A/HRC/18/26 A. Thematic work: Headquarters 6. A significant development for OHCHR was the launch of the United Nations Indigenous Peoples Partnership, an initiative that will function through a multi-donor trust fund along with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The Partnership was launched on 20 May 2011 at the tenth session of the Permanent Forum. The key aim of the Partnership is to facilitate implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) through joint United Nations country programmes with indigenous peoples and States. The Partnership will fund programmes in the areas of (a) access to justice; (b) access to land and ancestral territories; (c) legislative review and reform; (d) democratic governance and indigenous peoples' institutions; and (e) natural resources and extractive industries (conflict prevention, dispute resolution and benefit-sharing). 7. In 2011, OHCHR also dedicated a theme at its annual meeting of heads of field presences on countering discrimination with a focus on the protection of indigenous peoples' and minority rights. The meeting, held in April 2011, brought together the Office’s 56 heads of field presences, and held discussions on, inter alia, strategies for addressing challenges faced by indigenous peoples in realizing their rights. 8. As part of deepening work with OHCHR field presences, the Indigenous Peoples and Minorities Section organized a regional consultation in Managua on 15 and 16 December 2010 for OHCHR field presences in the Latin America and Caribbean region to share best practices on the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples, including a focus on the issue of free, prior and informed consent. Another relevant theme at the session included processes and mechanisms for consultation with indigenous peoples. 9. In response to a recommendation by the Permanent Forum, OHCHR, ILO and the secretariat of the Permanent Forum jointly organized an expert meeting with the theme, "Keeping track: indicators, mechanisms and data for assessing the implementation of indigenous peoples' rights”, which was held place in Geneva on 20 and 21 September 2010. At the expert meeting, participants took stock of the efforts made to develop indicators and generate data on the situation of indigenous peoples, and discussed the possible main features of an integrated assessment framework that would assist actors at local, national and international levels. 10. Further to another recommendation by the Permanent Forum to convene a workshop on the situation of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation, OHCHR is in the process of reviewing the final draft of the guidelines on indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact after a series of consultations in Latin America. 11. As part of its effort to promote the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, OHCHR helped organize an international conference from 31 October to 2 November 2010 in partnership with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Government of Mexico entitled “Promoting inclusive parliaments: the representation of minorities and indigenous peoples in Parliament”. The Conference concluded in Chiapas with the adoption of a Chiapas Declaration by the parliamentarians present. The outcome document contains recommendations on, inter alia, the role of parliamentarians in following up the implementation of recommendations from special procedures mandate holders and United Nations human rights treaty bodies, as well as raising awareness about the Declaration. 12. Following the above conference, OHCHR joined the secretariat of the Permanent Forum, IPU and UNDP to develop a handbook for parliamentarians on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. An advisory board of prominent indigenous experts and 4

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