the lesotho project

context       our work

Communities have no legal protection
against the pollution of their environment

Over the last few years, Protimos has built a partnership with representatives from the affected communities, NGOs and members of the legal community which will form the bedrock of our project. We are assembling a legal team to work with these partners, to take forward a number of test cases. A successful test case will set a precedent for the appropriate treatment and compensation of project-affected communities, and so will have a direct impact upon the living conditions of thousands of others who are similarly affected.

Compensation and damages will be paid to those who are owed it, and could then be used to combat long-term, endemic poverty and hardship. Effective legal interventions will not only help those who have already felt the impact of the LHWP, but also those who will be affected in the future phases of the LHWP.

As part of the project, we will build community understanding of the use of the law as an effective tool, ensuring that people understand the legal issue(s) and its progress through the legal system in Lesotho, through focused workshops and the services of a full-time liaison officer. We will also train and mentor young Lesotho lawyers, enabling them to take on similar cases in the future.

The clearest measure of the success of the Lesotho Project will be the moment when Protimos can step back to a consultative role. It will leave able, experienced, regionally based lawyers with the capacity to mount successful legal challenges, at the request of communities who understand the uses to which the law can be put in the assertion of their legal rights.