A/HRC/27/64 VI. Follow-up to thematic studies and advice 52. Mr. Mansayagan introduced the agenda item on follow-up to thematic studies and advice by recalling the Expert Mechanism’s mandate and listing the studies and advice previously issued by the Expert Mechanism. He added that the studies and advice were meant to provide a better understanding of the provisions of the Declaration and to propose concrete actions that States, indigenous peoples, civil society, international organizations, national human rights institutions and others could take in order to further its implementation. He noted that the studies of the Expert Mechanism placed special emphasis on the participation of indigenous peoples themselves in decisions affecting them. He also highlighted the role that the Expert Mechanism’s studies and advice could play in the preparation of the outcome document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. 53. A good practice was shared with regard to implementation of the Expert Mechanism’s advice No. 2 on the right to participation in decision-making, in connection with indigenous youth, through the development of the Empowered Communities initiative in Australia. That programme aimed to strengthen local indigenous leadership and governance and to ensure that indigenous peoples had a greater say in how government services were delivered in their regions. 54. Some statements from indigenous peoples’ organizations, referring to the Expert Mechanism’s studies on languages and culture and on education, drew attention to the fact that in certain countries, indigenous peoples were still denied the right to obtain education in their native language. Statements also lamented the fact that the right to participate in decision-making, particularly with regard to lands, education and language, remained unfulfilled in many cases. 55. International Chief Littlechild provided updates relating to previous Expert Mechanism studies. First, in connection with the study on the right to education and the study on the role of languages and culture, he noted that work was continuing on First Nations control of First Nations education in Canada. Furthermore, he reviewed a groundbreaking, unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of Canada declaring the existence of aboriginal title for the Tsilhqot’in people in Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia, 2014 SCC 44, which relates to the Expert Mechanism’s follow-up study on the right to participate in decision-making, with a focus on extractive industries (A/HRC/21/55). It declared the existence of aboriginal title for the Tsilhqot’in people and indicated the need to include indigenous peoples’ views on the granting of licences. 56. Referring to the study on the role of languages and culture, Mr. Tsykarev discussed some of the challenges that indigenous peoples faced in ensuring that their languages were transmitted across generations, such as efforts at assimilation and linguistic integration. He stressed that indigenous peoples’ right to autonomy in education included the right to set their own priorities in education and to participate effectively in the development, implementation and evaluation of plans, programmes and services in education, as well as the right to establish and control their own educational systems and institutions. In that regard, he pointed out that reductions of hours for teaching indigenous languages in order to increase the teaching of the mainstream language could not be made without consultation with indigenous peoples. 13