The broad focus of Binota’s research interests is understanding Indigenous Peoples rights, politics, empowerment, and influences in decision-making processes in international politics and global governance. His research interest explores Indigenous Politics; colonial, post-colonial, nation-state and practices; Intrastate peace agreement, cascade of violence and Indigenous Peoples relations; political theory of global Indigenous politics; power sharing; traditional knowledge; Indigenous Peoples’ autonomy, self-determination and self-governance.

Binota Dhamai is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Indigenous Governance, at the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) at the Australian National University (ANU). Binota’s PhD from ANU focused on the intrastate peace agreement and its impact to Indigenous Peoples governance, mitralisation, land and territorial rights. He holds Master in Environmental Management and Development from the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU.

Binota had over 20 years’ experience working with several Indigenous Peoples organisations in the Asia region and global on Indigenous Peoples empowerment. Currently, as an expert member of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) Binota provides the UN Human Rights Council with expertise and advice on the matters of Indigenous Peoples human rights. The EMRIP also assists Member States in achieving the goals of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). He has been invited to present his expertise on Indigenous Peoples rights to the various international including United Nations seminars and workshops on the Indigenous peoples’ rights and empowerment in the context of international politics and global governance, and the UNDRIP as a key framework advancing Indigenous Peoples rights.

Binota’s research interest is informed by his education, work experience on Indigenous Peoples rights and empowerment and upbringing through his proud Indigenous identity – Tripura from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region of Bangladesh.

His research project explores ‘Investigating barriers and pathways to commercial development of Indigenous traditional medicines’, and focus on the Indigenous perspectives on governance arrangements in relation to commercial development of Traditional Knowledge (TK) in genetic resources. The potential benefits and risks of commercialising TK under the current IP regime, and the perspectives of traditional knowledge holders on how IP protections could be developed to adequately protect TK and to address Australia’s obligations under the Nagoya Protocol and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). His research explores how effective indigenous governance arrangements recognise and provide for the traditional rights and cultural obligations of Traditional Knowledge holders, and governance systems that can be both culturally appropriate and commercially responsive, including developing governance interfaces with regulatory bodies.