Bushfires in Brazil: the environmental crisis and its legal implications

| Beitrag von Matheus de Souza Depieri

Global warming is an undeniable phenomenon and for decades, scientists have pointed out evidence that the climate-warming trends are very likely caused by human activities. Nowadays, despite the urgency of coordinated global action to prevent and tackle the environmental crisis, we can observe a lack of seriousness on the part of nation states worldwide. A clear example of such neglect is the Brazilian government’s approach to the recent bushfires in the Amazonian forest, since the government has not only failed to prevent this environmental harm but has also acted irresponsibly in responding to the crisis. In this context, this article will briefly analyze (i) the human rights impacts caused by massive bushfires, (ii) the standards for national liability in case of transnational environmental harms, and (iii) whether Brazil can be held liable for human rights violations caused by the 2019 bushfires.

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The Restitution of African Cultural Heritage: repairing a historical debt

| Beitrag von Matheus de Souza Depieri

When Emmanuel Macron announced his will to restitute part of the African artistic and cultural heritage in November 2017, a heated public debate emerged in France. Even with some people arguing that some national collections might be destroyed, it seems that the French government is making progress in its initiative to restitute artistic and cultural artefacts, considering the recently delivered report on the topic. However, unfortunately, France is an exception in the post-colonial context in Europe, since most states seem to suffer from “colonial amnesia”, denying – at least partially – their violent past. In that context, this article aims to briefly analyze (i) the constant extractions of African cultural heritage; (ii) the damages of this violent past for the African youth; and (iii) some difficulties of the restitution process. Weiterlesen