On January 13, 2025, The Implementation Project (TIP), Native American Rights Fund (NARF), and University of Colorado Law School hosted a welcome reception at NARF’s Boulder office in honor of Dr. Albert K. Barume, the newly appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The UN Special Rapporteur is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to collect information on human rights violations affecting Indigenous Peoples around the world and to provide recommendations for remedies and prevention going forward.
The gathering brought together a group of visionaries from CU Law School, NARF, and partnering organizations who all share the common passion of advancing Indigenous rights on the global stage. Dr. Barume, along with NARF Executive Director John Echohawk, CU Law Dean Lolita Buckner Inniss, and TIP Co-Directors Sue Noe and Kristen Carpenter, shared remarks reflecting on Indigenous Peoples’ advocacy in international settings. Looking forward to Dr. Barume’s mandate as Special Rapporteur, there is hope for strengthening solidarity and cooperation among Indigenous Peoples around the world toward new goals and achievements.
A citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dr. Barume was among the first lawyers in Africa to work on Indigenous Peoples’ rights. In 2007, Dr. Barume led a team of African experts during the process of adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He later served as Chairperson and Member of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Senior Specialist on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the International Labour Organization, and Independent Expert on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Dr. Barume holds a Ph.D. in International Human Rights Law with a focus on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom, and a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
