A/HRC/33/56 regional bodies. She had carried out official country visits to Honduras (November 2015) and Brazil (March 2016), as well as a visit to follow up to the situation of the Sami peoples in the Sápmi region of Finland, Norway and Sweden. As to thematic studies and good practices, she had devoted her second report to the situation of indigenous women and girls, who experienced a broad, multifaceted and complex spectrum of mutually reinforcing human rights abuses. 78. Mr. Pop Ac provided an update on the work of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, including its fifteenth session, which took place in May 2016. Several initiatives to implement the outcome document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples had been discussed during the session, including the development of national action plans, the establishment of interministerial working groups on indigenous peoples and other measures taken in partnership with indigenous peoples. The fifteenth session was also the setting for the presentation of the system-wide action plan for ensuring a coherent approach to achieving the ends of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (see E/C.19/2016/5). With regard to the review of the mandate of the Expert Mechanism, he underlined that complementarity with the Permanent Forum must be one of the guiding elements of the mandate review and supported the idea of expanding membership to seven experts, one from each of the indigenous sociocultural regions. 79. Binota Dhamai provided a statement on the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples, noting that 2015 marked the thirtieth anniversary of the Fund, providing an opportunity to celebrate its accomplishments. In 2016, the Fund had selected 64 indigenous representatives to participate in many forums, including the ninth session of the Expert Mechanism, the fifteenth session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, multiple sessions of the Human Rights Council and the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review and sessions of several treaty bodies. 80. Some States informed the Expert Mechanism of current implementation activities, illustrating engagement with indigenous leaders, including tribal leaders and youth. Some States reported on examples of follow-up to the Declaration, such as legislative measures. Participants made proposals for the advancement of the Declaration in several areas, including: cross-border cooperation; research; legal and policy compliance with free, prior and informed consent; consistent application of international law; and the establishment of national action plans. Chief. Littlechild noted the importance of States adopting effective legislative frameworks to implement the Declaration and of engaging in partnerships, rather than unilateral actions. 81. There was reference to the recently adopted American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Chief Littlechild noted that, in countries belonging to the Organization of American States, the American Declaration and the United Nations Declaration must be read together in such a way that the instrument with the higher standard must be applied in any given situation. 82. Ms. Yamada stated that, in many countries, indigenous peoples were seen as a problem or an obstacle to development, which led to the perpetuation of violence against them. That was often the root cause of the gravest violations of their rights and an impediment to the Declaration not being reflected in national laws and policies. For that reason, efforts to bring reconciliation between indigenous peoples and States must be encouraged and pursued. 83. Members of the Expert Mechanism underlined the critical role that international financial institutions, such the World Bank, could play in the implementation of the Declaration and called upon international development banks and their States shareholders to ensure funded projects and safeguard standards were in compliance with international norms on indigenous peoples. 18