A/HRC/15/36 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 23 August 2010 Original: English Human Rights Council Fifteenth session Agenda item 5 Human rights bodies and mechanisms Report of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on its third session, Geneva, 12-16 July 2010* Chairperson-Rapporteur: José Carlos Morales Morales Summary The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples held its third session from 12 to 16 July 2010. In addition to the five members of the Expert Mechanism, the participants in the session included representatives of States, United Nations bodies and specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations, national human rights institutions, academics and a large number of indigenous peoples. The Expert Mechanism held a discussion on the progress report on the study on indigenous peoples and the right to participate in decision-making, in order to finalize it. It also held a discussion on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with a particular focus on its use at the international, regional and national levels to promote and protect the rights of indigenous peoples. It further held a discussion on proposals to be submitted to the Human Rights Council. The Expert Mechanism adopted its progress report on the study on indigenous peoples and the right to participate in decision-making, as well as a number of proposals. * GE.10-15585 Late submission.