The Indigenous World 2024: Suriname
The Indigenous people of Suriname number approximately 20,344 people, or 3.8% of the total population of 541,638[1] (census 2012). The four most numerous Indigenous Peoples are the Kaliña (Carib), Lokono (Arawak), Trio (Tirio, Tareno) and Wayana. In addition, there are small settlements of other Amazonian Indigenous Peoples, mostly in the south of Suriname, including the Akoerio, Warao, Apalai, Wai-Wai, Okomoyana, Mawayana, Katuena, Tunayana, Pireuyana, Sikiiyana, Alamayana, Maraso, Awayakule, Sirewu, Upuruy, Sarayana, Kasjoeyana, Murumuruyo, Kukuyana, Piyanakoto and Sakëta.
The Kaliña and Lokono live mainly in the northern part of the country and are sometimes referred to as “lowland” Indigenous Peoples, whereas the Trio, Wayana and other Amazonian peoples live in the south and are referred to as “highland” peoples.
The legislative system of Suriname, based on colonial legislation, does not recognize Indigenous or tribal peoples, and Suriname has no legislation governing Indigenous and tribal peoples’ land or other rights, in spite of various judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to develop and implement such legislation. This forms a major threat to the survival and well-being of Indigenous and tribal peoples, particularly given the strong focus that is being placed on Suriname’s many natural resources (including oil, bauxite, gold, water, forests and biodiversity). Suriname is one of the few countries in South America that has not ratified ILO Convention 169. It did vote in favour of adopting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007.
Legislative developments
Deliberations on a draft framework law[2] on the Collective Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Tribal Peoples in Suriname are stalled in the National Assembly (the unicameral parliament) of Suriname, after a flood of objections from various political parties. The draft was submitted to the Parliament by President Chandrikapersad Santokhi in June 2021 but taken into consideration only in January 2023. After the initial round of discussions over the course of the first months of 2023,[3] amendments were announced because the law has to find common ground between all parties, according to Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk in August 2023. By whom, when and how these amendments will be made was, and remains, unclear.
Most of the objections voiced by both coalition and opposition parties in the National Assembly focused on protecting the rights and interests of companies and persons who have been given those rights by the government, mainly logging and mining companies, and titleholders of land, either as property or as long-term land lease. Only a few of the speakers recognized that Indigenous and tribal peoples also have (collective) rights that must be protected. This first round of discussions has again made clear how private interests dominate the legal and political landscape in Suriname, in spite of the binding judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights obliging Suriname to adopt legislation on Indigenous and tribal peoples’ rights in the Moiwana (2005),[4] Saramaka (2007)[5] and Kaliña & Lokono cases (2015).[6]
In the meantime, in the absence of such legislation, subsequent governments have continued to give out land and extractive industry concessions to the point that practically half of Suriname (including the vast majority of Indigenous and tribal Peoples’ villages) is covered by concessions, and an unknown portion has been given out as land title.[7] Consistent protests, petitions and meetings with government by VIDS, the Association of Indigenous Village Leaders in Suriname, have rendered no immediate or concrete changes, in spite of repeated promises by the government.
The government also submitted a draft “Land Conversion” law[8] to the National Assembly, which would permit the conversion of land lease titles into full property titles. This draft was met with strong opposition, especially from Indigenous[9] and tribal[10] peoples’ organizations, who feel that this law will open the door to individual land ownership and large land ownership in their (as yet unrecognized) territories. Discussions in Parliament were halted but President Santokhi subsequently issued a presidential decree bypassing the formal route through Parliament and creating an administrative procedure by which such titles can now still be converted, even in the absence of an approved law and in spite of negative advice from the constitutional State Council that has to approve draft legislation.[11] This measure was met with a storm of protests[12] but has not been legally contested (yet). A number of property titles have meanwhile swiftly been issued. According to the decree, Indigenous and tribal peoples’ territories are excluded from land conversion but how “hard” and enforceable this clause is, is unclear.
Killings
Tensions rose at the start of 2023 when new documents surfaced on social media indicating the issuing of yet more land titles within (the legally unrecognized) Indigenous territory in the district of Para. Soon after, on 2 May 2023, an armed group of Indigenous persons raided the State-owned company, Grassalco, which has a mining concession within their territory and forbids villagers from entering or crossing that area to use their forest and agricultural plots. The group shot at police, burned trucks carrying logs and held Grassalco employees hostage. A heavily armed police unit soon intervened, resulting in two persons dying from police bullets. Photos showed the deceased men with their hands tied behind their backs, raising suspicions that they were executed extrajudicially. According to official records, however, they bled to death after the arrest. A number of other persons were arrested and are still in custody.
