Vanessa Jimenez

Background

About Vanessa Jimenez

VANESSA J. JIMÉNEZ has been working in the field of public international law and human rights for over 25 years. Currently Ms. Jiménez is an Advocacy Officer for the Economic Justice Program at Open Society Foundations. Prior to that, she was an independent legal and policy consultant to the United Nations Development Programme advising on the drafting and implementation of its Social and Environmental Standards and Screening Procedures. She) designed the recently approved grievance procedure for the High Carbon Stock Approach and served as a Senior Attorney with the UK-based Forest Peoples Programme focusing on the use of international law, litigation, and complaint mechanisms to address the violation of indigenous peoples’ human rights (particularly rights to lands, self-governance, and participation in the decisions that may affect them), and working on standards for business and human rights in supply chains and sustainable development. Ms. Jiménez also served as a Legal Consultant to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP on petroleum matters in South Sudan arising from her prior work as the Director of the South Sudan project with Public International Law & Policy Group serving as the senior legal advisor to the South Sudan government on its post-secession agreements with Sudan, its post-independence constitutional drafting and oil contract negotiations. Per her work with PILPG, FPP, the Indian Law Resource Center, American University, Skadden Arps, and Human Rights Watch, Ms. Jiménez has knowledge and experience in comparative constitutional practices; grievance mechanism development and use; negotiating, drafting and implementing peace agreements, post-conflict constitutions, and domestic and international human rights instruments; contracting in the oil sector (concessions and infrastructure); indigenous and minority rights; international investment and human rights litigation and arbitration; the exercise of self-determination; secession; wealth sharing and devolution of power; constitutionalism; transitional justice; the practices and obligations of international organizations and financial institutions; government transparency; multi-stakeholder participation; environmental law; federal litigation, business and human rights in supply chains, and social and environmental standards applicable to IFI projects and in the context of climate financing (i.e. ReDD, GCF, FCPF).