A/HRC/24/26 ninth session of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; four indigenous representatives to attend the sixteenth session of the Working Group of the Universal Periodic Review, and one indigenous representative to attend the twenty-third session of the Human Rights Council. Furthermore, the Board set aside USD 43,600 to allow 15 representatives of indigenous communities and organizations – to be selected at the three inter-sessional meetings held in May, August and November 2013 – to attend the sessions of the Human Rights treaty bodies, the Human Rights Council and its UPR process to take place between July 2013 and March 2014. 18. OHCHR carried out a number of training and briefing sessions as part of its efforts to promote the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including briefings for OHCHR staff and for human rights treaty bodies. As part of its work to provide guidance for national human rights institutions (NHRIs) on how to advance the principles of the Declaration, OHCHR organized a training workshop, held in Swakopmund from 29 to 31 October 2012, for the staff of the Ombudsman Office in Namibia and for officials of the Ministries of Justice, Education, and Gender Equality and Child Welfare as well as representatives of indigenous communities. Participants identified the key human rights challenges severely affecting the San and Himba indigenous communities and discussed the relevance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and in particular its provisions related to the right of consultation and participation of indigenous communities in decision-making. 19. At the invitation of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of the Republic of Congo and within the framework of the recently launched United Nations Indigenous Peoples’ Partnership project in Congo, OHCHR participated in an expert meeting held in Brazzaville from 26 to 28 July 2013. The participants discussed follow-up to Law N°5-2011 on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Indigenous Populations and the development of implementing decrees which have been prepared by the Government in response to key provisions of the Law. The meeting brought together 42 officials from the different Ministries, focal points on indigenous issues from the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), the Secretariat of the Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Justice, and 24 indigenous representatives from eight provinces. The participants examined seven implementing decrees to ensure that the drafts are in line with the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. OHCHR and members of the UNCT in Brazzaville, including UNICEF, UNDP and the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA), provided support and substantive expertise on the drafts. Decrees were related to the following issues: use of traditional knowledge and benefit-sharing; protection of cultural heritage and sacred sites; special measures on access to education, health services and protection of traditional medicine; procedures of consultation and participation in decision-making concerning development programmes; establishment and mandate of the Inter-ministerial Committee on the protection of indigenous populations; and citizenship. 20. OHCHR organized a seminar entitled “Strengthening partnership between indigenous peoples and States: treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements”, which took place in Geneva from 16 to 17 July 2013. The seminar was chaired by Hon. Justice Williams, former Chair of the Waitangi Tribunal in New Zealand, and benefited from the participation of experts who introduced various examples of treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements from different regions of the world, demonstrating that this is not an issue that is relevant in only a limited number of contexts. They also made a number of recommendations aimed at enhancing the implementation of such treaties. Several members of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination also highlighted the critical role of United Nations mechanisms in advancing the issue further and promoting implementation of treaties, agreements and other constructive agreements. 6