Nin Tomas Memorial Lecture 2026

Delivered by UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Dr Albert K. Barume of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Auckland Law Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series. The annual Nin Tomas lecture is a highlight of the year for the Te Puna Rangahau o te Wai Ariki|the Aotearoa Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law, and is hosted in honour of Nin, our much missed colleague, Auckland Law School’s first whakapapa Måori associate professor, who spearheaded its academic programme for tauira Måori. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Dr Barume, will speak about his role in upholding the rights of Indigenous peoples’ globally via his mandate to review the state of play in countries, recently in Australia and Botswana, to respond to human rights claims made by Indigenous peoples and to promote, develop and interpret international law and policy. Dr Albert K. Barume is the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. He has over 25 years of experience working on Indigenous Peoples’ rights at national, regional and international levels. Mr. Barume was among the first lawyers to work on Indigenous Peoples' rights in the 1990s in Africa. He was a Chairperson and Member of UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Senior Specialist on the rights of Indigenous Peoples at ILO and Independent Expert on the rights of Indigenous Peoples at the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights. Mr. Barume contributed to the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007. Mr. Barume holds a Ph.D. in International Human Rights Law and a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from Yale University. He has taught Indigenous Peoples’ rights in several universities across the World and has published numerous books and articles. Location: OGGB (12 Grafton Road, Auckland Central) Public Lecture at OGGB, 260-098 Lecture Theatre