The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Dr Albert Barume’s visit to UNIVEN

The Ismail Mahomed Centre for Human and Peoples’ Rights (IMCHPR) of the Faculty of Management, Commerce and Law, University of Venda (UNIVEN), in collaboration with the African Communities Resource Rights Alliance (ACRRA), hosted Dr Albert Barume, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, on 15 September 2025. He was accompanied to UNIVEN by his Chief of Staff, Ms Birgitte Feiring. Dr Barume’s visit to UNIVEN was part of his regional mission to Southern Africa, during which he engaged with key stakeholders on critical issues, including resource governance, land rights, extractive industries, environmental justice, and the protection of Indigenous Peoples’ human rights in Africa.
While acknowledging the role that UNIVEN is playing in the struggle of Indigenous Peoples as a reason for the landmark visit, Dr Barume took the opportunity to raise awareness about the concept in his public lecture titled ‘Understanding Indigenous Peoples as a Human Rights Concept in Africa’ delivered at the E2 Lecture room, UNIVEN. Later in the day, the UN Special Rapporteur met with high-level dignitaries of UNIVEN and guests at the Premier Hotel, to enhance the ongoing partnership activities with UNIVEN between ACRRA and the IMCHPR and explore further possibilities.
In his insightful public lecture on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Dr Barume offered a profoundly thought-provoking exploration of the concept of Indigenous Peoples in Africa. He explained that his first report as Special Rapporteur to the United Nations Human Rights Council, which he will present in Geneva next week, focuses on the recognition of Indigenous Peoples, a topic he believes is vital for Africa. “My argument is that if states do not understand what indigenous people mean, they are unlikely to provide protection,” he stated.
Dr Barume distinguished between the word indigenous and the concept of indigenous peoples in international human rights law. While all Africans may be indigenous in the literal sense, not all are considered Indigenous Peoples in the human rights law sense. In his views, “when a group self-identifies as Indigenous peoples, they are making a statement: that we are a community whose culture, way of life, and livelihood have been demeaned, considered savage, and forced to disappear by dominant ways of life.” He highlighted the psychological and social harm faced by these communities, from ridicule of their languages and clothing to the erosion of self-esteem in children, which often leads to high rates of substance abuse, homelessness, and marginalisation.
Dr Barume also warned against confusing Indigenous identity with poverty, as Indigenous Peoples are victims of a unique human rights violation that affects both their mind and body. He reminded participants that protecting Indigenous Peoples is not about granting special privileges but ensuring equality and visibility for groups often rendered invisible within their societies. Drawing from decades of work with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, he emphasised that post-colonial Africa has perpetuated discrimination against nomadic and hunter-gatherer communities, who have generally self-identified as Indigenous Peoples in Africa. This development replicates the marginalisation of colonial times. Dr Barume concluded with an emphasis on the need to respect Indigenous Peoples’ lifestyle.:
When welcoming participants, the Deputy Dean of Teaching and Learning, Prof Tharien van der Walt who stood in for the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management, Commerce and Law, Prof Modimowabarwa Kanyane, highlighted the privilege of hosting an international figure from the UN who is one of the leading minds in the field of human rights law and emphasised the significance of the day’s lecture on the mandate and collaborative engagement on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights. Prof van der Walt noted that the visit bridged academic learning with real-world experience and encouraged students and guests to engage meaningfully with the discussion.

The Director of the IMCHPR, introduced Dr Albert Barume, highlighting his exceptional career and historic appointment as the first African to serve as UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples since the mandate’s creation 25 years ago. Dr Barume was appointed in December 2024. Prof Jegede explained that the distinguishing career of the guest speaker includes over 25 years of experience in the field of human rights law at national, regional, and international levels, his leadership in the adoption of the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, his academic contributions through teaching and publications, and his service as a se-nior expert within the global legal and human rights organisations. Following the presentation of Dr Barume, there was a question-and-answer session involving participants at the public lecture.

While rounding up Dr Thivhusiwi Sikhitha, thanked the Special Rapporteur for his time and in-sightful presentation, and the participants for making the session quite engaging.

