Precious areas of biodiversity like the Amazon are facing unprecedented destruction.
Every day, the global demand for commodities such as beef, leather, gold and bauxite drives illegal deforestation, land grabs, climate degradation, and human rights abuses around the world.
Behind this destruction are powerful financial institutions and economic service providers that shield international corporations from accountability, profit from illegality, and entrench impunity. The fight against the harms caused by global commodities is as fragmented as the supply chains themselves. Across borders, communities and civil society groups are taking on powerful corporations to defend their rights and ecosystems. But these battles are costly, risky, and often disconnected. What’s needed now is a joined-up, collective approach - one strong enough to challenge the world’s biggest corporate and financial abusers.
Who are we?
The Transnational Legal Coalition (TLC) aims to challenge the global supply chains and economic systems that enable illegal deforestation and associated human rights abuses.
Our approach
Our work is guided by four key principles
Community centred – we are committed to centring the priorities of those most impacted by environmental harms and human rights abuses, we will work with Indigenous and local partners to co-design long-term strategies and strengthen legal resistance.
Strategic investigations– we are committed to tracing supply chains, financiers, and enablers of forest destruction.
Coordinated litigation –we are committed to building efficiency and collaboration by choreographing cases across jurisdictions to target economic service providers, financiers and complicit corporations.
Advocacy & storytelling – we are committed to amplifying community voices and linking legal work with public campaigns that drive pressure and change.
Our model maximises impact by turning local struggles into global accountability.
What we are working on
Our first area of focus is Brazil, and the world's largest rainforest in the Amazon.
Investigations underway
We are investigating the role of banks, tanneries, and economic service providers in mass deforestation, linked to cattle rearing, in the Amazon rainforest.
Scoping is also being carried out on the serious harms linked to the global supply chains of commodities such as bauxite and gold.
Case development
We are building legal cases against Global North actors complicit in harms caused by beef production in the Amazon – looking at how the crime of illegal deforestation can be tackled using Anti-Money Laundering and due diligence rules and regulations.
Community engagement
To ensure that legal strategies support local agendas and are meaningfully co-created with those most impacted by the harms, we are undertaking extensive community engagement with Indigenous groups, women's rights organisations and civil society in Pará, Brazil, and scoping work with partners in West Papua, Indonesia.
Coalition development
We are working to grow the TLC, build partnerships and bring on board leading experts that can help us strengthen this important work. As part of our commitment to new ways of working, we are developing processes and systems that support efficiency and collaboration.