A/HRC/12/32 page 7 4. The participants in the session of the Expert Mechanism included representatives of 54 Member States, the Holy See, six United Nations organizations and programmes, two national human rights institutions and a large number of indigenous delegates and non-governmental organizations. Approximately 400 participants were accredited (see annex I). The Special Rapporteur on the situation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, James Anaya, and a member of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Carlos Mamani, participated in the session. The Human Rights Council’s Advisory Committee was represented by Miguel Alfonso Martínez. The Chairperson of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Musa Ngari Bitaye, and José Francisco Cali-Tzay, member of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, also participated in the session. In addition, the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations was represented by Tegegn Melakou. B. Documentation 5. The Expert Mechanism had before it the provisional agenda (A/HRC/EMRIP/2009/1) and the annotated agenda (A/HRC/EMRIP/2009/1/Add.1) as prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the draft study on lessons learned and challenges to achieve the implementation of the right of indigenous peoples to education (A/HRC/EMRIP/2009/2), prepared by the Expert Mechanism, and the OHCHR contribution to the study on lessons learned and challenges to achieve the implementation of the right of indigenous peoples to education (A/HRC/EMRIP/2009/4). 6. In addition, two OHCHR reports were made available to the participants. One report, on the International Workshop on the Natural Resource Companies, Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights, sets a framework for consultation, benefit-sharing and dispute resolution (A/HRC/EMRIP/2009/5). The second report contains the Draft Guidelines on the Protection of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and in Initial Contact of the Amazon Basin and el Chaco (A/HRC/EMRIP/2009/6). C. OPENING OF THE SESSION 7. The outgoing Chairperson-Rapporteur, John B. Henriksen, opened the second session of the Expert Mechanism. He gave the floor to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, who delivered an opening speech. 8. In her statement, the High Commissioner recalled that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples offers a framework to advance the rights of indigenous peoples through dialogue between States, indigenous peoples, the United Nations system and other stakeholders. She was pleased to note that support for the Declaration keeps expanding, with Australia and Colombia having recently endorsed it. She assured the participants that her Office was committed to be a frontline advocate of universal acceptance and implementation of the Declaration and will continue to support human rights mechanisms dealing with the rights of indigenous peoples. “These rights are, and will remain, a priority area for OHCHR” she said.