junho, 17 2026

By Lays Cristina Araujo, WWF-Brazil 

WWF-Brazil took part last Tuesday (June 16) in a meeting organized by the Special Rapporteurship on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (REDESCA) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), as part of the mission’s working visit to Brazil. The meeting was held at the headquarters of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) in Brasília and was attended by the Special Rapporteur on ESCR, Javier Palummo. 

The meeting is part of the process of preparing the Regional Report on Illegal Gold Mining: Territory and Impacts on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights in the Amazon and the Guiana Shield, a document that aims to gather evidence on the impacts of illegal mining activity and support recommendations to States in the region. 

During the meeting, WWF-Brazil presented technical studies highlighting the impacts of mercury contamination resulting from illegal gold mining and reinforcing the need for coordinated responses to protect Amazonian territories and the rights of affected populations. 

Among the materials presented were the Regional Plan for Mitigating Mercury Impacts in the Amazon Environment and Its Populations, developed collaboratively with civil society organizations and Indigenous representatives to guide public policies aimed at reducing contamination; the Executive Summary: Mercury Limits in Soil, Water and Air, which highlights the importance of defining environmental quality parameters to identify contamination and its risks; and the Technical Note: Mercury Dynamics and Its Risks – Impact of Contamination in Rivers of the Brazilian Amazon, which compiles evidence on the effects of water pollution caused by mercury use in mining activities. 

The organization also shared preliminary findings from an unpublished study conducted by Fiocruz with support from WWF-Brazil, titled Longitudinal Study of Pregnant Women and Indigenous Newborns Exposed to Mercury in the Amazon. The study follows Indigenous pregnant women and children from birth up to two years of age to assess mercury exposure levels and its health impacts. 

In addition to technical evidence, WWF-Brazil contextualized the Brazilian legal framework related to mining in Indigenous lands, highlighting cases pending before the Supreme Federal Court (STF) in which preliminary injunctions have already been granted ordering Congress to regulate the activity. Mention was made of Injunction Mandates (MI) 7940, 7516, and 7369, as well as the Unconstitutionality Action by Omission (ADO) 86. 

The meeting also emphasized the importance of observing inter-American standards established in Advisory Opinions No. 17/2023 and No. 32/2025 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, particularly regarding the protection of human rights in the context of environmental degradation and climate change. 

By contributing to the Special Rapporteurship, WWF-Brazil reinforces the importance of strengthening due diligence mechanisms, corporate accountability, and international cooperation to address the impacts of illegal gold mining in the Amazon. The expectation is that the contributions presented will help build recommendations capable of strengthening public policies and instruments for the protection of human rights and the environment in the region.