The Struggle of the Mura Indigenous Peoples Against Potash Mining in the Brazilian Amazon

The Brazilian Amazon is one of the world’s most vital and diverse ecosystems, but it is increasingly threatened by large-scale resource extraction projects. At the heart of the efforts to preserve the Amazon are the Mura Indigenous peoples, who are working to protect their lands, communities, and territory while resisting the advance of the Autazes Potash Project, a planned Canadian-owned potash mining project in the region. 

The University of Toronto Henry N.R. Jackman Law’s International Human Rights Program (IHRP) invites you to an important conversation with Mura Indigenous leaders and experts on Indigenous rights, climate justice, and corporate accountability in the Brazilian Amazon.  

Date: Thursday, October 8, 2026

Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM (Light refreshments from 5 - 5:30PM) 

Location: Jackman Law Building, Room J140 (78 Queen's Park, Toronto) 

The panel will explore the social, environmental, and human rights risks faced by the Mura, while examining broader questions about Indigenous self-determination, international law, and Canada’s responsibilities to regulate Canadian corporations’ conduct abroad.  

We are honoured to welcome Mura leaders Anna Claudia Dos Santos Mendes and Filipe Gabriel Da Silva E Silva, who will share firsthand accounts of their community’s ongoing resistance to the Autazes Project, and the threats that the project poses to their territories, livelihoods, and way of life.  

They will be joined by Dr. Priscylla Joca, Assistant Professor at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law, who will discuss Brazil’s legal protections of Indigenous rights and the challenges of implementing these protections. Nabila Khan, IHRP Research Associate, will present findings from the IHRP’s joint report released at COP30, Resistance: Mura Struggle Against Canadian Potash Mining in Brazil’s Amazon, which documents alleged environmental impacts and human rights concerns linked to the Autazes Potash Project and examines the responsibilities of mining companies to respect international human rights law. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Mariana Mota Prado, Professor & William C. Graham Chair in Law and Development at Jackman Law and Vice-Provost, Strategic Enrolment Management (VPSEM), at the University of Toronto.  

Please register to attend the event here: https://cvent.me/dRO1O3. 

Light refreshments will be served.