Dr Binota Moy Dhamai is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at ANU Law School, working under the supervision of Distinguished Professor Asmi Wood. His current research explores comparative legal issues affecting Indigenous Peoples living under colonised conditions. Prior to this role, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet), contributing to an Australian Research Council-funded project titled “Investigating barriers and pathways to commercial development of Indigenous traditional medicines.” His work in this project focused on Indigenous governance systems and representative structures.
With over 24 years of experience in Indigenous Peoples organisations across Asia and globally, Dr Dhamai dedicated his career to advancing Indigenous Peoples' rights as human rights and the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). He has worked on Indigenous Peoples issues such as autonomy, self-determination, traditional governance, land and territorial rights, demilitarisation, and Indigenous Peoples rights in post-conflict situations, and he has played leadership roles and taken on responsibilities in networking, campaigning, and advocacy at various levels. He led several projects and initiatives on the promotion of core international human rights treaties, the UNDRIP, the use of the UN Special Procedures, treaty monitoring bodies, and the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council.
Dr Dhamai has served as a United Nations mandate holder appointed by the Human Rights Council and the Secretary General. He is a former Chair of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) and ex-Chair of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples. In 2024, he became the first Indigenous Co‑facilitator appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to lead intersessional meetings on concrete measures to enhance Indigenous Peoples’ participation in the work of the Human Rights Council, working alongside the State Co‑facilitators, Australia and Canada. He is also a Taskforce member of the Indigenous and Local Knowledge body that is created under the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), contributing to the global assessments on biodiversity conservation.
He holds a PhD in Regulation and Global Governance from the Australian National University, a Master’s in Environmental Management and Development (EMDV) from the Crawford School of Public Policy, and both a Master’s and a Bachelor’s (honours) degree in philosophy.
