Megan Donald

Dr Megan Donald is an Associate Research Fellow at the Geneva Academy and a consultant for the German Institute for Human Rights and a part-time lecturer in environmental law at Stellenbosch University.

Her areas of expertise include economic, social and cultural rights, the relationship between human rights and the environment, environmental law, and the interpretation of human rights.

Megan’s work for the German Institute for Human Rights involves providing research and support for the Drafting Group of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for the development of a general comment on sustainable development and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In 2021 she also completed a project for the institute on the human rights impacts of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.

In March 2021 Megan received her LLD from Stellenbosch University. Her doctoral studies were undertaken at the HF Oppenheimer Chair in Human Rights Law and explored the integration of environmental considerations within States Parties’ obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Prior to the completion of her LLD, Megan worked at a specialist environmental law firm in Cape Town for 3 years. She was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa in 2017.

Megan also holds an LLM degree from Stellenbosch University. Her masters’ dissertation examines the interpretation of environmental rights in section 24 of the South African Constitution.