Introduction
In recent years, environmental crises, territorial conflicts, and the situation of human rights defenders in Brazil have become major issues in both domestic and international debates. Brazil, which contains a significant part of the Amazon ecosystem as well as many Indigenous and traditional communities of Latin America, has at the same time faced serious challenges, including deforestation, illegal land exploitation, threats against environmental activists, and violence against local leaders. Against this background, the Chamber of Deputies’ approval of the Escazú Agreement marks an important step toward strengthening transparency, public participation, access to justice, and protection for those standing on the front lines of defending the environment and the rights of vulnerable communities. However, the Agreement still requires approval by the Federal Senate.
As the first regional treaty in Latin America and the Caribbean on environmental rights, the Escazú Agreement gives particular importance to the protection of environmental defenders and requires states to provide safe conditions for their activities. For this reason, progress in Brazil’s ratification process may be seen as an indication of the country’s effort to align its domestic policies with its human rights and environmental commitments. Nevertheless, the significance of this development is not limited to parliamentary approval alone. Rather, it will ultimately be assessed by the effectiveness of its implementation, final ratification, the reactions of domestic and international institutions, and the government’s ability to translate legal commitments into practical protection for human rights and environmental defenders.
Incidents
The right of every person to participate in decisions that may affect their life and environment lies at the heart of environmental democracy. For participation to be meaningful and safe, citizens must be able to access information and express their views and concerns openly, without fear of retaliation, harassment, or criminalization. Ultimately, communities must also have access to justice when their rights are violated, so that they can challenge environmental decisions and seek review[1].
The Escazú Agreement is a regional treaty for Latin America and the Caribbean that emphasizes public access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters. The Agreement was adopted on 4 March 2018 in Escazú, Costa Rica[2]. Its official title is the “Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean.” António Guterres described this legally binding agreement as “the first treaty in the region on environmental matters and the first treaty in the world to include provisions on human rights defenders in environmental matters[3].” Its particular importance lies in the fact that it commits states to creating a safe environment for environmental and human rights defenders. Before Brazil’s ratification, 19 countries had already ratified or acceded to the Escazú Agreement.
Under President Lula’s administration, Brazil has shown a renewed commitment to democracy, reflected, for example, in the creation of institutions such as the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and the National Secretariat for Social Participation. These institutions are intended to increase the representation of traditional communities and the wider Brazilian public. Brazil’s democratic transformation offers a unique opportunity to establish international models of environmental democracy. By strengthening this commitment, Brazil can also influence climate negotiations by setting an example[4].
Brazil had already signed the Agreement in 2018, but until its approval by the Chamber of Deputies in November 2025, it had not yet become a State Party, as the domestic ratification process had not been completed. On Wednesday, 5 November 2025, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved the Escazú Agreement, taking an important step toward strengthening environmental rights, public transparency, and protection for environmental defenders. However, as of the end of June 2026, the Agreement had still not been approved by the Federal Senate.
The special procedure applicable to human rights treaties requires approval by both houses of the Brazilian National Congress with a three-fifths majority of their members. If this special procedure is followed, the Escazú Agreement would be incorporated into Brazilian law with constitutional-amendment status, thereby acquiring a more elevated position within Brazil’s legal system[5].
This decision was taken at a time when Brazil was facing extensive challenges related to territorial conflicts, threats against Indigenous leaders, and violence against environmental activists. It may perhaps open a path for the country to move beyond the violent pattern of killings and attacks against individuals active in this field. Recent reports by Justiça Global and Terra de Direitos have documented 318 cases of violence involving 486 victims. These acts of violence have particularly targeted Indigenous leaders, Quilombola communities, and peasant leaders. In only two years, 55 deaths and 96 attempted killings were recorded. Although the causes of these conflicts vary, more than eight out of every ten cases were connected to the defense of land and the environment[6]. This may explain why Human Rights Watch in Brazil emphasized that the possible approval of the Escazú Agreement would strengthen protection for environmental defenders in the country[7].
