Topic: Prison Reform
Country: Czech Republic
Delegate Name: Catherine Douglas
School: Cranbrook Kingswood
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Czech Republic position papers GLIMUN 2008 committees
Today, in the world there is increasing concern about the rights of all individuals. The United Nations has made an extreme effort to control the actions of governments all over the world, toward their citizens. The Czech Republic recognizes the efforts of this body by fully supporting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the decisions reached at the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Since our oppression by the Nazi Regime and the Soviet Union in the 20th Century, we have been avid supporters of human rights across the board. We have even gone so far as to irritate the other members of the European Union, and compromise our relations with countries that trade with Burma, Indonesia, and Cuba. We are ranked 18th out of 167 countries in the Democracy Index and have received the highest rank of “functioning democracy” along with 27 others. We in the Czech Republic believe that every human has rights regardless of birth, race, citizenship, or religious beliefs.
Needless to say, on the topic of cruelty to prisoners, the Czech Republic stands firm. We believe that prisoners should be treated with tolerance and given their basic rights. We realize that as a Nation, we have much work to do. The remnants of our Soviet occupiers’ methods remain. We are aware that we have, on average, two to three times as many prisoners as Western European countries. But the Czech Helsinki Committee, the Prison Service, the Justice Ministry and the Probation and Mediation Service are working on a plan to fine-tune our prison systems. Our Parole program is well on its way. We believe that it is the duty of all countries to do the same. We believe that rehabilitation, not harsh punishment, is the way to reform criminals. We propose that this committee spend its limited time here discussing how to implement rehabilitation programs in all countries.
