A/HRC/39/68 7. The Expert Mechanism undertook its first two country engagement missions under its new mandate: to Finland from 10 to 16 February 2018 and to Mexico from 26 February to 2 March 2018. For more information on these country engagement missions see section VI below. III. Adoption of studies, reports and proposals A. Adoption of studies and reports 8. During its eleventh session, the Expert Mechanism adopted its study and advice on free, prior and informed consent: a human rights-based approach (A/HRC/EMRIP/2018/62), under paragraph 2 (a) of Human Rights Council resolution 33/25. 9. The Expert Mechanism agreed that the Chair-Rapporteur, in consultation with the other members of the Expert Mechanism, could make revisions to the study in the light of the discussions at its eleventh session and agreed to submit the study to the Council at its thirty-ninth session. B. Proposals Proposal 1: Participation of indigenous peoples in the Human Rights Council 10. The Expert Mechanism proposes that the Council make further efforts to facilitate the participation of indigenous peoples’ representatives, and their representative institutions, given that they are not always organized as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), in its work, in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This would include all meetings relevant to the rights of indigenous peoples, in particular the dialogue of the Expert Mechanism with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, the annual half-day discussion on the rights of indigenous peoples and sessions of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review. For this purpose, the Expert Mechanism proposes that the Council hold a technical workshop on modalities for enhanced participation of indigenous peoples in the Council. 11. The Expert Mechanism makes the present proposal without prejudice to the ongoing consultative process referred to in General Assembly resolution 71/321, aimed at enhancing the participation of indigenous peoples’ representatives and institutions in United Nations meetings. Proposal 2: Theme of the annual half-day discussion on indigenous peoples at the Human Rights Council 12. In the light of the information set out in its report on lessons learned from 10 years of implementation of the Declaration (A/HRC/36/56), the Expert Mechanism reiterates to the Council its proposal that it hold a half-day discussion on the protection of indigenous human rights defenders at its forty-second session. 13. The Council may also consider convening an interactive panel on the human rightsbased approach to the promotion and preservation of indigenous languages, in the light of the International Year of Indigenous Languages that will begin on 1 January 2019. The Expert Mechanism proposes that indigenous participants in this panel be allowed to use their own languages and that adequate resources be allocated for interpretation. Proposal 3: Increased engagement of Member States with the Expert Mechanism 14. The Expert Mechanism proposes that the Council urge States to engage more actively with the Mechanism’s activities, and in particular to attend and participate in its annual sessions, with a view to taking part in dialogue as a core element of the Expert Mechanism’s amended mandate. 4