Mariana Abreu

Mariana oversees Anthesis’ Global Human Rights practice and leads the UK and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Social Impact practice.

As a human rights lawyer, Mariana has over 12 years of experience working on human rights and social impact. Before Anthesis, Mariana led field and desk-based investigations into human rights in Brazil and sub-Saharan Africa at Amnesty International and Global Witness. Her investigations were widely published, including by the New York Times, Financial Times and The Economist.

Mariana is ranked Band 1 by Chambers and Partners for Crisis & Risk Management. Mariana leads an international team of human rights experts who support leading investors and businesses on human rights due diligence, designing and implementing risk and impact assessments, and advising on best practices globally. Major projects she has worked on include managing a year-long Human Rights Impact Assessment in the chemical sector across Brazil, the United States, Mexico and Germany; overseeing training of over 200 suppliers in the manufacturing sector in Malaysia; and supervising human rights risk assessments across Africa, Middle East and Turkey for a tech client.

Mariana holds an MA in Human Rights from the Paris School of International Affairs – Sciences Po, and a BA in Law from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo. She is admitted to practice law in Brazil.

Feedback from clients:

“Mariana Abreu and her team have a high level of sophistication in conducting human rights impact assessments and an excellent reputation in the industry.”

“Mariana Abreu is competent, experienced and well updated on different standards and requirements of different regions.”

“Mariana Abreu led her team very well and understood the way we work, allowing flexibility and agility in execution.”