The Government of Suriname was quick to portray the group as criminals and, during deliberations in parliament, the word “terrorists”[13] was also heard, whereas Indigenous people described the group as freedom fighters and human rights’ defenders acting against the unabated and continuous human rights’ violations, abuse and oppression by governments. VIDS called for independent investigations and stressed the need for urgent legal recognition and respect of Indigenous Peoples’ rights during emergency talks with the government as well as in letters to UN bodies concerned with Indigenous Peoples’ rights and to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association issued a communication to the Government of Suriname expressing their concerns and asking for further information about the use of excessive and lethal force and the lack of legal recognition and protection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights in Suriname, which to date remains unanswered.[14] A silent walk calling for justice was held in the streets of Paramaribo on 13 May.[15]
Mennonites
The stated intention of the Mennonites to settle in Suriname has shaken the whole of the country, not least Indigenous and tribal peoples’ communities whose lands are eagerly being eyed up. The director of a “matchmaker” company, Terra Invest Suriname and Guyana, said that his company had submitted a request to the government for 34,000 ha,[16] intended to accommodate 50 Mennonite families. Simultaneously, however, documents showed up on social media showing requests by the Ministry of Agriculture for more than 500,000 ha of agricultural land, raising speculation that this would also be intended for the Mennonites. Conversion of such large areas of mostly primary forest, causing potentially irreversible ecosystem, biodiversity and water disturbances, would not only affect the Indigenous and tribal peoples’ livelihoods in those areas but also cause Suriname to lose its current carbon-negative status, one of only three countries in the world with such status, as was explained in a petition[17] to the President of Suriname. Suriname currently has the highest percentage of forest cover in the world – over 90% of Suriname's surface is covered by forests – and a relatively low deforestation rate. The Government of Suriname confirmed that 50 Mennonite families have been given permission to settle in Suriname for a pilot period of three years but denied that land titles had already been issued to them.[18] The Minister of Agriculture mentioned in parliament that the requests for land from his ministry were not intended for Mennonites but for agriculture and associated infrastructure.[19]
Other developments
At the request of the Association of Saamaka Authorities (VSG in Dutch) and VIDS, a public hearing was held on the implementation of the Saramaka case (2007) and the Kaliña & Lokono case against the State of Suriname, during the 188th session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in November 2023 in Washington, DC, USA.[20] Representatives of VIDS and VSG conveyed their deep concern at the lack of implementation of the judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in their respective cases and also brought up current issues of ongoing violations of the human rights of Indigenous and tribal peoples in Suriname, among others the killings mentioned above, the continued issuing of land titles and permits for extractive concessions, the environmental pollution of their living areas by mercury and cyanide, and the drainage of water from the Brokopondo hydro-lake in 2022 by the State Oil Power Company of Suriname (SPSC). The drainage of water was said to be “controlled” and necessary due to the extremely high level of water in the reservoir after months of continued and heavy rains but various Maroon villages, including the agricultural plots on which they depend for food, said they were left unattended while being submerged in water for various months. During the hearing, the Inter-American Court offered its assistance for an accelerated implementation of the judgments.[21]
The Jodensavanne Archaeological Site in Suriname was inscribed as a cultural site on the World Heritage List in September 2023, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, which decides on new inscriptions.[22] The site lies within Indigenous Peoples’ territory and, during the session, a question was raised by the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on World Heritage (IIPFWH) regarding what the State Party (Suriname) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) advisory body had done to ensure that a thorough free, prior, and informed consent process had been carried out properly.[23] The question remained unanswered because the committee chair did not allow it to be raised before the adoption of the inscription decision.
Max Ooft is Policy Officer at the Bureau of the Association of Indigenous Village Leaders in Suriname (Vereniging van Inheemse Dorpshoofden in Suriname, VIDS).
This article is part of the 38th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous man harvesting quinoa in Sunimarka, Peru. This photo was taken by Pablo Lasansky, and is the cover of The Indigenous World 2024 where this article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2024 in full here
Notes and references
[1] The population is highly ethnically and religiously diverse, consisting of Hindustani (27.4%), Maroons (“Bush negroes”, 21.7%), Creoles (16%), Javanese (14%), mixed (13%), Indigenous Peoples (“Amerindians”, 3.8%) and Chinese (1.5%) (census 2012). At least 15 different languages are spoken on a daily basis in Suriname but the only official language is Dutch, while the lingua franca used in less formal conversations is Sranan Tongo (Surinamese).
