SPPGA would like to extend a sincere congratulations to Professor Sheryl Lightfoot, who was announced as the 2023 Chairperson of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP).
The UN Expert Mechanism is mandated to provide the UN Human Rights Council with expertise and advice on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. It assists Member States in achieving the goals of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Expert Mechanism conducts studies to advance the promotion and protection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights by: clarifying the implications of key principles, such as self-determination and free, prior and informed consent; examining good practices and challenges in a broad array of areas pertaining to Indigenous Peoples’ rights; and suggesting measures that States and others can adopt at the level of laws, policies and programmes.
As one of seven international independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council, Dr. Lightfoot with her colleagues advocate for advancing Indigenous Peoples’ rights consistent with international human rights law.
Dr. Lightfoot brings with her many years of practical and theoretical experience with Indigenous rights steeped in her own personal dedication. Dr. Lightfoot is Anishinaabe from the Lake Superior Band of Ojibwe. In addition to this global appointment, Dr. Lightfoot is also a professor jointly appointed with UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs and in the Department of Political Science.
We, as the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs here at UBC, are proud to celebrate this remarkable achievement with Dr. Lightfoot.
Click here to read the full UBC announcement
