POSITION PAPER

Delegation: Czech Republic

Committee: United Nations Human Rights Council
Topic Area B: The History of Indigenous Peoples and Contemporary International Policy
The Indigenous Peoples of the world are very diverse. They live in nearly all the
countries on all the continents of the world and form a spectrum of humanity, ranging from
traditional hunter-gatherers and subsistence farmers to legal scholars. In some countries,
Indigenous Peoples form the majority of the population; others comprise small minorities.
Indigenous Peoples are concerned with preserving land, protecting language and promoting
culture. Some Indigenous Peoples strive to preserve traditional ways of life, while others seek
greater participation in the current state structures. Like all cultures and civilizations,
Indigenous Peoples are always adjusting and adapting to changes in the world. Indigenous
Peoples recognize their common plight and work for their self-determination; based on their
respect for the earth. The Czech Republic is a strong advocate for the enforcement of the
DRIP and we are concerned with the issues that are preventing its success in the global
community. The environmental rights of indigenous peoples are an important part of the
DRIP.
On the 13th of September 2007, the Czech Republic voted in favor of the Declaration
of Rights of Indigenous People (DRIP). The Czech Republic believes in the DRIP because it
respects indigenous peoples rights and affirms their equality to all other people. It also
supports the right to control developments in their lands and territories. This is important to
promote their developments according to their needs. It allows these groups to become self
reliant and have the right of self-determination.The government in the Czech Republic is
implementing a long term plan that was established in the year 2000. This plan was
established to increase the ability of the indigenous people in the Czech Republic. The Czech
Republic understands the issues that are faced with ensuring the environmental rights of
indigenous groups. These issues include competition for resources, pollution of the water
supporting the Indigenous peoples and their land, lack of environmental rights, lack of
protection from a surrounding state to prevent environmental degradation and pollution of
indigenous land, lack of land ownership recognition by states and global community as
indigenous groups.
The Czech Republic believes the solutions to the issues faced with indigenous groups
would have to be achieved on an international level. The Czech Republic believes that the
solution is for the global community to follow the DRIP. The nation of the Czech Republic
supports this solution because if treated on a national level, countries might ignore the issues
of the indigenous people and focus on only benefiting their country like they have done in the
past. We are concerned with this because looking after the welfare of the indigenous people is
not always a major priority in many countries. An agreement on an international level would
guarantee the focus and attention to the rights that indigenous people need. Four major
countries do not support the DRIP. We can change this by adding amendments that make the
document more specific and address regions of the worlds separately, but still agreeing on the
common ground that indigenous people need their rights. By making the DRIP more specific
countries can clearly understand the issues at hand and it will solve any misinterpretation the
document may create. By addressing the needs of the Indigenous people and the concerns of
the states, this will allow more countries to agree on the document and the implementation of
the DIRP will be reached as soon as possible.