It should also be noted that the Escazú Agreement helps water users, local communities, Indigenous peoples, and human rights defenders take action against state measures and other social actors influenced by hidden economic interests. In this way, it can help limit global forces involved in the exploitation of environmental assets and the risks arising from adverse environmental and social impacts on the waters of international rivers[8].
Brazil believes that the Escazú Agreement would reduce the comparative advantages enjoyed by criminal organizations, particularly in border regions, and strengthen the capacity of the Brazilian state to fulfil its duty to protect the environment and public security while respecting human rights. The Agreement can also contribute to combating environmental crimes, especially in the Amazon, where illegal activities such as mining and deforestation are linked to other criminal practices[9]. Article 9 of the Agreement requires participating countries to guarantee the rights of individuals and groups defending environmental rights. It provides that “each Party shall guarantee a safe and enabling environment for persons, groups and organizations that promote and defend human rights in environmental matters, so that they are able to act free from threat, restriction and insecurity[10].”
Overall, although this is an important victory and organizations within the Escazú Brazil Movement have celebrated its approval in the Chamber of Deputies, the road ahead remains long. Brazil’s international credibility, especially in relation to the socio-environmental agenda, remains under close scrutiny[11].
Challenges and Responses
- Extensive Unauthorized Activities in the Amazon Basin
Despite the Chamber of Deputies’ approval of the Escazú Agreement and the government’s efforts to demonstrate its commitment to protecting the Amazon and securing international support, Brazil’s environmental challenges remain extensive and structural. The Brazilian Amazon continues to face pressure from illegal cattle ranching, unlawful logging, illegal mining, land grabbing, and the penetration of economic and criminal networks into forest areas and Indigenous lands.
Reports indicate that a large share of deforestation in the Amazon is linked to illegal activities, while cattle ranching remains one of the main drivers of the conversion of forest areas into pastureland. For example, by 2023, 45.3 percent of the Terra Nossa settlement in the heart of the Amazon had been illegally converted into pasture by cattle ranchers[12].
Although the Brazilian government has reported an approximately 11 percent decline in the Amazon deforestation rate in 2025[13] and has presented this as evidence of the effectiveness of its protection policies, a statistical decrease does not mean that the crisis has ended. At the same time, the expansion of illegal mining, particularly following the rise in global gold prices, has intensified the risks of forest destruction, mercury contamination of water resources, and threats to local and Indigenous communities. According to the Associated Press, in the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining caused a total of 832 hectares of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025[14].
In addition, climate change, droughts, wildfires, and the pressures created by extractive development models have deepened the effects of this crisis and made the work of Brazilian decision-makers even more difficult. Therefore, even if Escazú is ultimately approved by the Federal Senate, effective implementation of its commitments will require stronger monitoring, confrontation with the illegal economy, practical support for environmental defenders, and sustained coordination among the government, civil society, and international institutions.
- Domestic Reactions
In order to complete the Agreement’s domestic ratification process, the Brazilian government has repeatedly faced pressure from media outlets, institutions, and individuals advocating for the environment and Indigenous rights. In one such case, in 2024, more than 150 Brazilian and international organizations addressed a letter to Alexandre Padilha, Secretary of Institutional Affairs in Lula da Silva’s government, calling on the government to make more serious efforts to secure approval of the Escazú Agreement in Congress.
These organizations emphasized that, by guaranteeing the right of access to environmental information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice, the Agreement could play an important role in supporting communities affected by environmental destruction. This demand is especially significant in Brazil because environmental defenders, Indigenous leaders, and local communities, particularly in the Amazon, face threats, violence, land grabbing, illegal mining, and deforestation. Human rights activists also stressed that perpetrators of threats and violence against land and environmental defenders often remain unpunished[15].
The non-profit Ethos Institute also welcomed the approval of Escazú by the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies in a statement published on its website, describing it as a fundamental step toward strengthening environmental governance, transparency, public participation, and access to information. The Institute emphasized that the approval of the Agreement was an important sign of Brazil’s commitment to a climate agenda based on justice, inclusion, and protection for environmental defenders.
