PARAMARIBO — The Ministry of Regional Development (RO) is also taking the further development of legislation into account in the preparation for the 2027 national land rights conference. This itself is an important part of the preparations. “The ministry aims to bring together the existing legislative processes from 2019 and 2021 into one coherent legislative concept, which takes into account previous recommendations,” it says in a press release.
RO Minister Miquella Huur held consultations with the Land Rights Committee on Tuesday. Three major issues were the establishment and recognition of traditional governance, the demarcation of traditional settlements and habitats and the application of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). This principle means that communities can give their consent in advance, freely and on the basis of full information, to decisions that affect them.
“The aim is to arrive at implementable recommendations and concrete follow-up steps that will further the process of legal recognition of the land rights of indigenous and tribal peoples”
The national land rights conference must make an important contribution to the process towards legal recognition of the land rights of indigenous and tribal peoples in Suriname. It must build on previous work and contribute to concrete follow-up steps within the land rights process, according to RO.
Huur asked the committee on Tuesday to elaborate the points discussed into a concrete plan of action. The minister wants to prevent the conference from being limited to consultations. The aim is to arrive at implementable recommendations and concrete follow-up steps that will further the process of legal recognition of the land rights of indigenous and tribal peoples.
In the run-up to the conference, workshops and consultation rounds will be held with the target group, civil society organizations and other stakeholders. The results should provide direction to the content and objectives of the conference. In addition, efforts are made to collaborate with national and international partners.
The Fundamental Rights Committee of RO consists of chairman Sharma Betterson-Leefland, vice-chairman Riedo Banai and members Angele Noordwijk, Jafna Zandveld and Vanity Cairo.
