The International Human Rights Clinic’s primary purpose for this project was to establish the credibility of the allegations and to support this Situation (in Tsumeb, Namibia) to move forward and the eventual Communications sent by Special Rapporteur Orellana to Namibia, China, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, Canada, and corporations Sinomine, Dundee Precious Metals, Dundee Precious Metals Tsumeb, Pty, and Weatherly International Plc.
As part of this work, the clinic conducted fact-finding, including documentary evidence gathering, collecting testimonies from directly impacted persons during a fieldwork mission in Namibia, meeting with extractive industry experts, working with environmental and public health experts, and engaging with members of the civil society in Namibia. This work was performed on a multidisciplinary basis with the legal, medical, and public health fields informing the work.
As an expert in the environmental human rights field, Professor Dávila, was able to bring her expertise in international human rights law and continues to engage with serious environmental issues. Professor Dávila continues this important work by connecting her scholarship in environmental human rights and her experience as a practitioner in the field.