From the Institute’s perspective, the Escazú Agreement, as the first environmental treaty in Latin America and the first international instrument linking human rights, social participation, and protection for environmental defenders, represents an institutional response to the violence and threats faced by activists in this field. The Institute also considered approval of the Agreement necessary for improving democratic tools and strengthening responsible public and corporate management.
Finally, the Institute recalled that in recent years it had contributed to the process of approval through multi-stakeholder dialogues, cooperation with civil society organizations and governments, and encouragement of the private sector to support socio-environmental well-being and human rights. Nevertheless, it emphasized that the Agreement must now be examined and approved by the Federal Senate so that Brazil can complete the ratification process and align its policies and institutional mechanisms with the principles of Escazú[16].
Transparency International Brazil, in a statement published on its website, described the approval of the Escazú Agreement by the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies as a “historic step” toward strengthening environmental governance and protecting environmental defenders. The organization emphasized that the approval of Message No. 209/2023 on the eve of COP30 in Belém represented an important advance in Brazil’s socio-environmental agenda and could pave the way for its rapid approval in the Federal Senate and for the Agreement’s entry into force in the country.
Renato Morgado, Programme Manager at Transparency International Brazil, described the measure as a commendable step toward the Agreement’s final ratification and stressed that Brazilian society should welcome this progress. The organization also recalled that in recent years, including through its participation in the establishment of the Escazú Brazil Movement, it had played an active role in pursuing the Agreement’s approval in the National Congress. Transparency International Brazil further referred to the high-risk situation of land and environmental defenders in Latin America and described Escazú as an important mechanism for supporting Indigenous communities, traditional populations, and Quilombola communities in defending their territories[17].
In continuation, the Escazú Brazil Movement and the human rights organization Terra de Direitos described the approval of the Escazú Agreement in the plenary session of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies as the result of a victory for civil society mobilization and an important step toward strengthening environmental democracy in the country. These organizations emphasized that the Agreement’s approval was achieved after months of follow-up and after letters had been sent to the federal government calling for coordination among different ministries, including the Ministries of the Environment, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Justice, and Foreign Affairs.
Gisele Barbieri, Political Advocacy Coordinator at Terra de Direitos, assessed the approval, on the eve of COP30 and at the same time as the tenth anniversary of the Mariana environmental disaster, as a symbolic measure and the result of public pressure and participation. According to her, Brazil’s ratification of the Escazú Agreement could serve as an important complement to the country’s environmental legislation, particularly in the areas of transparency, access to information, access to justice, and protection for those working on the front lines of confronting the climate crisis.
These organizations also recalled that the Escazú Agreement is compatible with the Brazilian Constitution and with the country’s international commitments, including the Paris Climate Agreement, and that it could strengthen Brazil’s position in global environmental governance. Referring to the high level of risk faced by land and environmental defenders in Brazil, Terra de Direitos considered the Agreement’s final approval essential for the protection of Indigenous leaders, Quilombola communities, farmers, and other defenders of territorial and environmental rights[18].
- International Reactions
The International Union for Conservation of Nature, through its National Committee based in the Netherlands, has addressed in a report the importance of the Escazú Agreement for Peru and Brazil, which together contain nearly 70 percent of the Amazon. Referring to threats such as illegal mining, cattle ranching, logging, deforestation, and pressure on Indigenous and local communities, the organization described the Escazú Agreement as an important opportunity to strengthen environmental rights and protect environmental defenders in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The report emphasizes that Escazú is the first legally binding treaty in the world to contain specific provisions on the protection of environmental and human rights activists, and that it commits states to guaranteeing access to information, public participation, and environmental justice. According to the organization’s experts, ratification of the Agreement by Brazil and Peru could serve as an important sign of these governments’ commitment to supporting the rights of Indigenous peoples, environmental defenders, and protection of the Amazon.
The report also notes that the threats facing environmental defenders are not merely domestic. They are also connected to global demand for commodities, the activities of transnational corporations, and organized crime networks. On this basis, the regional approach of the Escazú Agreement can complement national policies and elevate protection for environmental defenders from the domestic level to the level of cross-border cooperation[19].