At the high-level management meeting, there were robust discussions around existing and possi-ble future collaborative engagements on Indigenous Peoples’ rights issues.
Mr Botwe Kraziya, UNIVEN’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), underscored the vital role of UNI-VEN in providing skills, preserving knowledge and tradition, and operating sustainably while meeting the demands of communities, government, and students. Hence, the UNIVEN is com-mitted to social responsibility, one health, and the growth of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) programmes. He highlighted UNIVEN’s belief that centres and institutes have a significant place in contributing to the role of the university. Mr Kraziya hinted at the ongoing plan to launch Centres and Institutes while reaffirming the executive management’s support for the work of the IMCHPR.
While presenting the purpose of the meeting, Prof Jegede indicated the session was necessary to demonstrate the alignment of the University /especially the Centre, to be informed by about the mandate and activities of the Special Rapporteur; to review the progress on initiatives that have been taken in conjunction with ACCRA regarding indigenous Peoples; and to encourage cross-pollination of ideas from diverse perspectives explore new opportunities for future collab-oration.
Dr Barume took the audience through the mandate and collaborative engagement on Indig-enous rights. He explained that the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is structured into four main areas: thematic reports, country visits, commu-nications and complaints, and capacity building. He highlighted the growing challenges Indige-nous peoples face, including land pressure from extractive projects, climate change policies, and negative public perceptions.
On collaboration, Dr Barume emphasised the importance of academic partnerships to support research, train students, and strengthen international advocacy. He mentioned his plan to have a research and advocacy hub in Africa during his tenure as the UN Special Rapporteur so that the expertise of scholars can be engaged more on the issues related to his mandate.
He also revealed plans to write a report on violations of Indigenous women’s reproductive rights, calling for collaboration with institutions specialising in the subject and other critical issues around transition minerals as they affect Indigenous Peoples.
Following the presentation of Prof Jegede on the Memorandum of Understanding between UNI-VEN, ACRRA, and Jamma, and the expression of readiness of the IMCHPR to coordinate and fur-ther existing and future partnerships and collaborations, the floor was open for comments by participants. In kickstarting the session, Advocate Malenge, who is part of the team put together by the IMCHPR to support strategic litigation involving the Khoisan community in Fishhoek, Cape Town, shared the outcome of consultation, held with Khoisan representatives, during which sig-nificant cultural and heritage sites were observed, including ancient art, fish traps, and hunting beds. Adv Marange emphasised that the IMCHPR is now assisting the community with strategic litigation towards recognising and protecting their heritage and cultural rights.
Ms Annette Lansink shared her insights on the ongoing research initiatives at the IMCHPR. The IMCHPR is researching Indigenous Peoples, focusing on coloniality, decolonisation, inclusivity,indigenous knowledge systems and climate solutions and land rights in the context of climate change and climate justice. She also spoke about the relationship of the Centre with a group of scholars working on commentaries on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indige-nous Peoples.
Dr Sean, a historian, connected his ongoing research to discussions at the meeting by referring to a European Union-funded collaborative project on slavery, a project still at the planning stage, which intends to investigate the impact of Dutch activities on the rights of marginalised peoples in South Africa. The project involves universities, including UNIVEN and the University of North-west, with Dr Sean and Prof Jegede of the IMCHPR as project participants.

Hosi Pheni expressed that the correct name for the Limpopo House of Traditional Leaders is the Provincial House of Traditional and Khoisan Leaders, as it is not meant only for Traditional Leaders. He emphasised the importance of this distinction as part of the journey towards inclu-sivity and decolonisation of the status quo. Hosi Pheni extended full support to the rights of In-digenous Peoples, urging collaboration to break the existing system that has, since democracy’s advent in 1994, been treating Indigenous Peoples as subhuman. He indicated that his office is available to collaborate on research and advocacy to improve the status quo.
On closing, Prof Lonias Ndlovu, Director of the School of Law, thanked Dr Barume and his Chief of Staff, Ms Birgitte Feiring, for their visit and engagements despite their busy schedules. He reflected on how the discussions deepened his understanding of indigenous Peoples and knowledge systems, emphasising the importance of building academic and regional networks. While thanking all the participants, Prof Ndlovu encouraged continued collaboration, urging Prof Jegede to keep the network active and lead future engagements to achieve further mean-ingful outcomes.
This visit by Dr Barume aligns closely with UNIVEN’s vision of leading in engaged scholarship and producing graduates that are locally relevant and globally competitive. It also underscores IM-CHPR’s mission to advance impactful research and advocacy at the intersection of social justice, environmental justice, and human rights law.