A/HRC/15/38 XII. Concluding remarks 57. The General Assembly, convinced that the establishment of a voluntary fund would constitute a significant development for the future promotion and protection of the human rights of indigenous populations, established the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations in 1985. Since its inception, the mandate of the Fund has been amended five times to take into account institutional changes and to ensure that the work of the Fund reflects the needs of indigenous peoples and of the United Nations. Each time, the working methods of the Fund and of the Board of Trustees have been quickly adapted to reflect these changes. 58. With its current mandate, the Fund can support participation of indigenous peoples in the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, two key bodies in the United Nations devoted to indigenous issues. The expansion of the mandate to cover the sessions of the Human Rights Council and those of human rights treaty bodies, proposed by the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, would constitute a significant addition to the mandate of the Fund and would increase indigenous participation in two areas where some indigenous representatives are already active. While the decision-making process under the Fund could, by and large, remain the same, such an expansion is likely to require certain changes in the working methods of the Board, such as more intersessional decision-making and revised selection criteria for those applying to attend sessions of treaty bodies or the Human Rights Council. 59. It is likely that, if the mandate were expanded, the number of grantees that would receive support to attend sessions of the Human Rights Council and human rights treaty bodies would remain relatively modest in comparison with the number of grantees attending the annual sessions of the Expert Mechanism and the Permanent Forum. This would result, inter alia, from the Economic and Social Council consultative status requirements applicable to attending the sessions of the Human Rights Council, as well as from the specialized expertise that may be required to participate effectively in the work of human rights treaty bodies. The fact that the number of grants based on the new elements of the mandate would be limited would in turn limit the impact of the expansion on the financial situation of the Fund and its capacity to support participation in the Expert Mechanism and in the Permanent Forum. This being said, it is clear that the successful implementation of an extended mandate would require continuous solid support from donors. 60. In addition to travel grants per se, effective participation may require further training and orientation support for the beneficiaries during the sessions at issue. This has already been recognized by the Board of the Trustees of the Fund, which has encouraged further training activities and support for beneficiaries of the Fund in order to ensure that they are in a position to participate effectively in the sessions of the Expert Mechanism and the Permanent Forum and that they are aware of the appropriate mechanisms for raising specific issues. While OHCHR continues to support such training activities even in the absence of any change in the mandate, an expansion of the mandate would further increase the need to ensure that such support is available for indigenous peoples using the Fund. 61. The proposed extension of the mandate of the Fund would undoubtedly increase the diversity of indigenous peoples’ representatives -- including those from underrepresented regions who do not have adequate financial resources – contributing to the work of the Human Rights Council and treaty bodies. It would also help to ensure that indigenous peoples’ representatives use effectively the Expert Mechanism and Permanent Forum and contribute substantively to their core 13