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs for Sustainable Development has also addressed the Escazú Agreement in a report. In that report, the Department introduced the Escazú Agreement as one of the important instruments for strengthening environmental governance, public participation, and justice in Latin America and the Caribbean. The report emphasizes that Escazú is the first regional environmental treaty in this field and the only agreement to emerge from the Rio+20 process, shaped through broad participation by states, civil society, experts, and international institutions.
The report also regards Escazú as a step toward realizing the right of present and future generations to live in a healthy environment and achieve sustainable development. The Agreement’s particular importance lies in its emphasis on protecting vulnerable individuals and groups, including marginalized communities, and in its creation of specific commitments for establishing a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders in environmental matters.
The United Nations Department also assessed the Agreement as an example of the linkage between human rights, the environment, and the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 16 concerning justice, transparency, and accountable institutions[20]. From this perspective, the ratification and implementation of the Escazú Agreement in countries such as Brazil can not only help strengthen environmental democracy, but also create the conditions for more effective public participation and more practical protection of environmental defenders.
Conclusion
The approval of the Escazú Agreement by the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies may be regarded as an important sign of the country’s movement toward strengthening environmental democracy and linking human rights with environmental policymaking. The significance of this development lies in the fact that it takes the protection of the Amazon and environmental defenders beyond the level of a purely climate-related concern and places it within the framework of the right of access to information, public participation, justice, and protection for at-risk groups.
Brazil, as a country that contains a significant part of the Amazon and many Indigenous and traditional communities of the region, has sought, through the Chamber of Deputies’ approval of the Agreement, to present an image of a return to multilateralism, transparent governance, and environmental responsibility. Nevertheless, this measure will acquire fuller meaning only if the approval process is finalized in the Federal Senate and the commitments contained in the Agreement are elevated to the level of binding and enforceable public policy.
Despite the symbolic and legal importance of this development, approval of Escazú alone cannot resolve Brazil’s structural environmental and human rights crises. Continued deforestation, illegal mining, unauthorized cattle ranching, land grabbing, violence against Indigenous leaders, and threats against environmental defenders show that Brazil’s main challenge is not merely a lack of legal commitments, but weakness in effective implementation, sustained monitoring, and confrontation with economic and criminal networks.
From this perspective, Escazú is not so much the end of a path as the beginning of a serious test for the Brazilian government and its decision-making institutions. This test will show whether the country can strike a balance among economic development, environmental protection, and the safeguarding of the dignity and security of local communities. Therefore, the advancement of human rights in the context of Escazú’s approval will be truly realized only when the Agreement is transformed from a political approval into a practical mechanism for protecting people, land, and the future of the Amazon.
References
[1] Gomez Betancur, L., & Furbank, L. (2024, May 13). Escazú COP3: Ensuring Environmental Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean. Center for International Invironmental Law. From: https://www.ciel.org/escazu-cop3-environmental-democracy-latin-america-caribbean/
[2] ECLAC. (n.d). Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, Text of the Regional Agreement. ECLAC. From: https://www.cepal.org/en/escazuagreement/text-regional-agreement
[3] Ecpa. (2022, May 3). Escazú: A Call to Action on the Environment. Ecpa. From: https://ecpamericas.org/newsletters/escazu-a-call-to-action-on-the-environment/
