The UNDROP and the case law of the Inter-American Human Rights system : Potential impacts and insights from Hacienda Brasil Verde case

In 2016, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) decided the case Hacienda Brasil Verde Workers v. Brazil, concerning the prohibition of slavery and human trafficking in international law in a sector significantly affected by this conduct in Brazil: the agricultural. This Chapter provides an overview of the IACHR’s main contributions in the Hacienda Brasil Verde case in light of some of the Inter-American system’s particularities, as the universalism character and the pro personae interpretation, as well as the categorization of protected individuals. Those elements can contribute to future enforcement of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and other people working in rural areas and offer effective protection to Peasants and rural workers’ rights. Therefore, if not directly, the Hacienda Brasil Verde ruling can provide relevant guidance on implementing the Declaration on Peasant’s Rights through regional mechanisms to protect human rights.