Environmental Impact Assessment and Human Rights Due Diligence: Current State of the Art and Possible Convergences

6,938/1981, which created the National Environmental Policy (PNMA) and introduced instruments like Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and licensing. CONAMA

Resolution No. 1/1986 set guidelines for EIA and RIMA, requiring multidisciplinary analysis and mitigation measures. The 1988 Constitution reinforced these requirements, and subsequent regulations expanded procedures, especially for projects affecting indigenous communities. In 2011, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights introduced Human Rights

Due Diligence (HRDD), urging companies to identify and mitigate adverse impacts. Brazil adopted International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 169 and national guidelines, but integration between environmental licensing and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) is still limited, with processes operating in silos. The lack of convergence between these frameworks highlights the need for alignment to strengthen safeguards, improve accountability, and reduce socio-environmental risks. This article aims to present the experience of conducting a Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) and its role in promoting best practices, meeting regulatory demands, and enhancing social acceptance and risk mitigation in the power sector.

Based on an introduction to concepts and methodologies for socio-environmental impact assessment and HRIA, this article aims to present the experience of conducting a HRIA and its importance in strengthening good practices in the sector in response to new regulatory demands and sustainability reporting requirements, as well as contributing to greater social awareness and acceptance of projects, and risk mitigation in the electric power sector.