Brazil Seminar: Who Protects the Amazon? Indigenous Rights, Global Supply Chains, and Corporate Accountability
Summary: Brazil's Amazon is central to global climate stability, yet its protection remains contested by powerful economic and political interests. Cattle ranching, a major driver of deforestation, is also associated with forced labor and violations of Indigenous peoples' rights. Drawing on my experience developing transnational litigation against multinational corporations, I will examine how Brazilian Indigenous communities, civil society organizations, and international legal actors have sought to hold companies accountable for harms connected to their supply chains. Focusing on the landmark litigation against the French supermarket group Casino, the talk will explore how evidence, international cooperation, and community leadership can create new pathways for corporate accountability and reparation. It will also consider the opportunities and limitations of emerging European legislation, and the broader question of how international legal strategies can reinforce domestic environmental protection, democratic accountability, and Indigenous sovereignty.
Speaker bio: Daniela Ikawa is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights, where she has taught since 2012, a Senior Legal Consultant at the FILE Foundation (U.K.), and Climate Litigation Expert at Climate Rights International (U.S.). Previously, she held senior legal positions at the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSF) and ESCR-Net, working on strategic litigation before domestic, regional, and international institutions. Her work focuses on climate justice, corporate accountability, Indigenous peoples' rights, substantive equality, and the role of affected communities in shaping legal strategies and remedies. She holds a PhD in Law from the University of São Paulo, an LL.M. from Columbia Law School, and a law degree from the University of Brasília. Her forthcoming book chapter examines transnational litigation to protect the Amazon and the role of Indigenous community leadership.
This event is co-sponsored by the Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies & the Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS).
Registration is required for all individuals not affiliated with Columbia University, due to campus security protocols. Registration closes at 4 pm on the day of the seminar. Columbia affiliates can attend without registering, but we kindly appreciate it if you register to help us plan event logistics.
