Ben Meeus

Ben Meeus, Belgian, holds a Master Degree in International and European Law (Cum Laude) from the Free University of Brussels, and a second Master Degree in Latin American Studies at the Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation (CEDLA) in Amsterdam. He has been involved in a variety of human rights causes related Indigenous Peoples and Minorities over the past 15 years and supported the work of Amnesty International and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Committed to the protection of tropical rainforests and Indigenous Peoples rights, he served the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) by coordinating the implementation of the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative (IRI) in Brazil, Colombia, DRC, Peru and Indonesia.

Ben serves as an Advisor to the Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute (YTI) since 2018, when it was founded by internationally renowned political and spiritual leader of the Asháninka People, Benki Piyãko. YTI is a first-of-its-kind institute designed to integrate traditional knowledge with modern tools to address economic, social, and cultural issues in the Amazon region, and to develop replicable and scalable models for alternative development. In this position, Ben has guided and supported frontline strategy work for ecosystem restoration and Indigenous rights protection, as well as Benki’s international travels and speaking engagements.

Ben has also written a thesis, articles and contributed to a book chapter on the legal aspects related to the international expansion of the religious use of Ayahuasca. To that end, he has also supported the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Indigenous Ayahuasca Conferences.

Ben speaks fluent Dutch, French, English, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.