A/HRC/15/35 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 23 August 2010 Original: English Human Rights Council Fifteenth session Item 5 Human rights bodies and mechanisms Progress report on the study on indigenous peoples and the right to participate in decision-making Report of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples* Summary In resolution 12/13, the Human Rights Council requested the Expert Mechanism, in accordance with its mandate, to carry out a study on indigenous peoples and the right to participate in decision-making, to present a progress report to the Council at its fifteenth session, and the final study to the eighteenth session. The present progress report examines the international human rights framework as it relates to indigenous peoples, their internal decision-making processes and institutions, and participation in decision-making mechanisms linked to both State and non-State institutions, and processes affecting indigenous peoples. * GE.10-15576 Late submission.