[4] OMCT. (2025, May 12). Guaranteeing transparency and a seat at the table for those on the frontlines of the climate emergency : Recommendations for COP30. OMCT. From: https://www.omct.org/en/resources/statements/guaranteeing-transparency-and-a-seat-at-the-table-for-those-on-the-frontlines-of-the-climate-emergency-recommendations-for-cop30
[5] Moreira Bahia, A., & Carlos Lima, L. (n.d). The Escazú Agreement: Human Rights and Environmental Protection in Brazil. GNHRE. From: https://gnhre.org/?p=14155
[6] Villarreal, M. (2025, November 3). COP30: Time to act for the defenders of the planet. Renewable Matter. From: https://www.renewablematter.eu/en/cop30-time-to-act-for-the-defenders-of-the-planet
[7] Cho, E. (2025, November 21). Human rights group expresses concerns about Brazil environmental licensing bill. JURIST News. From: https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/11/human-rights-group-expresses-concerns-about-brazil-environmental-licensing-bill/
[8] Assis de Oliveira Silva, J. (2025). Escazú agreement on the construction, promotion and Strengthening of environmental democracy and water governance of the Mamoré river. SciELO Brazil. From: https://www.scielo.br/j/asoc/a/QbyPv874ycdGfFg7JrNZZ6q/?lang=en
[9] Câmara dos Deputados. (2025, November 5). The Chamber approves Brazil’s accession to an agreement on environmental justice. Câmara dos Deputados. From: https://www.camara.leg.br/noticias/1219585-camara-aprova-adesao-do-brasil-a-acordo-sobre-justica-ambiental/
[10] Garate, J. (2026, April 20). Escazú Agreement COP4: Why implementation matters for protecting land and environmental defenders. Global Witness. From: https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/escazu-agreement-cop4-why-implementation-matters-for-protecting-land-and-environmental-defenders/
[11] Artigo 19. (2025, November 7). The Escazú Agreement is approved by the Chamber of Deputies and proceeds to a vote in the Senate. Artigo 19. From: https://artigo19.org/2025/11/07/acordo-de-escazu-e-aprovado-na-camara-dos-deputados-e-vai-para-votacao-do-senado/
[12] HRW. (2025, October 15). Brazil: Illegal Ranches Devastate Rainforest, Livelihoods. HRW. From: https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/10/15/brazil-illegal-ranches-devastate-rainforest-livelihoods
[13] Government of Brazil. (2025, October 30). In 2025, deforestation fell by 11.08 percent in the Amazon and by 11.49 percent in the Cerrado. Government of Brazil. From: https://www.gov.br/secom/en/latest-news/2025/10/in-2025-deforestation-fell-by-11-08-percent-in-the-amazon-and-by-11-49-percent-in-the-cerrado
[14] Sa Pessoa, G. (2026, May 6). A gold-fueled mining rush scars Brazil’s Amazon, spiking deforestation and mercury risks. The Associated Press. From: https://apnews.com/article/brazil-amazon-rainforest-illegal-mining-1e63f8025bc3920db192cbb2ce8f1419
[15] HRW. (2024, March 26). Brazil: Join Regional Treaty on Environment, Defenders. HRW. From: https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/26/brazil-join-regional-treaty-environment-defenders
[16] Ethos. (2025, November 6). On the eve of COP30, the Chamber of Deputies approves the ratification of the Escazú Agreement. Ethos. From: https://www.ethos.org.br/as-vesperas-da-cop30-camara-dos-deputados-aprova-ratificacao-do-acordo-de-escazu/
[17] Transparência Internacional–Brasil. (2025, November 5). The Chamber of Deputies approves the Escazú Agreement. Transparência Internacional–Brasil. From: https://transparenciainternacional.org.br/posts/camara-dos-deputados-aprova-acordo-de-escazu/
[18] Terra de Direitos. (2025, November 6). The Escazú Agreement is approved by the Chamber of Deputies and proceeds to a Senate vote. Terra de Direitos. From: https://terradedireitos.org.br/noticias/noticias/acordo-de-escazu-e-aprovado-na-camara-dos-deputados-e-vai-para-votacao-do-senado/24265
[19] Cabero, M. (2023, October 3). Why is it important for Amazon giants Brazil and Peru to ratify the Escazú Agreement. IUCN National Committee of The Netherlands. From: https://www.iucn.nl/en/story/why-is-it-important-for-amazon-giants-brazil-and-peru-to-ratify-the-escazu-agreement/
[20] UN. (n.d). Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality for sustainable development: the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Escazu Agreement). UN. From: https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/empowering-people-and-ensuring-inclusiveness-and-equality-sustainable-development
