Topic: Protecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Country: United Arab Emirates
Delegate Name: Serena Ahmad
School: Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All United Arab Emirates position papers GLIMUN 2018 committees
While the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has caused progress to occur in several countries in formally recognizing indigenous peoples, steps still need to be taken to further fight the violence, the discrimination, the exclusion, and the poverty they continue to face. According to the United Nations, the world has an estimated 370 million indigenous people, living across 90 countries, who make up about one-third of the world’s 900 million "extremely poor". The Declaration establishes minimum survival standards for the dignity and well-being of these indigenous peoples. Along with the existing Declaration, the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has launched the Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) program in 2002. This program was created to support governments in creating synergies between scientific and indigenous peoples’ knowledge. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) appreciates these efforts to progress the overall issue.
The United Arab Emirates is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights at home and around the world, and therefore supports the purpose of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The UAE reaffirms its commitment to reduce violence and discrimination against indigenous peoples. The UAE works with the Minority Rights Group International (MRG). The MRG,founded with the objective of working to secure rights for indigenous peoples, campaigns worldwide with around 130 partners in over 60 countries to ensure that disadvantaged minorities and indigenous peoples can make their voices heard.
It is essential that countries continue to work together to implement indigenous peoples. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) has been closely involved with the efforts to improve this issue. “We must make sure indigenous peoples’ rights and priorities are reflected in the implementation of the new [development] agenda,” UN DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo said as he addressed a panel event at the 2014 World Conference. The UAE calls upon the international community to focus on the priorities of improving conditions for indigenous peoples worldwide. One major priority is to strengthen informed public education and awareness of the growing obstacles for indigenous peoples. The UAE also plans to fulfill wider rights and work to create conditions favourable to a people’s development. As it is in the best interest of the international community, support would be very appreciated in this attempt to progress rights of indigenous peoples. Funding from non-governmental organizations will ease the burden that would have been placed upon the countries involved in this mission.
