Alumna Receives UN Appointment

April 4, 2016
Justin Boro

Erika Yamada, '08, has been appointed to serve as a member of the United Nations (UN) Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2007 to provide expertise and research on the rights of indigenous peoples. The committee is composed of five independent experts on indigenous peoples’ law and policy.

Since its inception, EMRIP has provided the UN Human Rights Council with research and recommendations concerning a wide range of issues, including:

  • Recommendations to advance indigenous peoples’ right to education
  • The role language and culture play in promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples
  • The right to informed and meaningful participation by indigenous peoples in decision making for proposed projects, focusing on extractive industries such as oil, gas, and minerals
  • Strategies from UN member states on how to develop appropriate means to realize the goals of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 

Yamada will use the unique experience she gained while completing her Doctor of Juridical Science with the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program (IPLP) at the University of Arizona College of Law to promote the rights of indigenous peoples across the world. During her time at IPLP, she worked with James Anaya, Regents' Professor and James J. Lenoir Professor of Human Rights Law and Policy and Co-Chair of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program, in his role as UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples. Yamada assisted with Anaya’s work promoting the human rights of indigenous peoples, which provided her with experience doing advocacy work within the UN system and how prevailing norms within human rights law and policy can be used to promote the rights of indigenous peoples.

In responding to the appointment, Yamada thanked Arizona Law and IPLP faculty and staff, “for helping prepare me to be an advocate for indigenous communities on an international stage. The program and faculty give students the social engagement and practical experience needed to partner with indigenous communities to advocate for change.”