Dr. Lieselotte Viaene

Lieselotte ia a legal and environmental anthropologist with a PhD in Law (2011) and a first academic degree in Criminology (2011).

She has developed an international career of interdisciplinary and applied research of excellence in the fields of legal pluralism, Indigenous rights, transitional justice, the decolonization of human rights, natural resource governance and audiovisual methods.

For nearly two decades, Lieselotte has been collaborating with Indigenous communities in Guatemala, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Nepal—ranging from genocide survivors to networks of Indigenous lawyers.

In 2018, she received a prestigious European Research Council Starting Grant to lead RIVERS – Water/Human Rights Beyond the Human?, a six-year interdisciplinary project (2019–2026) exploring Indigenous water ontologies, plurilegal encounters, and interlegal translation through fieldwork in Nepal, Guatemala, Colombia, and at the United Nations (UN).

As part of her ERC starting grant, Lieselotte produced two cinematographic short-form documentaries: Marsyangdi Wile Ri’iba: May You Live as Long as the River, set in rural Nepal, and Aty Seikuinduwa: A Judge Between Worlds, filmed in Colombia. The twin documentary ask: can we rethink how we perceive and integrate more-than-human voices into legal and political decision-making?, thus these films challenge dominant legal frameworks by foregrounding more-than-human voices and Indigenous jurisprudence.

Previously Lieselotte was a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Coimbra (2016–2018) and has worked as a human rights practitioner, including with the UN Human Rights Office in Ecuador (2010–2013).