IN SURINAME LEIDEN laws, policy intentions and judgments do not automatically lead to execution and implementation. All kinds of excuses and official red tape are used to beat around the bush. This was also the case on Monday during the fourth assessment of Suriname by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Suriname appeared to have done nothing with a number of urgent recommendations from previous years. It is scandalous that provisions from the Moiwana (2005), Saamaka (2007) and Kaliña and Lokono (2015) judgments have still not been fully implemented. The fact that Suriname is the only country in South America that does not recognize the rights of indigenous and tribal people to have their traditional culture and way of life recognized is also not something to be proud of.
The fact that the government has set up a working group to operationalize this institute sounds like a problem that has been created for a solution
One of the things that is also completely incomprehensible is that the establishment of a children’s ombudsman does not get off the ground, even though the law came into effect in January 2025. It is completely incomprehensible that President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, who in 2018 as President of the National Assembly, took the initiative to conduct national research into violence against children with technical support from Unicef, keeps this institute dormant.
Especially when looking at the results of this research, it is unbelievable that the institute is not yet staffed. The fact that the government has set up a working group to operationalize this institute sounds like a problem that has been created for a solution.
Minister Harish Monorath of Justice and Security announced that there has been environmental pollution and that a massive fish kill has been observed for a short time in indigenous and tribal areas. As a result, people could no longer fish or drink the water. The question is whether the minister also stated that, according to the president, it is the state-owned company Grassalco that is held responsible for this. So it is the state that has caused this situation.
Several countries pointed out to Suriname at the Universal Periodic Review on Monday that it has a long way to go. The joint shadow report, submitted this year by a number of civil society organizations, has also exposed Suriname’s shortcomings. During his presentation, Monorath regularly stated that by the year 2027, many of the stated objectives, such as the establishment of a human rights institute, will have been achieved.
It is notable that while the minister promised that the human rights institute will be there next year, he also indicated that Suriname would not yet be culturally ready for all rights regarding abortion and LGBTIQ+ people. The civil society organizations that submitted the shadow report found this worrying. Because human rights cannot be applied selectively. No one has the right to determine how someone else presents themselves. Only the humanity of the other should be respected. Why is that so difficult for parts of Suriname.
