HRD Talks – Human Rights and the Environment Under Attack in Brazil

Speaker: Renato Paulino Lanfranchi

Renato, social activist and human rights defender, discusses a community’s human rights struggle against transnational mining impacts in Eastern Amazon, in the context of President Jair Bolsonaro’s human rights policies and the Covid-19 pandemic. Human rights and environmental policies are suffering severe setbacks during Bolsonaro’s government and run far from UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, even in the face of strong criticism by civil society organisations, international pressures and bad reputation. Renato focuses on human rights violations and negative social and environmental impacts of mining industries, particularly the multinational company Vale S.A., along the Corridor traced by the Carajás Railroad. He highlights the strategies used by local communities to protect themselves, defend their rights and the environment and win reparation against mining and agribusiness operations.