Josephine Chiname

Josephine is social justice and movement lawyer who is passionate about business and human rights, climate justice, environmental child rights, and sustainable and equitable natural resource governance. She specialises in research, advocacy, stakeholder engagement, strategy and programme design, and process facilitation in these critical areas.

Previously, Josephine served as the Program Lead for Responsible Investments and Business for the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA), where she spearheaded initiatives to foster a more inclusive, just, accountable, and equitable business environment in Zimbabwe and within Africa’s natural resource sector.

For years, Josephine has been involved in corporate accountability initiatives including but not limited to capacity strengthening of mining-affected communities; working with communities to access remedy using judicial and non-judicial mechanisms; engagements and partnerships with national human rights institutions; conducting evidence-based research on the human rights conduct of businesses operating in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa's mining sector; and participating in regional and international processes on business and human rights. 

As part of her work, Josephine has also contributed to the growth of a movement of young people who are conscious of critical corporate accountability within Zimbabwe’s natural resources sector and environmental and climate justice by establishing the ZELA Youth Network. The network has been involved in youth-led campaigns such as #MyPlanetMyRights campaign and ‘Youth Initiative for Corporate Accountability’ (YICA campaign).

Josephine holds a Bachelor of Laws Honours Degree and an LLM in Land and Natural Resources from the University of Zimbabwe, as well as an MSc in Inequalities and Social Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science.