Call for volunteers – Right to a Remedy in the Context of Nuclear Testing
Deadline: 18 May 2026
Oxford Pro Bono Publico (OPBP) invites applications from 8–10 research volunteers to participate in a legal research project for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) titled “The Right to a Remedy in the Context of Nuclear Legacy”.
The Human Rights Council has mandated OHCHR to prepare a report on justice and accountability in relation to the nuclear testing legacy in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted 67 known nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands, resulting in historical and ongoing human rights and environmental impacts. OHCHR’s 2024 report examined the role of truth-telling and truth-seeking in addressing the nuclear legacy. This forthcoming report will focus on international legal obligations relating to the right to a remedy and accountability.
The research will assist OHCHR by examining legal obligations arising under international human rights law, environmental law, international criminal law, the law of the sea, and the law of state responsibility. Researchers will consider obligations relating to nuclear testing, including its immediate and intergenerational impacts on human rights and the environment.
Researchers will be assigned to one or more of the following legal frameworks and should indicate in their application any relevant preferences or experience:
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
- Rome Statute
- United Nations Charter
- International Court of Justice
- International Criminal Court
- International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
- International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
Eligibility criteria:
- Knowledge of public international law, international human rights law, international environmental law, transitional justice, or the law of state responsibility (essential)
- Familiarity with international courts and tribunals, including international criminal tribunals (essential, where relevant)
- Familiarity with the right to an effective remedy, accountability, reparations, or the legal consequences of environmental harm (highly desirable)
- A strong interest in human rights, environmental justice, and the long-term consequences of nuclear testing (desirable)
The research entails an estimated total commitment of approximately 72 hours, to be divided among the research team. The precise deadline and format of the final submission will be determined in consultation with the project partner.
To apply, please email opbp@law.ox.ac.uk and cc zaid.deva@sant.ox.ac.uk and taqbir.huda@queens.ox.ac.uk. Your email should:
1. Attach your CV, maximum 2 pages; and
2. In the body of the email, highlight any specific knowledge, experience, or preferences you have in relation to the above legal frameworks or research questions, maximum 350 words.
Applications will close on Monday 18 May 2026 by 11:59 pm (UK time).
Do get in touch with us if you have any further queries regarding the project.