A/HRC/36/22 United Nations meetings on issues affecting them. The participation of the beneficiaries of the Fund at those two meetings was crucial to their success. 8. In addition to providing financial support to enable the participation of indigenous peoples in United Nations meetings, the Fund allocated resources to equip indigenous peoples with the tools needed to make them truly effective participants in those meetings. For example, in partnership with the organization Indigenous Peoples’ Centre for Documentation, Research and Information, the Fund organized human rights training modules in Geneva and New York, in the margins of the sessions of the Expert Mechanism and the Permanent Forum. III. Activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and recent developments in human rights bodies and mechanisms 9. Despite considerable advances in terms of participation of indigenous peoples, democratic space for indigenous human rights defenders is shrinking in many places. In parallel, indigenous peoples are rarely consulted on development priorities and strategies, extractive industries and the use of lands, territories and other resources that have an impact on their rights. The lack of access to justice for indigenous peoples in State legal systems, the lack of statutory recognition and adequate protection of indigenous and community land rights and the negative impact of environmental destruction on the health and food security of indigenous peoples all contribute to the challenges experienced by indigenous peoples worldwide. 10. In order to address these concerns and translate the promise of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into reality, OHCHR provided technical assistance to Member States, indigenous peoples, civil society organizations and United Nations bodies. OHCHR strengthened its efforts to involve indigenous peoples in all international initiatives that affect them, including the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. OHCHR has assisted national partners in reforming and implementing legal frameworks, policies, strategies and national action plans, as called for in the outcome document of the World Conference. 11. In many contexts, the work of OHCHR has focused on supporting improved followup to human rights mechanisms’ recommendations on indigenous peoples’ rights. During the reporting period, indigenous peoples’ rights were mentioned in the recommendations and concluding observations of several treaty bodies, and in the reports, communications and other activities of several special procedure mandate holders. These United Nations human rights mechanisms provided detailed, country-specific recommendations to improve the implementation of indigenous peoples’ rights, including on ensuring that indigenous peoples have the resources and support to build their capacity, so as to be able to claim their rights and interact on equal footing with the authorities, the private sector and human rights mechanisms, free from harassment and reprisals. They also highlighted the need that all those whose decisions have an impact on indigenous peoples and their lands — from State authorities to business enterprises and international financial institutions — are familiarized with the standards of the Declaration and understand that they are commitments that need to be respected. A. Business, extractive industries and human rights 12. One of the key areas of concern for OHCHR and human rights mechanisms has been the protection of indigenous peoples’ rights in connection with business and extractive industries. 13. A number of OHCHR field presences have paid special attention to the procedural and substantive aspects required for States to respect the principle of free, prior and informed consent and to enable the meaningful participation of indigenous peoples in the 3