[2] De Nationale Assemblée van De Republik Suriname, “Onderwerp: aanbieding Wet Collective Rechten Inheemse en Tribale Volken,” 15 June 2021. https://dna.sr/media/322328/21_899__Pres._Sur.___Aanb._Wet_Collectieve_Rechten_Inheemse_en_Tribale_Volken.pdf
[3] Hanoeman, Preveen, “Conceptwet Collectieve Rechten Inheemse en Tribale Volken niet uitvoerbaar,” Key News, 9 August 2023. https://keynews.sr/2023/08/09/ingediende-conceptwet-collectieve-rechten-inheemse-entribale-volken-niet-uitvoerbaar/
[4] Inter-American Court of Human Rights, “Case of the Moiwana Community v. Suriname,” 15 June 2005. https://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_124_ing.pdf
[5] Inter-American Court of Human Rights, “Case of the Saramaka People v. Suriname,” 28 November 2007. https://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_172_ing.pdf
[6] Inter-American Court of Human Rights, “Case of the Kaliña and Lokopno peoples v. Suriname”, 25 November 2015. https://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_309_ing.pdf
[7] For a map showing such concessions (but not land titles) please see: https://gonini.org/
[8] De Nationale Assemblée van De Republik Suriname, “Ontwerpwet wijz. Decreet Uitgifte Domeingrond.” https://dna.sr/wetgeving/ontwerpwetten-bij-dna/in-behandeling/ontwerpwet-wijz-decreet-uitgifte-domeingrond/
[9] De Nationale Assemblée van De Republik Suriname, ”VIDS vraagt voor de derde keer Wet Uitgifte Domeingrond aan te houden.” https://dna.sr/nieuws/vids-vraagt-voor-de-derde-keer-wet-uitgifte-domeingrond-aan-te-houden/
[10] De Nationale Assemblée van De Republik Suriname, “De marrongemeenschap dient petitie in aan parlement.” https://dna.sr/nieuws/de-marrongemeenschap-dient-petitie-in-aan-parlement/
[11] Cairo, Ivan. “Staatsraad verwerpt staatsbesluit grondconversie,” DWT, 6 October 2023. https://dwtonline.com/staatsraad-verwerpt-staatsbesluit-grondconversie/
[12] “Staatsbesluit Grondconversie grond ingeboord: Degene die dit voorstel heeft gedaan moet worden opgesloten,” DWT, 19 December 2023.https://dwtonline.com/staatsbesluit-grondconversie-grond-ingeboord-degene-die-dit-voorstel-heeft-gedaan-moet-worden-opgesloten/; Vissers, M.L., “Heeft het staatsbesluit M.B.T. grondconversie wel wettelijke draagvlak?”, United News, 13 November 2023. https://unitednews.sr/heeft-het-staatsbesluit-m-b-t-grondconversie-wel-wettelijke-draagvlak/
[13] “Families Wolfjager en Dijsteel eisen dat zaak omtrent hun overledenen te Pikin Saron onderzocht wordt,” Dagblad Suriname, 2 June 2023. https://www.dbsuriname.com/2023/06/02/families-wolfjager-en-dijksteel-eisen-dat-zaak-omtrent-hun-overledenen-te-pikin-saron-onderzocht-wordt/
[14] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples; the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.” 26 July 2023. https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=28173
[15] “Suriname: Native Amerindians hold protest demonstration,” Loope, 13 May 2023. https://caribbean.loopnews.com/content/suriname-native-amerindians-hold-protest-demonstration
[16] “Terra Invest bevestigt grondaanvragen voor Mennonieten,” DWT, 22 January 2024. https://dwtonline.com/terra-invest-bevestigt-grondaanvragen-voor-mennonieten/
[17] “Keep Suriname the greenest country on earth!”, Avaaz, 14 January 2024. https://secure.avaaz.org/community_petitions/en/the_president_of_the_republic_of_suriname_keep_suriname_the_greenest_country_on_earth/
[18] “Ministers: Geen terreinen verstrekt aan Mennonieten,” Star Nieuws, 26 January 2024. https://www.starnieuws.com/index.php/welcome/index/nieuwsitem/79424
[19] “Sewdien: Ongeveer 25% gronden geschikt voor landbouw,” Star Nieuws, 26 January 2024. https://www.starnieuws.com/index.php/welcome/index/nieuwsitem/79513
[20] Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “Suriname: Legislative basis for the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples,” YouTube, 13 November 2023. https://youtu.be/fRI7wPl2ZZg?vq=hd1080
[21] “Alarmerende situatie door wateroverlast in Brokopondo,” Star Nieuws, 20 April 2022. https://www.starnieuws.com/index.php/welcome/index/nieuwsitem/69781
[22] UNESCO World Heritage Convention, “Jodensavanne Archaeological Site: Jodensavanne Settlement and Cassipora Creek Cemetery.” https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1680/
[23] UNESCO, “Extended 45th session of the World Heritage Committee-19/09PM-Floor,” YouTube, 20 September 2023. https://youtu.be/nYKSb_ASWVs?t=2262
Tags: Land rights, Business and Human Rights , Human rights, Protest
