Forced Displacement in the Amazon Rainforest: A Study on the Violations of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

Environmental displacement is often thought of as the consequence of natural events, such as hurricanes, floods, or droughts. However, human actions play a significant role in forcing people to leave their homes and become displaced. Often carried out in the name of economic growth and modernisation, large-scale development activities, including mining, logging, agriculture, and infrastructure construction, destroy entire ecosystems and biomes, lead to the forced displacement of entire communities and involve the violation of the rights of the displaced. This thesis will analyse how human activities in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest causing the forced removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands of traditional occupation violate the rights of Native communities. Climate change and development projects have increasingly enriched upon Indigenous territories, threatening their cultural heritage, livelihoods, and connection to ancestral lands. Not only do they contribute to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, but also undermine the survival of Indigenous peoples, their exercise of the right to self-determination and territorial sovereignty. This study will examine the systemic failures that perpetuate these violations, including weak governance, economic pressures, and the global demand for natural resources, highlighting how Brazil fails to protect its Indigenous population, disregarding national and international legislations.