On November 22, 2025, Catherine Machado (JD 2027) and Jackson Stouder (JD 2027), both students at the International Human Rights Center, submitted a joint parallel report on Zambia's compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. The report was prepared in conjunction with the Zambia-based Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection.
Using the February 2025 Sino Metals mine disaster as an exemplar case, which contaminated Zambia's critical Kafue River ecosystem, the report first details the state of Zambia's mining industry and the regulatory apparatus tasked with overseeing the industry's activities. The report then examines Zambia's compliance with the Covenant's guarantees of the right to health (Article 11), the right to a clean environment (Article 12), and the right to science (Article 15) under the principle of progressive realization of rights recognized in Article 2. The report converges on a central theme that the inconsistent application of existing regulations, combined with a lack of government transparency, created an environment in which these rights were violated by omission. The report recommends that the State disclose to the Committee what preventative measures (if any) it took to prevent this disaster from occurring, and to improve its communication of accurate scientific information to the public in case of future disasters. You can read the report here.