2016 HRAP alumnus Aehshatou Manu of Cameroon participated in the annual session of the United Nations' Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) held in Geneva in July 2017. Aehshatou’s statement focused on the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples throughout Africa and the need to pay more attention to persons with disabilities and children.
The EMRIP was established by the Human Rights Council, the UN’s main human rights body, in 2007 in order to provide the Council with expertise and advice on the rights of indigenous peoples in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The EMRIP also assists member states in the promotion, protection, and fulfilment of the rights of indigenous peoples.
Aehshatou is the Advocacy Officer for Lelewal Foundation and the Women’s Coordinator and Women’s Wing President for Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association (MBOSCUDA), both indigenous peoples’ organizations working to improve the quality of life for indigenous peoples of Cameroon.
