A/HCR//18/42 14. Some practices have been included in the report even where they might not be well implemented, in order to highlight the potential that they have to protect and promote indigenous peoples’ participation in decision-making. 15. Good practices may be found in, inter alia, a law, a policy programme, a single project and/or in a component of a project. III. Indigenous peoples’ internal decision-making processes and institutions 16. In the context of the present report, internal decision-making processes and institutions are indigenous; in other words, they function in accordance with indigenousdetermined practices and for indigenous peoples. That is not to say that internal decisionmaking processes and institutions need to be traditional in a historical sense; instead, they may include processes and institutions that have evolved over time, which may involve newer practices, sometimes in response to external influences. In some cases, indigenous decision-making processes and institutions may also be established as a result of discussion and dialogue, or even agreement, with the State. Internal decision-making processes are sometimes – though not always – recognized by the State and under State law. A. Indigenous decision-making processes and institutions 17. Many indigenous institutions have their own decision-making processes, some of which are described in the progress report of the Expert Mechanism.1 Many of these institutions continue to receive support from communities despite, in some cases, limited (if any) recognition by the State. The right to maintain such distinct decision-making processes and institutions is embodied, inter alia, in articles 5, 20 and 34 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 18. Generally, the ongoing functioning of indigenous peoples’ internal decision-making processes and associated institutions are positive in that they facilitate the participation of indigenous peoples and individuals in public affairs in ways that are philosophically and culturally consistent with indigenous peoples’ understanding of governance. Significantly, indigenous decision-making processes and institutions also express a degree of indigenous peoples’ self-determination and autonomy, free from imposed external influence, although 1 A/HRC/15/35, paras. 42-66. 5